query_id
stringlengths 1
6
| query
stringlengths 15
149
| top_5_doc_ids
listlengths 5
5
| top_5_chunks
listlengths 5
5
|
|---|---|---|---|
19399
|
Is "a wide range of features" singular or plural?
|
[
113395,
186113,
119073,
138822,
140824
] |
[
"I'm trying to write a list of features available in my product, and I'm confused what the title should be: Should I say \"Features List\" (features are plural) or \"Feature List\" (feature is singular). Thanks in advance.",
"Is it correct to say \"there are a lot of aspects\" like here (see the first comment) or here? Shouldn't be \"lots of\" used instead? I was sure that the correct form is \"lots of\" for the plural form.",
"When writing about more than one feature. Would you write \"The service _includes_ features such as A, B and C\" or \"The service _include_ features such as A, B and C\"",
"Is \"an assortment of [something plural]\" singular or plural? Removing the [something plural] makes the answer easier: > An assortment was here. makes more sense than > An assortment were here. Put in the [something plural], eg. \"people\", now I'm not sure which way sounds the most correct: > An assortment of people was here. or > An assortment of people were here.",
"Please consider the following: > My wide range of abilities _have_ helped my team succeed. > > My wide range of abilities _has_ helped my team succeed. Microsoft Word identifies the first as a subject-verb agreement error. However, from my perspective, the \"wide range\" is not the subject, but rather a descriptor of the abilities. Are either of these sentences wrong, and is one preferred?"
] |
5987
|
Is there any rule for the placement of space after and before parenthesis?
|
[
24519,
114306,
2119,
6632,
130219
] |
[
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Is there any rule for the placement of space after and before parenthesis? Should you put a space in between the outside of parentheses and punctuation?",
"Should you still apply the rule that there is a space after the comma, or is it an accepted practice to omit the space in this case?",
"Are there cases where a period is placed inside parentheses? In which cases the period (or a comma) should be placed inside the parentheses?",
"Where should the period go when using parentheses? For example: > In sentence one, I use this example (which has a parenthesis at the end.) Should the period be inside, or outside of the parentheses? What about if the entire sentence is a parenthetical (as below)? > (Where does the terminal punctuation go here?) Is there a hard and fast rule?",
"Parentheses or parenthesis - What's the difference? When each one of them should be used? An example would be appreciated."
] |
57488
|
Word for two people who are the same age
|
[
26896,
31275,
102588,
160136,
187467
] |
[
"What is the term for two siblings born on the same calendar day, one or more years apart? I know there's a term, and I'd know it if I saw it, but I can't for the life of me remember it.",
"I'm in my mid 40s and dating this lady of a similar vintage. I am trying to find a good word to describe our relationship, but \"girlfriend\" and \"boyfriend\" seems inappropriate for us. It reminds me of those forty year old guys who say \"I'm gittin' down wi ma hommies.\" It communicates, but it seems out of place. Perhaps it is the \"girl\" and \"boy\" part that bothers me. Any suggestions for something more appropriate?",
"When writing a book and referring to a female and male aged 18–25, what term would be most appropriate? _Boy_ and _girl_ seem too young, whereas _man_ and _woman_ seem too old. Example sentence: > A boy/man emerged from the shadows. Edit: I think the word I am looking for is similar to 'guy' but less American and colloquial. Any thoughts?",
"What are the people who live in the same city are called? Any words for that? I want to use it in the following context: > I and my ____ are happy.",
"What is an appropriate term for a young person (child, or teenager) whose words and actions mimic that of a much older person from a previous generation? Such a youngster would demonstrate strong nostalgia for the past, despite never having lived during that time period. An example I can think of is a 12 year old boy who observes that \"children nowadays spend all their time with their faces glued to smartphones\", or who prefers to write letters rather than emails \"like it was done in the good old days\". This child would never have a Facebook or Twitter account, because they are \"silly fads of the 21st century\".1 A possible phrase would be _mature beyond his years_ , although that does quite capture the characteristic in question, in particular the underlying contradiction, cynicism and nostalgia. I can think a perfectly fitting term from another language, but not English... 1The motivation behind this question is an interesting youngster I know who makes these statements!"
] |
97154
|
What’s the pronunciation of “ s’ ”?
|
[
180743,
114025,
52650,
111922,
161931
] |
[
"It's almost impossible to pronounce something like [sð] (e.g. ‘it's there’). I have heard a lot of natives pronouncing this conjunction, and every time it sounds a bit different for me, so I can't get what sound(s) exactly I hear. Would appreciate some examples with IPA transcriptions.",
"I know the sound name of 's' or 'sh' is called sibilant. This pronunciation name is useful and could be used to summarize the pronunciation rules, instead of listing all the individual letters. But for this list - 's', 'z', 'sh', 'ch' and 'j'(/dʒ/) , what is their sound name? If there is no such a single name to cover them all, what's the descriptive language for them? This list is special because the final 's' at the end of their plural forms is pronounced as /əz/.",
"How do we pronounce \"s\" at the end of the word when the next word also starts with \"s\"? For example, > She has some apples: Do we need to add \"s\" after _has_ and before _some_ > like \"she has s some apples\"? > > He is single: Do we need to add \"s\" after _is_ and before _single_ like \"he > is s single\"?",
"Sometimes I hear native speakers pronounce the _s_ at the beginning of a word as [ʃ]. For example, _straight_ as [ʃtreɪt], or _struggle_ as [ʃtrʌɡl]. It sounds like German words. Is it a certain English dialect, a specific accent, or just an idiolect?",
"Someone cannot tell the pronunciation of \"th\" and \"s\" apart. I am sure there's a single word that can express this in the context. But I can't remember it now. Anyone can help?"
] |
270
|
What is the correct plural of octopus?
|
[
13135,
26168,
103914,
58714,
7276
] |
[
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Octopuses, octopi, or octo? What is the \"proper\" plural of \"octopus\"? A web search turns up three candidates, but is there a \"right\" answer?",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > \"Octopuses\", \"octopi\", or \"octo\"? I've heard octopi, octopuses, octopodes, octopoids, and every time someone uses any of those, all people in the surrounding area immediately launch into an argument about which it is. So, which one is the actual plural form of octopus?",
"I have recently found this video online from Merriam Webster saying the plural form of octopus is in fact octopuses. The video explains how octopus comes from the Greek language and thus it would be incorrect to say octopi since that is a latin plural form. The Greek plural of octopus would be octopodes, but octopus actually turns into an English word which makes the plural octopuses. With that being said, why do dictionaries have octopi listed as the plural form if that is incorrect? Is the plural so widely misused that they just threw in octopi in there? And then there is the Latin word radius. No one ever uses the word radiuses however it is listed in the dictionary. In fact, even my google chrome and firefox spell checker tells me radiuses is incorrect. Is this word never meant to be used? Despite radius also being an English word, people will always say radii for the plural version.",
"I've never been certain of the rules surrounding the use of the -i suffix for pluralizing a word. I had thought that it was used for any word whose singular ended in an 's', but that doesn't appear to always be true. For example, the plural of _octopus_ can be written _octopi_. But the plural of _chorus_ seems to always be _choruses_ , never _chori_. When is it proper to use an -i for pluralization?",
"What is the plural of _iPod Touch_? Should it be _iPods Touch_ or _iPod Touches_?"
] |
195514
|
is "is" or "are correct?
|
[
128960,
11768,
132734,
15769,
47909
] |
[
"I was writing this sentence: > Why are there more of them on some nights than on others? Is _is_ or _are_ correct here? I was told that _is_ is correct, but to me, _are_ sounds better.",
"Which is the correct grammar? Which is correct?",
"Is the verb agreement correct in this sentence ( _... is real_ and not _...are real_ )?",
"Simple question: > My apples and orange **are** wrong or > My apples and orange **is** wrong I am not a native English speaker, and I am having some trouble choosing between plural _are_ or singular _is_ for that kind of example.",
"Which is correct? > How much **is** the two fares? > > How much **are** the two fares?"
] |
88027
|
What weather! What a pity! - phrases with and without article - why?
|
[
65896,
85445,
93970,
140507,
131271
] |
[
"There are two correct (I hope so) sentences with _weather_ taken from a book: > * Was _the weather_ nice? > * Did you have nice _weather_? > Can somebody explain why there's an article in the first sentence and there isn't an article in the second one?",
"Why do we use the indefinite article in the expression \"have a good time\"? _Time_ is an uncountable noun, and we never say \"what a beautiful weather!\", but \"what beautiful weather it is!\" Could anyone explain it to me?",
"The weather reports on the BBC frequently use the word \"That\" when I was expecting either no article or possibly \"the\". For example 'There will be more of that cold weather.' when no cold weather has been referred to, unless they meant yesterday, or last week, possibly. Am I wrong, or is this just another silly attempt to sound vaguely colloquial? This use of \"That\" seems very common currently in what might be called reporter speak, the weather men are not the only example, but they seem to do it a lot. Over the last few weeks I have also heard \"that sunshine\", \"that rain\", \"that fog\". I have hunted around some grammar web resources and can't find any justification for this use of \"That\". Have I missed something?",
"When we use the word 'such', is there a rule to dictate whether we need to add article a/an behind? For example: > I did not expect such cold weather. and > I did not expect such a cold weather. Another example I found is > She has such a marvellous voice! All three examples are in the such + adj + noun form, only difference is the article 'a'. I would like to find out if there are any rules or is merely a usage issue?",
"Which of the following is correct: `What a Weather!` or `What weather!` This grammar app I have (for SATs) says that the right answer is the first one, but I've never heard it used in regular speech. It also feels extremely awkward to say."
] |
53730
|
"Aren't I" vs "Amn't I"
|
[
34452,
29299,
56730,
11210,
163831
] |
[
"Since \"amn't I\" is so clunky, is \"aren't I\" grammatically correct? Or is the only way to say this \"Am I not\"?",
"Why do we say \"ain't I\" or \"aren't I\" instead of \"amn't I\"? What's the history of this usage? Are there any other similar patterns in English? I'm guessing it has something to do with the dispreference of two consecutive nasal consonants, but a more authoritative answer would be great.",
"I know the contraction of _am not_ , _is not_ , _are not_ , _has not_ , _have not_ , _do not_ , _does not_ , and _did not_ can be represented as _ain't_. How can I understand correctly which contraction the speaker meant?",
"My dictionary reports that _aren't_ is also an abbreviation for _am not_ , when used in questions. Is this use of _aren't_ common? If it is common, are there any differences between the different English dialects? > Why aren't I being given a pay raise?",
"## Ai'nt > I know, Ain't is the same as aren't But i want to know full form of **ain't** , Anyone know this?"
] |
10705
|
When do the "-uple"s end?
|
[
31675,
5475,
80136,
187554,
39824
] |
[
"After singletons, twins, triplets, quadruplets, quintuplets, sextuplets, septuplets, and octuplets, what comes next?",
"I'm not sure what these are called, but how can I form a word like \"quadruple\" for any number I want? Like 5× as much is quintuple, what is 31× as much or 147× as much? I want to know how they are formed so I can make my own. Similarly, how do I construct the prefixes, such as unicycle, bicycle, tricycle, quadricycle? I figured out 12 is duodeci-, but how can I form any prefix like this?",
"If these were nouns, I would assume \"single\" fits in between: > **1/4, 1/3, 1/2, _1_ , 2, 3, 4 . . .** > > quarter, third, half, _single_ or _one_ , double, triple, quadruple . . . Note that each word has a cardinal as part of its etymology: _quarter_ evolved from the Latin _quattuor_ (\"four\"), _double_ from Latin _duplus_ (“twofold”), and so on. However, in the case of verbs, is there a word to indicate **multiplying (or dividing) by one** that fits into this pattern? The closest I can think of is _unify_, \"cause to become one\", but it wouldn't make sense in context: > She _doubled_ the number, i.e. multiplied by two. > She _unified_ the number, i.e. multiplied by one. The word wouldn't necessarily have to have the _mono-_ or _uni-_ prefix, but the etymological root ought to contain the cardinal for **one** (i.e. \"she _maintained_ the number\" wouldn't work) _in keeping with the pattern_.",
"Is the sentence \"Those two are triplets\" proper? It seems like it would not be correct, because triplets come in 3 and this only references two people. A similar case would be \"He is a twin.\" I think this is different though because twin is singular, and triplets is plural. If I was only pointing out one, \"He is a triplet\" seems correct. I feel that when using triplets, it implies 3.",
"I'm writing a tech doc and this question bothers me, though I know it should be simple. I know I should say \"A pair of [Key, Value]\", but when I have something like \"A ____ of [Key, Value, Flag]\", I'm just not sure if the proper word is _triple_ , or something else. Is _triple_ often used as an adjective instead of a noun? Is there a better word?"
] |
21616
|
How are "yes" and "no" formatted in sentences?
|
[
78678,
182113,
47624,
171517,
133778
] |
[
"There appears to be some disagreement over what function _yes_ and _no_ perform in the following sentences: 1. _Yes_ , you are right. 2. _No_ , you are mistaken. According to ODO (yes, no), they are being used as _exclamations_ which are presumably the same as _interjections_. Webster (yes, no) and Macmillan (yes, no), on the other hand, reckon that they are _adverbs_. Wiktionary (yes, no) chucks another spanner by stating that _yes_ is being used as an _adverb_ while _no_ is being used as an _interjection_. Wiktionary also links to a Wikipedia article on \"yes and no\" which seemingly disagrees with both options. > The words _yes_ and _no_ are not easily classified into any of the eight > conventional parts of speech. **Although sometimes classified as > interjections, they do not qualify as such, and they are not adverbs.** They > are sometimes **classified as a part of speech in their own right** , > sentence words, word sentences, or pro-sentences, although that category > contains more than yes and no and not all linguists include them in their > lists of sentence words. Sentences consisting solely of one of these two > words are classified as minor sentences. So, which, if anything, is it and why is opinion so divided?",
"I am wondering how yes and no should be quoted when transcribing. A few examples: 1-Is that no you don't know, or no you weren't there?/Is that \"no\" you don't know, or \"no\" you weren't there? (I presume these aren't capitalized?) You said \"no,\" right?/ You said no, right? 2-Her answer was no./Her answer was \"no.\" 3-She said no./She said \"no.\"/She said \"No.\" 4-I take your silence as a no./I take your silence as a \"no.\" Obviously, just saying yes or no to a question is a complete sentence, so should it be capitalized when quoting?",
"In English, _yes_ here means \"Yes, I have had lunch\". Answering \"no\" will mean \"No, I have not had lunch\". (My question isn't about how to answer this simple question) However, in some languages, _yes_ actually means \"Yes, your statement is correct; I have not had lunch\". Answering no would actually mean \"No, your statement is incorrect; I have already had lunch\". I wonder what such a difference is called? Such difference can lead to mis- communication, as I have personally experienced. Is there any background information for the two approaches?",
"Yes or no, and why? (This is an exam question.)",
"Here I am editing this book I am trying to get ready for publication. I am running into a number of places where I've got nodding and shaking of the head in response to questions. The original author writes: * \"I nodded my head yes.\" * \"...she shook her head no...\" I am also seeing occasional \"shake...yes\" and \"nod...no\". I'm reasonably certain that one shakes one's head for \"No\" and nods for \"Yes\". But how do you write it? * I nodded my head \"Yes.\" - I shook my head \"No.\" * I nodded my head yes. - I shook my head no. * I nodded my head \"yes.\" - I shook my head \"yes.\" **Or should the \"Yes\" or \"No\" even be included in the sentence, since the gesture substitutes for the affirmative or negative?** If \"Yes\" or \"No\" _does_ have a place there, how would it be best formatted? EDITED TO ADD: I've edited this to make it clear that it is not merely a formatting issue with regard to \"Yes\" or \"No\"."
] |
21612
|
Using superlatives for comparing two things
|
[
182799,
159297,
139016,
27683,
57216
] |
[
"What is the comparative and superlative for little?",
"For example, 'he's the bigger of the two guards' or 'he's the biggest of the two guards'? The comparative indicates that something is bigger/more difficult than another member. If there's only two members of the set being described, then surely both forms are equivalent? What about when the comparative and the superlative aren't regular? e.g., 'my puzzle is the more difficult of the two' or 'my puzzle is the most difficult of the two'? I think I'd probably use the comparative, but it seems logical that the superlative would be okay too.",
"The superlative forms imply that they are the ONLY ones. For instance, if we say, that John is the _best_ football player. We mean, he's _the_ best. So, how is it appropriate to say, \"one of the best\", when that phrase implies plurality.",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Use of the superlative when only two items are present When choosing between two items, I've always been told it's incorrect to say one is \"the best\". Rather, you should say one is \"the better\" of the two. First, is this correct? Second, if this is correct wouldn't it be inconsistent to say one is \"the worst\" of the two? What should you say instead?",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Use of the superlative when only two items are present Is the word _better_ used in comparing two things, or do you use the word _best_? Example used in a conversation: > A: Is there any way to get over the anxiety? > > B: Drink a shit ton of alcohol or caffeine. > > A: I like the first suggestion **better/best**. Are they both correct to say?"
] |
124351
|
position of "only"
|
[
173239,
74962,
115136,
159768,
97351
] |
[
"I am always unsure about the position of \"only\" in the sentence. For example: > This ticket _only costs_ 5 dollars. > This ticket _costs only_ 5 dollars. Are there any difference? Which one is better?",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Correct position of \"only\" > Use of \"only\" and word-order Should one say > The bidders shall not be permitted to bid for one or two tenders only. or > The bidders shall not be permitted to bid for only one or two tenders.",
"I know that questions about the placement of 'only', are often asked here; accordingly, I searched for an answer to my question before posting it. **Question** Where are focusing adverbs placed relative to prepositions? For example, 1. For his presentation, he needed to talk _only_ about tomatoes. 2. For his presentation, he needed to talk about _only_ tomatoes. **My Attempt to Answer the Question** In both examples, it seems to me that 'only' is placed close enough to what it is intended to modify (the topic of the subject's discourse: tomatoes) that I cannot see any justifiable misinterpretations. One of the examples sounds better to me, but at this point in my studies, I am more interested in what the traditional rules of grammar require, than in how the wordings sound.",
"I remember hearing, more than once, the word \"only\" in a context that can only be a question. Is that true? For example: \"Only you a student?\", \"Only you think that.... ?\"",
"I was just wondering if there is a significant difference between placing \"only\" before and after the word \"been\". Examples: I've only been fixing cars since I was young. vs I've been only fixing cars since I was young. What I wish to convey is that something has consumed someone so much that they haven't done anything else noteworthy in their life. Because \"only\" qualifies the object after it, I believe the latter is correct, but determining whether or not \"been\" affects its placement has proven difficult. Thank you."
] |
69175
|
What do you call a person who takes pleasure in the success of others?
|
[
103430,
163716,
174922,
48940,
142289
] |
[
"One word to denote a person who derives pleasure from another's misfortune?",
"I frequently want to express a feeling of pleasure to be associated with someone who is doing something exceptional. The phrase that comes to mind is, \"I'm proud of you,\" but I am troubled by a certain sense of the word that suggests that I am responsible for the success of that person. It has a bit of a patronizing, parental feel to it. So for years, I've been hunting for something that expresses some of the same sentiments, without the troublesome patronizing connotations. Any suggestions?",
"I'm unable to remember a single-word substitute for \"a person who takes happiness as his/her goal of life\"",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > An idiom for deriving pleasure from another's suffering We often experience the following: > We feel happy when our fellow classmates get a bad grade and not necessarily > when we ourselves get a good grade. > > We feel excited when our opposing team plays really awful and not > necessarily when we our team plays well. > > We feel pleased when one person we hate experiences some kind of misfortune > and not necessarily when we ourselves get good luck. What is a word or phrase to describe the phenomenon above?",
"What do you call a person who craves fame and fortune, or wants to be recognized for something?"
] |
45445
|
"There's something wrong among us" or "There's something wrong between us"?
|
[
45,
152566,
55643,
64623,
49775
] |
[
"Is it better to say \"what's wrong **with** _something_ \" or \"what's wrong **in** _something_ \"?",
"Is it correct to say \"between you and **me** \" or \"between you and **I** \"? I am not a native English speaker, so please bear with me.",
"One of Twitter's error messages reads: > Something is technically wrong. Of course I understand what they mean, but am I wrong to interpret this as \"strictly speaking, there is something wrong\" instead of the intended \"there is a technical issue\"? What would be the ideal, succinct way to phrase this, maintaining simplicity and clarity?",
"I realize that this has been discussed elsewhere on the site, but I was interested in the use of the preposition \"among\" in a sentence from a story in yesterday's New York Times: > Research done by Emmanuel Saez, left, and Thomas Piketty has shown that > inequality **among** the middle class and the rich is nearly as acute as it > was before the Great Depression. My first impression was that the sentence was incorrect, and that \"between\" should have been used instead. After thinking about it for a minute, however, it seems like the use of either preposition may be valid, but that the sentence would mean different things depending on the choice. With \"between\", the sentence is referring to inter-group differences between the incomes of the rich and the middle class. With \"among\", the sentence is referring to intra-group differences in income among the individual members of each particular group. Honestly I have no idea if this interpretation is correct. Can someone please clarify this for me?",
"Is there any difference between \"Is there something wrong?\" and \"Is there anything wrong?\"? Also, you would say \"He would like something to drink\" but \"Would you like anything to drink?\", right? I'd appreciate if any one could explain the usage of \"something\" and \"anything\"."
] |
125405
|
What do you call it when someone misunderstands a homonym?
|
[
138812,
189010,
32889,
117197,
48564
] |
[
"Specifically, I'm looking for the term for when a person uses a word correctly, but intends a different meaning. For example: > I empathize with you. When the person really means: > I sympathize with you. Both sentences are grammatically correct. They both have meaning, and as sentences they are both \"correct\"...they're just incorrect in this case. This isn't a case of a malapropism where a similar sounding word is inserted with ludicrous results, nor is it a parapraxis, eggcorn, or mondegreen (as I understand them). It's simply a case where a person either misunderstood the difference between the two and thus chose the wrong word or the person did understand but believed (in this case) they empathized when in fact they only sympathized. I'd like to say something like \"You made a grammatical mistake/error\" - except in this case it isn't grammar...",
"> A homograph (from the Greek: ὁμός, homós, \"same\" and γράφω, gráphō, \"write\") > is a word that shares the same written form as another word but has a > different meaning. When spoken, the meanings may be distinguished by > different pronunciations, in which case the words are also heteronyms. > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homograph Disambiguation may be difficult at times, especially when a heteronym is used in writing. This occurred to me the first time I saw an orange juice box of “minute maid” and the small figure of a woman on it. I wondered then, whether the producers meant a period of time equal to sixty seconds [mi'nit], or “tiny, exceptionally small” [mai.nyoot']. Having never seen a commercial before, would a native speaker understand the exact meaning right away ? Are there other instances when you felt confused by a written heteronym ? N.B. Someone has already asked what \"minute maid\" means, but my question goes beyond that. p.s. Feel free to edit the phonetic symbols, if you know how to do it. I simply couldn't type the correct ones.",
"Generally this may be called _typo_ but when particularly two letters of a word are mistakenly swapped, what is this error called? Some examples: > teh > the > fromat > format > comptuer > computer",
"Is there a word that describes that something has been named \"incorrectly\" on purpose (a sort of _intentional misnomer_ )? For example, calling someone who is very tall Shorty (or something to that effect).",
"A _homonym_ is a word with two distinct meanings, for instance: > chase (from dict.org) > > 1. To pursue for the purpose of killing or taking, as an enemy, or game; > to hunt. [1913 Webster] > > 2. To cut, so as to make a screw thread. [1913 Webster] > > Does _homonym_ apply to terms (esp. colloquial) or phrases as well? For instance, _wife beater_ refers to either a type of shirt or a person who physically abuses their wife. Is there a word or term that describes this type of word or phrase?"
] |
46867
|
Word for application that is both sender and receiver
|
[
66546,
122533,
55253,
43943,
123954
] |
[
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Word for application that is both sender and receiver In the sentence _\"There are many ways to receive and send information.\"_ , is there a word that can replace _\"receive and send\"_? I was thinking of the word **transmit** : _\"There are many ways to transmit information.\"_ , But transmit seems to convey only a one-way direction instead of a two-way direction. Is there a word that encompasses the meaning of both \"receiving\" and \"delivery\" ?",
"Given functionality that is common to all applications, what is the best word or words to convey that idea? I think that _cross-application_ fits fairly well here, don't you? If not, what expression would you use in this case?",
"I am making a piece of software which has the ability to send out Emails and SMS messages. My boss has asked for both facilities to go under the same heading in a dropdown menu. But I can't think of a suitable work that encapsulates both. Any suggestions?",
"This can also be applied to client-server interactions (which is what I need it for). For example, if you (the client) send data to the server or retrieve data from the server, what is the name of the server in that instance? Or, if the server sends data to the client or the server receives data from the client, what is the name of the client in that instance? Both of these names should be equivalent. Basically, I'm looking for a word (or words) for the _other_ person/entity when the two are connected.",
"I'm trying to indicate unlimited interaction between two applications. Would the following work? > Our developer API allows you to interface with [product] without limitation!"
] |
158716
|
singular event with singular verb
|
[
140772,
185404,
152833,
47628,
178929
] |
[
"When you have a singular noun as subject, a singular verb follows. However, the pronouns \"I\" and \"you\" are singular but singular verbs do not follow after them. Does anyone know something about this reason or historical explanations? For example, you say \"I live\" instead of saying \"I lives\".",
"In sentences in which a verb references an event, and a particular case of that same event, should i use the singular or plural form for the verb? for example: \"milk production, and in particular white milk production, **is/are** subject to severe scrutiny\"",
"Usage of Some: Does \"some\" require a plural or singular verb?",
"Is using the word \"singular\" to describe someone or something unique an outdated adjective? E.g. By a **singular** piece of good fortune, Mr. Athelney Jones, the well- known member of the detective police force, happened to be at the Norwood Police Station, and was on the ground within half an hour of the first alarm.",
"Should I use verb in plural or singular form if the first subject in the row is singular but is followed by set of subjects in plural form: > The story itself, the characters and their tempers make up/makes up a > completely different utterance"
] |
193820
|
Does the word "hope" require the use of the subjunctive mood?
|
[
47744,
163345,
149071,
145210,
133205
] |
[
"I had always understood the subjunctive mood to mean a hypothetical present tense. However, I think it might also imply that the hypothetical event is outside the realm of possibility. Is that necessarily the case?",
"Why is the phrase \"I hope this computer work\" unacceptable? The word \"hope\" makes the phrase subjunctive, so why isn't it correct to use the infinitive verb form?",
"Does there exist a one word alternative to 'Hopefully' in the sense of 'I am hopeful that' or 'I hope that' which can be used in a formal document? I believe 'hopefully' is rather informal or common in spoken usage rather than written text, although some source like merriam-webster tend to disagree.",
"Whenever I say \"I hope you...\", or \"I hope that...\", or \"I'm hopeful you will...\", it sounds so hollow. In part, I think, because it sounds cliche (to me anyway), but also because I can't think of a single statement to substitute for it. I've looked up as many \"Hope\"-related questions on this site. I'm hoping (Arrrgh) to get a suggestion for an alternative.",
"The meaning of **hope** given in Simple Wiktionary as When someone hopes that something will happen, it means that they want it to happen and they think **it is may happen**. This **it is may happen** is correct or not? I think \"it may happen\" is sufficient."
] |
193827
|
Can "sitcom" be considered an "acronym"?
|
[
33532,
168592,
87381,
97710,
3755
] |
[
"What are some of the earliest acronyms and did they know it was an acronym at the time?",
"Typical acronyms represent a phrase with a fixed word order. For example, _NATO_ (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is not coherent when reordered to, say, _ATNO_ (Atlantic Treaty North Organization). Yet a form of 'anagrammatic acronyms' exists where each word stands alone and can be represented in any order (although by convention, one order may be culturally dominant): * Big five personality traits as _OCEAN_ , _NEOAC_ , _CANOE_ , etc; * The elements of art as _SFTSLVC_ , _TFCSSVL_ , etc; * The fire triangle as _OHF_ , _HFO_ , etc. > _What do linguists call a collection of word initials that may not mnemonic > and can be in any order that pleases the reader or author?_",
"One definition of an acronym is: > An abbreviation formed by (usually initial) letters taken from a word or > series of words, that is itself pronounced as a word, such as RAM, radar, or > scuba; sometimes contrasted with initialism. An initialism is: > A term formed from the initial letter or letters of several words or parts > of words, but which is itself pronounced letter by letter. If I pronounce an initialism, as a word, and not just as letters, does that 'make' it an acronym?",
"I am looking for a term that describes an acronym that has two possible expansions, but both expansions refer to the same thing. The term \"double acronym\" doesn't appear to be widely used and is confusing. Some examples: In human-computer interaction, there is a single tool called CPM-GOMS, where the CPM stands for both \"cognitive, perceptual, motor\" and \"critical path method\". Additionally, a popular cognitive modeling tool called ACT has both \"Atomic Components of Thought\" and \"Adaptive Character of Thought\" as its meanings. In both cases, these are not two distinct tools that coincidentally share the same acronym. They are acronyms that purposefully have two distinct expansions that refer to the same tool. The usage might also apply to companies who have changed the words in their acronym while keeping the original initialism, such as: * Marvel's SHIELD * the programming language PHP * the chain store TCBY * the college exam SAT However in these cases one expansion is clearly non-standard. There are also unofficial acronyms, such as DVD, which appears to be used equally as \"digital video disc\" and \"digital versatile disc\", despite that neither is standard. It may also apply to translations in which the initialism is preserved, such as the car company BMW which stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, but is often written as Bavarian Motor Works. There is no wikipedia for \"double acronym\" and < 6,500 google results for the same search term. Is there a standard term for this usage that I am not aware of? If not, what short phrasing could be best used to describe this usage? Note I am primarily interested in a phrase that captures the first usage (e.g. CPM and ACT).",
"_TLA_ is an acronym for \"Three Letter Acronym\". Is it also an abbreviation, since it abbreviates the original phrase?"
] |
114224
|
Plural of "uh-oh" and "oh-no"
|
[
189517,
71395,
119892,
34249,
37358
] |
[
"For example if somebody is saying: \" _Ooooooh myyyyyyy Gooooood_ \" or if they realize something and go \" _Ooooooh!_ \" or Darth Vader's \" _NOOOOOOO!_ \", usually all of these extra vowels aren't included in the words(you won't find it in a dictionary), but does this phenomenon of multiplying have a name or a term? I've got a hard time formulating the description to be short enough for google to help, so even if you don't know if there is a word for it, help with description/formulation would be appreciated too.",
"Is there a way to pluralize a quotation? _E.g._ , > He was greeted with a chorus of “Hello”s. or > Her daring earned “Ooh”s & “Ahh”s from around the room. With actual dictionary words (“Hello” in the first example), simple plurals might do, without quotes: “He was greeted with a chorus of hellos.” With _ad hoc_ onomatopoeic words like “ooh” & “ahh”, though, can I pluralize them without confusing the reader? Is italicizing part of the word acceptable: “Her daring earned _ooh_ s & _ahh_ s from around the room”?",
"I was watching an Apple ad, and came across a sentence in which they form the plural of \"no\" with an apostrophe: > There are a thousand no's for every yes But shouldn't it be nos? Or is this just for the sake of readability? Like, > We need to dot the i's and cross the t's Edit: Apparently this has been discussed all over the web.",
"Is there a word for saying \"um\" or \"uh\", etc, during speaking? Or a word for \"um\" and \"uh\", etc?",
"> Oh my! In the above example, to me, \"oh\" seems to suggest one should pronounce \"o\" as a short vowel, whereas \"o\", seems to suggest one should pronounce \"o\" as a long vowel. In other words, I would expect it to be spelled as: > O my! I would expect \"oh\" to be used in this example, meaning to express \"oops\": > Oh o! ... or used an an expression of excited amazement, when watching beautiful fireworks for instance, like this: > Oh! So why is \"Oh my!\" spelled this way?"
] |
112956
|
Choosing between “to experiment with” and “with which to experiment”
|
[
59169,
44601,
37507,
128742,
5320
] |
[
"If I am correct, both _experiment_ and _experimentation_ exist in English. Which one should I use? Can I say the following two sentences? * This week, I am conducting new experiments at the laboratory * This week, I am conducting new experimentations at the laboratory If the answer is yes, is there any difference between them?",
"When should I use which? E.g.: > To use something. vs > To make use of something.",
"An experiment is normally intended to test a hypothesis. Is there a noun or phrase to describe an experiment with no hypothesis -- i.e. doing something just to 'see what happens'? (A convincing neologism would be acceptable: e.g. _exploriment_ ) EDIT: It's been pointed out that one can think of some generalised hypothesis ('something interesting will happen') for any experiment. So to refine the question a bit: what's an experiment without a _specific_ hypothesis? EDIT2: Thanks for the helpful suggestions so far, which have clarified things, although sadly none have nailed it for me yet: perhaps English doesn't have a word with the connotation I'm looking for. However I'm surprised that some of the answers have implied that there's something _trivial_ , _invalid_ or _unscientific_ about experimenting without a testable hypothesis: i.e. it's \"just playing about\" or \"just demonstration\". This made me think about three types of experiment: (A) I do something (heat water) to test a specific hypothesis (does water boil at 100°C?); (B) I do it to measure a property (what temperature does water boil at?); (C) I do it to observe what occurs (let's see what happens if I heat this water...). These all seem to me to be very valid and scientific, but English doesn't seem to specifically distinguish between them. This post has turned out to be a very interesting experiment!",
"I have come across both _make_ and _do_ with the noun _experiment_.Are there any differences in meaning? Thanks.",
"When should one use something like \"conducting experiments in orbit\" vs. \"conducting experiments on orbit\"?"
] |
13056
|
"The thing is, is that..."
|
[
97818,
85510,
91237,
117652,
90864
] |
[
"I often use expression \"The thing is\" as filler a lot like this: > See, the thing is, they did not want to watch the movie that is why went > there. I might as well say it without **it** , since it does not really change the meaning, but sometimes I just say it instinctively to give my self some more to time to think. My question is, is it normal for people to do this? And if the answer is yes, what are the other expression like this?",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > “The thing is, is that…” Does anyone know when or why people started saying things like > The problem is is that... or > The thing is is that... It's as if they are using _isthat_ as a combined single word. Does the word _isthat_ exist in any modern dictionary? I can't find it anywhere.",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > “The thing is, is that…” > Why do some people say “the reason is is that,” with “is” twice in a row? For the past few years I've been noticing a curious phenomenon. People are quite commonly saying things like \"... the problem _is is_ that we don't have access to ...\". It appears that the first \"is\" has been grafted onto the semantic unit of \"the problem\" and is no longer being perceived as being present, so the speaker has to add the second \"is\". I first thought that this might be related to situations where a repeated \"is\" is valid, such as ... the question is \"Is this our only option?\" ... but it seems to occur mostly in constructs of the form ... the [x] is that ... instead. I seem to be very sensitive to this and hear it several times a day, often on local or national news broadcasts. In fact, it's now jarring (in a good way) when I hear someone NOT repeating \"is\". 1. Is there a name for this phenomenon? 2. Is it as rampant as it appears to me?",
"Can anyone tell me what this type of repetitive use of two words together in a phrase is actually called? For example: * \"What it is, is...\"",
"Where does this come from? > That is how it is."
] |
62084
|
What's the correct plural of person?
|
[
32966,
2677,
52738,
6903,
160002
] |
[
"The plural of \"person\" is \"people\". The plural of \"people\" is \"peoples\". Person-people-peoples is the only sequence like this that I know of, but I'm looking for another. (The equivalent question is, is there another plural noun which has become a singular countable collective noun?) **EDIT** For those of you that think that `people` is nothing but a collective noun (and not an irregular plural, like `mice`), I urge you to consider: * Do you treat other collective nouns as plurals? One person, two people, but one star, two galaxy? * Do you treat other plurals as collective nouns? You can certainly say \"a galaxy of stars\" but do you say \"a mice of mouses\"? For those of you that think the _customary_ plural of `person` is `persons`, try it on the next three, uh, persons you see: \"Finish this sentence: 'one person, two ___ ?' \"",
"Can you please clarify the relation and differences between these nouns? For example, is it proper to use \"persons\" instead of \"people\"? Are they the same? As I believe that \"people\" is plural, how come there exists the plural of the plural (=peoples)? Does it have any usage?",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > \"People\" or \"peoples\" when referring to an indigenous population? > Person, Persons, People, Peoples Is it possible to add \"s\" at the end of the word \"people\" to make it plural? If so, what does it mean?",
"If used in the sentence: \"Once a person has become X their psychological state becomes Y.\" does the \"a person\" count as a class and thus make the use of the plural \"their\" correct?",
"I hope this is the correct place for my question. I didn't post in English learner site because it seems a more specific question. As everyone knows the plural of person is _people_ , but I saw in a menu > Starter for 4 **persons** I was sure about the error, but a friend told me that sometimes in menus and lists it can be used if there is a fixed number. What is your opinion?"
] |
156653
|
What is the difference between "farthermost" and "furthermost"?
|
[
19680,
154300,
4407,
164073,
148239
] |
[
"My spellchecker insists on replacing \"furthest\" with \"farthest\". I was under the impression that _farthest_ is strictly speaking in terms of distance, whereas _furthest_ is more abstract. A poster on this forum gives the following example: > The further [quantity] you walk, the farther [distance] you get. What gives?",
"Is it true that 'further' and 'farther' are becoming interchangeable? > He drove further north. > > His furthest destination to travel is 167 miles. This link says that _further_ is now widely \"used and accepted in all senses, even to designate physical distance.\"",
"I know I learned the difference between the usage of **farther** and **further** in school, but I can never remember where each one should be used. Can someone help me out here?",
"As cited above what is the difference between **later** and **latter**? **Latter** : occurring or situated nearer to the end of something than to the beginning, the meaning of latter is similar to later only. so please throw the real difference between both of the words.",
"Is there an adjective that is somewhere between near and far?"
] |
1176
|
When is it correct to use "yourself" and "myself" (versus "you" and "me")?
|
[
62123,
67210,
59357,
69001,
89708
] |
[
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > When is it correct to use \"yourself\" and \"myself\" (versus \"you\" and \"me\")? Are both _It's ideal for **you**_ and _It's ideal for **yourselves**_ grammatically correct? If not, why certain persons use 'you' while other ones use 'yourselves'?",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > When is it correct to use \"yourself\" and \"myself\" (versus \"you\" and \"me\")? In a conversation, how is is correct to say: > You can contact John, Jane or **me** for more information ... or > You can contact John, Jane or **myself** for more information ...",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > When is it correct to use \"yourself\" and \"myself\" (versus \"you\" and \"me\")? > you and **_myself/me_** will enjoy the function being arranged in honor of > the new principal. \"Me\" or \"Myself\"- which one is correct here and why?",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > When is it correct to use “yourself” and “myself” (versus “you” and “me”)? According to Google Ngram, \"I am myself\" is more common that \"I am I\", but which is correct? Also, the verb \"to be\" is intransitive. That means a subject must follow the verb. So does this mean \"I am I\" is more grammatical?",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > When is it correct to use “yourself” and “myself” (versus “you” and “me”)? > Doubt about the subject in this phrase: I, me, or myself? > Use of “myself” in business-speak Does it make sense to say that? For example: Jim and myself could not attend the party. If not, how would I say it? Thanks."
] |
23509
|
Like to vs like + ing
|
[
115290,
40023,
188780,
187301,
122273
] |
[
"What is the right way to say “Nobody like (likes) _doing something_ ”? What word I should use: like or likes?",
"Can we make up such a sentence which means \"start liking something\"? > I get to like this pastry. And also should it be \"get to like\" or \"get liking\"?",
"I am confused if I need to use 3-person verb from with a sentence like \"I think he like/likes it.\" What is it called in English?",
"> I **would like to** be and > I **want to** be What is the difference between them? I think 'want to be' sounds stronger than 'like to be,' but I'm not sure if this is true.",
"When and why did the word \"like\" come to be used to introduce an action, or even as a meaningless filler word, e.g. \"He was like, [action or quote].\""
] |
65884
|
Asking question about position of a person in a list
|
[
20773,
103216,
194744,
131683,
196251
] |
[
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Framing a question to which the answer is an ordinal number would it be if i asked what is your relative position terms of birth order in your family",
"When I'm asking a person about something where should I put a person's name? Which of the following is correct? > 1. Jem do you know....? > 2. Do you know Jem...? >",
"_Are you the third of your parents' children? or the second issue?_ Or, _you are the third guy, eh?_ What is the question for which _\"he came third in the race\"_ is an answer?. Instead of resorting to such a questioning is there a single word to interrogatively seek information of placement on a time marker line ? All Indian languages have such a word, none in English afaik..",
"Here is the question: I want to know what is the ordinal place of someone in her family. For example, I'd say: I'm the second child of my parents. and afterwards, I'd like to ask something along these lines: What nth child are you? (So that I'm expecting something like first, second, third, etc. child as answer). Just wondering how the question should be asked.",
"How els can we say \"what number are you in the line \""
] |
8543
|
What is it called when an interjection is inserted inside another word?
|
[
55964,
43117,
56215,
83848,
182914
] |
[
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > What is it called when an interjection is inserted inside another word? Is there a term used to describe words such as _un-fucking-believable_ or _a- whole-nother_? These words have other words inserted inside of the original word, creating a sort of compound word.",
"Is this word onomatopoeic, just an interjection, both, something else?",
"Is there a name for word combination structures that embed other words within them (both verbal or written)? (Any less rude example would be appreciated.)",
"In comics, for example those by Walt Disney, interjections that describe or emphasize in words what the characters in the image are doing are quite commonly used ( _cough_ , _sigh_ , _tweet_ ). According to the _German Wikipedia_ , a grammatical term for this type of word has been introduced only recently, in 1998. It’s called _Inflektiv_. I could not find an English translation, neither on these pages nor in any search engine. Is there a term for this?",
"A while back I ran across a word that described the act of inserting additional letters or sounds when a person pronounces a word (which results in a mispronunciation). What is the word that has this meaning? Update: My original example wasn't very good, but Brian Donovan provided a good example--decathlon pronounced as \"decathalon\" (inserting a second \"a\" sound where there is no \"a\"). Another example: hamster pronounced as \"hampster\""
] |
92266
|
"This month" vs. "next month"
|
[
143216,
35742,
56282,
144552,
157493
] |
[
"What is the difference between the following two? > * On the first of every month... > * Every first of the month... >",
"Which is more natural between the two of these sentences? > I plan to move house next month. > I plan to move houses next month. Are there any places where _move houses_ should be used over _move house_ or vice versa?",
"In an undecided situation that needs to be discussed, which one of the following seems more accurate? Are they interchangeable? > * If we were to agree on this deal, do you think we can start working on > it next month? > > * If we are to agree on this deal, do you think we can start working on it > next month? > >",
"For changing one's home from one place to another, I've heard people in western part of the world using the sentence: > I'll be moving next month. In India, even in the English news channels, I've heard many people using the phrase: > I'll be shifting next month. Which one is the correct usage? Or are both of them correct and the difference in usage is regional?",
"I'd like to ask about the difference between \"last month\" and \"previous month\", if there is any. I am a software developer and I use those relative words as a search input values for date search. I am wondering, whether last month is correct if I want to refer to the previous month or not."
] |
55628
|
"there are still a few administrative i's to dot and t's to cross"
|
[
63552,
67488,
80801,
118339,
41957
] |
[
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > \"there are still a few administrative i's to dot and t's to cross\" From here there is a sentence: > If you fail to dot an “I” or cross a “T,” you could be banging your head > against the wall for hours. What does the author mean by `dot an \"I\" or cross a \"T\"`? Thanks.",
"Dotting the i's and crossing the t's. Dotting the _i_ 's and crossing the _t_ 's. Should individual letters of the Latin alphabet be italicized in the above example? EDIT (AFTER Neil Coffey's ANSWER): According to \"The Chicago Manual of Style\" (7.59) we should prefer the latter.",
"I'd like to say that I still have some things left to be done. The first thing that comes to mind (probably due to my native tongue, Hebrew): > What is left to do, is to clean up the mess. But it sounds bad, and I'm sure it's incorrect. The following sounds a bit better to me (although I feel it's probably wrong): > * What's left, is to clean up the mess. > * What remains to be done, is to clean up the mess. > Are any of the above correct? Is there a better way to say it?",
"What are the differences between the following and when do we use them? 1. There is still **work to be done**. 2. The **work has to be done**. 3. The **work is to be done**.",
"I couldn't come up with a short title, but the upside is that there is not much needed to be said in the body of the question! * * * For @dmr (and others), it mixes “let's cross that bridge when we come to it” and “burn one's bridges”."
] |
149920
|
Can "since" and "for" be used interchangeably?
|
[
151192,
11433,
139627,
83958,
1358
] |
[
"`since` is used to refer to a point of time in the past and `for` is used with time interval. However I've come across this phrase \"I haven't seen you since ages\". Is it correct usage of `since` since `ages` denotes an interval of time?",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > When are \"because\", \"since\",\"for\" and \"as\" interchangeable? A few years ago, I was told that \"since\" should only be used to designate a time period. For example: > Since 2 o'clock, I've been waiting for you. However, since creeps into the place of \"because\" quite often. > Since I don't have the time, I won't be joining you. This second example sounds slightly slangy to me now that I've been avoiding using \"since\" in this way for the past few years, but is \"since\" really a synonym of \"because\"?",
"I have a sentence like this: > Since I graduated, I have been working for xyz in abc. **Since can mean:** 1. in the intervening period between (the time mentioned) and the time under consideration, typically the present. 2. for the reason that: because. * * * As both fit, the sentence is a little ambiguous in my opinion. I want it to mean the first (time duration). How do I make sure it does that? \" _Since the time I..._ \" sounds valid to me, but is there a better way to put it?",
"As per English grammar, ' _Since_ ' is used to show the time period in the past from which the event is happening. So, is the sentence given below correct? > \" _Since more than six months, I have been directly assisting Steve as a > Project Manager_ \"",
"> When you returned, I had been at home since 10 minutes. > > When you returned, I had been at home from 5 minutes. In such sentences, is it correct to use _since_ or _from_? When _since_ is used?"
] |
149922
|
How do definitions of words imbue meaning?
|
[
33127,
140232,
20542,
29142,
17302
] |
[
"They seem to be used interchangeably, yet somehow, I feel there is a difference. Are there situations when one would use \"definition\" above \"meaning\", or \"meaning\" instead of \"definition\"? For example: > He gave the definition/meaning of the word \"blow\". as well as > The dictionary gave definitions/meanings of all words starting with 'o'. In the second example, why does \"definition\" sound more correct to me? Is there a kind of distinction when to use one or the other?",
"Is there a one-to-one relationship between word and meaning?",
"As the title suggests, I'm looking for a verb whose definition is \"to give/assign meaning to\", \"to define a function of\", \"to invent a use/meaning for\" or something close. This might be a little vague, but I hope I can at least get some guesses or stabs at it. On a similar note, are there web searches that allow for finding words given their meanings?",
"How could one put, in a single word, language that has multiple meanings at once?",
"There seems to be some ambiguity between the _connotation_ and _definition_ of a word / word group / phrase. The dictionary entry seems to be that a _definition_ is more of a primary description of a word whereas _connotation_ seems to be more of an alternative meaning or implication. Further, despite the dictionary entry, I feel like I hear them used synonymously both on this site and in \"real life.\" So, long question short, what constitutes a _definition_ and what constitutes a _connotation_?"
] |
60905
|
How do I pluralize Italian foods, like pasta noodles (spaghetti, macaroni)?
|
[
170,
59927,
182270,
160990,
166758
] |
[
"In W. Somerset Maugham's _The Moon and Sixpence_ , there is a line about Dirk Stroeve which goes _His spaghetti were …_. Spaghetti is plural in Italian, but is this ever a normal usage in English? Spaghetti seems to be entrenched as an uncountable (mass) noun these days.",
"Is \"rice\", for example only, considered an irregular plural?",
"For example, they pronounce \"ricotta\" as \"rih-gaht\", \"manicotti\" as \"mani- gaht\", and \"prosciutto\" as \"pro-shoot\". I googled this, and according to this post from Chow.com, this is a common thing around New York and New Jersey, particularly in Italian-American restaurants. Is this a cultural thing, or something related to the history of how the English language adopted these words, or what?",
"Spaghetti, traditionally, an Italian crop is now being widely grown in Britain. Can anyone say what the harvest should be called, perhaps based on the Italian.",
"If we had two uncountable nouns with and , would we use a singular or plural form? How much flour and butter is/are needed to make a pizza ?"
] |
396
|
What are the differences between "assume", "presume" and "suppose"
|
[
19927,
167309,
62346,
40088,
170560
] |
[
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > \"Assume\", \"presume\", \"suppose\" I would like to know the usage of assume versus presume. It seems to me, that both of them tend to depict the same meaning. So where exactly lies the difference in their usage?",
"Imagine you are working on a formal research paper (several authors). At the time of making an asumption, what would be more correct: > * Let us suppose that... > * Let's suppose/assume that... > The latter sounds better and more natural to me, but I want to make sure.",
"What is the difference between _supposedly_ and _supposably_? Both are real words but seem to have confusingly similar definitions. > **Supposably** : Capable of being supposed : conceivable > > **Supposedly** : According to what is generally assumed or believed",
"I am not a native speaker, and I'm having a hard time consciously understanding the difference between \"allegedly\", \"presumably\" and \"supposedly\" (There are many others!). From what I've heard: \"allegedly\" is used when someone in particular made an allegation (does that include oneself?), \"presumably\" is used when there is a great level of uncertainty and \"supposedly\" is for when you are making assumptions that are not based on anything in particular. Can someone explain the proper differences to me as if I'm 5 years old?",
"I was told the following: > A presumption is something you think is true before you know any facts about > the matter. > An assumption is something you think is true when you miss information, but > you think you have it. > The difference can be subtle. When you have certain set ideas about some > things, they are also presumptions. > Women can not drive cars is a presumption. > Based on the presumption, I can assume that you can not drive, because you > are a woman. Is this right, or is there more to it?"
] |
93137
|
When do you use 'monies' in plural?
|
[
147689,
16350,
121181,
129379,
65366
] |
[
"Is anyone aware of a list of plural names of currencies? I don't really care what conventions are used; I just want to avoid using an obviously wrong plural form.",
"Usually when discussing monetary amounts, people will say \"That cost one hundred million dollars\" or \"one hundred million pounds\". But I have also seen it written as \"that cost one hundred millions sterling\". Former UK PM Gordon Brown also used to say millions not million when giving his budget updates. Are there rules for this usage, or is it just a question of putting the plural in the right place?",
"I'm always uncertain what form the following words should be used. In normal situations, they seem always in plural form but when singular forms can be used (or never be used)? > Corporate earnings > > Company financials, financials sectors > > savings account versus checking account (why not checkings account?) Maybe someone can point out a list of these words mostly in their plural form and rules of using them? Thanks",
"What is the correct grammar when saying cent or cents? Do you use plural when you are referring to more than 1. For example do you say I have Five Hundred Dollars and 36 cents in the bank or Five Hundred Dollars and 36 \"cent\".",
"How would the meaning in the following phrase change if \"monies\" is replaced with \"money\"? > universities would be diverted from basic research by the lure of new > development **monies** from “the marketplace,”"
] |
143990
|
by/until which one and why?
|
[
77147,
164849,
64106,
147363,
6989
] |
[
"The OED's definition of the word 'until' lists the following as its etymology: > Middle English: from Old Norse und 'as far as' + till (the sense thus > _duplicated_ ) Etymonline similarly states: > c.1200, from O.N. _und_ \"as far as, _up to_ \" (related to O.E. end; see end) > + till \"until, _up to_ \". Looking at the two entries, it seems that until is made up of two roots which mean the same thing, rendering the word something of a tautology (' _up to up to_ '). Or does it? Etymonline also states that it is related to the word _end_ which would effectively make the etymology of _until_ mean, ' _up to the end_ '. This makes some sort of sense. The OED (online), however, does not list _until_ as being related to _end_. Moreover, Etymonline does not mention _und_ in its entry for _end_ either, which makes things a little confusing. So, is _until_ something of a tautology? If so, is it unique in this aspect?",
"I've always wondered this: surely an abbreviation of _until_ should abbreviate the word, without subsequently needing to double the last letter? Are there any reasons for this?",
"I speak German and I'd usually translate \"bis\" into \"until\". However, it occurred to me that the word \"until\" is almost always used in a temporal context. Or at least much more often than the German \"bis\", which would be used both in the phrase \"from here _to_ there/von da _bis_ dort\" and \"from now _until_ then/von jetzt _bis_ dann\". As far as I can remember, most of the time I read it, _until_ seems to denote a date of something to happen. Is the word _until_ thought of as belonging to a temporal context, as opposed to an abstract boundary?",
"Would anyone kindly and readily explain to me the differences between the following? _Until now_ _So far_ In fact, I even can not provide any context, because I really do not understand them. Thanks in advance.",
"What is the difference between _till_ and _until_? When to use _till_ or _until_? Please explain with examples."
] |
180338
|
Is it correct to say someone "does not so much do something as do something else"
|
[
180339,
170296,
36892,
48789,
1498
] |
[
"Are we grammatically allowed to say that sb/sth do not so much do sth as (they) do sth: Daniel does not so much study as he talks to his friend/ She did not tell off his boyfriend as felt sorry for him.",
"Is there a single word or phrase that describes a person who: 1. Does something that is _not important_ or is unnecessary AND 2. Does not do something that is _important_ or necessary? I would appreciate it if the word can be slotted into the following gap: > Ali is a ____ person. He doesn't always get his priorities right. He always > does things that are not important and forgets to do things that are > important. Thank you very much.",
"> How does he does that? > > How does he do that? Which one is correct? This type of sentence sounds a little odd because of two _do/does_ in a single statement. Is there an alternative which has the same meaning?",
"How do you say that a person does not pay attention to ergonomics (like at a computer) in a concise way? Options I've come up with include: * He does not use ergonomics. * He does not follow ergonomics. * He is not ergonomic. Any better ideas?",
"Are there any sentences where _do that_ is preferable over _do it_? > The New Oxford American Dictionary reports when a phrase is informal; it > doesn't do that in this case. > The New Oxford American Dictionary reports when a phrase is informal; it > doesn't do it in this case."
] |
21935
|
Is "grammar nazi" politically correct?
|
[
81703,
73948,
80162,
192177,
5458
] |
[
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Is \"grammar nazi\" politically correct? Or is it comical? What about terms like \"grammar nazi\", \"food nazi\", \"safety nazi\", \"breastfeeding nazi\", \"safety nazi\", \"feminazi\", \"islamofacist\" etc. Are these offensive or comical? Does it make a difference if we are speaking specifically about people that disrespect individual freedom? --for example, if rather than characterizing \"islam\" or \"feminists\" as tyrants, we say \"islamofacists\" or \"feminazis\" are tyrants? Here the purpose is not to offend but to emphasize that we're not against **all islamic** people or **all** feminists but only those that are not libertarian. What would be a good term for that?",
"Should _Nazi_ be capitalized in the phrase _grammar nazi/Nazi_? While I can't think of any other examples right now, I would like to extend the question to ask if the words which are historically nouns should be capitalized in similar phrases.",
"What does Nazi have anything in common with those obsessively correcting other people's grammar? What is the origin of this expression?",
"Is there a specific word for the type of person who always corrects misspellings? Something exact, not something like perfectionist, grammar nazi or anal. Something that describes the person, like the word ultracrepidarian does for a person who gives advice outside their knowledge.",
"Whenever I hear statements like \"It was a great deal for he and I\" and \"Call Karen and I in the morning,\" I die a little. Such solecisms, as Twain said in another context (Cooper's prose style), \"grate upon the fastidious ear.\" Moreover, I know that these things will likely become accepted usage in time, if that hasn't already happened. As someone who tries to be careful with words and speech, I feel almost a moral obligation to hold the line against this kind of decline. I'm not a word snob; I say \"ain't\" when it works for emphasis, and so on. I've tried suggesting the grammatical alternative to the above constructions, but even when I phrase my suggestion in the gentlest possible way it never works well and I almost always wind up feeling pedantic and priggish at best, and at worst I feel I've alienated someone. What's the general opinion here? Is it best to just let these things slide or to take up the fight? In sum, is there a good way to promote good grammar, or at least protect it from the most egregious violations?"
] |
194317
|
'Make' vs. 'makes' in "this makes" and "this does make"?
|
[
107049,
128742,
156030,
90278,
71918
] |
[
"I have trouble choosing between _make_ and _do_ in a sentence. Could someone please explain them to me?",
"I have come across both _make_ and _do_ with the noun _experiment_.Are there any differences in meaning? Thanks.",
"When we build software using Make or a similar build tool, is it correct to say \"We did a make\"? Also, do we need to say \"The files were built using make\" instead of \"The files were made\"?",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Why is “xxxx doth not a yyyy make” considered valid English? > Proper usage/origin of the generic phrase “[action phrase] does not a > [noun] make” > “Two films don't a revolution make”: is this sentence grammatically > correct? > “Dazzling images do not a shining nation make” > Is employing hyperbaton correct in English? The following sentence is from the book \"Practical Common Lisp\": > A single record, however, does not a database make. It sounds somewhat strange because of the word order: Subject-aux.verb-object- verb. Instead of this order I would expect the following: > A single record, however, does not make a database. Is this a common practice? Does the first order alter meaning in any way? Maybe it mimics some other text or a way of talking?",
"Which of the following is correct? > Things such as this make me happy. > > Things such as this makes me happy. Is the subject \"things\" or \"this\"?"
] |
102364
|
Default gender for pronouns
|
[
28628,
19503,
122529,
148334,
148453
] |
[
"There have been attempts to use other contemporary English pronouns to stand- in as a true gender-neutral pronoun, given that English is lacking a commonly- accepted one for adult humans (non-humans and even babies can be referred to as 'it'). Examples of this include 'he/she', 'one', and the singular 'they'. However, these can be confused with the contemporary pronouns which have been used as stand-ins, and they can at times be awkward to use. Other pronouns exist which can avoid this problem, such as ' **thon** ', which seems to have historically picked up the most momentum, and was in the dictionary as recently as 1964! Which are the most commonly used gender-neutral pronouns in English around the world today, to be used when referring back to an adult human, that aren't the same as other contemporary pronouns?",
"Pronouns can be so confusing. Is this appropriate or is there a preferred structure other than this?",
"Is it now considered appropriate to use plural pronouns to replace singular nouns in order to avoid gender issues?",
"When it is needed to refer both male and female with pronoun,we usually use masculine pronoun 'HE'.But nowadays many people claim that it is a form of gender discrimination.So if in this type of case ,I use 's/he'.But can it be called grammatically correct?",
"For example, I want to refer to someone on the internet, but I don't know this person's gender. Which personal-pronoun do I use? (as article I mean he, she, it, etc)"
] |
80599
|
"s" vs. "z" in BE vs. AE
|
[
84103,
106040,
150964,
3666,
38232
] |
[
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > \"s\" vs. \"z\" in BE vs. AE > Are the endings “-zation” and “-sation” interchangeable? I was asked on a translation assignment to use UK English but with -ize spelling. What is the more widely used spelling in use in UK English? What is the more correct form of using it: -ize or -ise? You might like this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences#-ise.2C_- ize_.28-isation.2C_-ization.29",
"I'm familiar with -se -ses -sation etc endings being British and the American equivalent being with z rather than s. However, I stumbled on the word \"improvisation\", which apparently can't be spelled with a z. How can you know which words are spelled using 's' in American English?",
"Is \"absolutely\" as used colloquially in \"You're absolutely wrong/right!\" or \"Absolutely!\" more typical to AE than BE? Parallelwise, is \"definitely\" the preferred term in BE to express such agreements?",
"In British English vocabulary, most words with 'z's are replaced with 's's. For example, capitalization to capitalisation. Industrialization to industrialisation. But for some words, like citizen, for example, it has a z instead of a s. Why is this like this?",
"Is it correct to use 'z' or 's' in the word \"seriali **z** ed\" when writing correct English? (I.e. not a variant of English like \"American\") Or should it be spelled like \"seriali **s** ed\" ?"
] |
15700
|
What is the word that denotes the words preceding these nouns?
|
[
24680,
146910,
90354,
57768,
161662
] |
[
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > What is the word that denotes the words preceding these nouns? Would it still be a noun, an adjective, or something else? **Example:** > A **stone** fortress",
"Words like thenceforth, aforementioned, notwithstanding, wherein, therein, thereof, whereof, henceforward, aforesaid, therefore, thereto... And also, under what classification do these words go?",
"What is the the hypernym for _before_ and _after_? What sort of prepositions are they?",
"These words all have something in common: heretofore, forthwith, notwithstanding, therefore, etc... what are these kinds of words called? And where can I find a list of them?",
"Is there a term for the sort of words that sometimes precede dialogue or quotations, like _say_ , _ask_ , _write_ , _answer_ , _cry,_ and _reply_?"
] |
9752
|
Capitalization for a bullet list
|
[
42907,
15131,
55048,
5241,
174894
] |
[
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Capitalization for a bullet list When using a list, like this: * first item * second item * third item should the first word in each item be capitalized? I.e., is this better style: * First item * Second item * Third item Does this depend on the content of the list, i.e. whether I use just keywords like in my example, or whole sentences?",
"> **Possible Duplicates:** > Question about Capitalization for a Bullet List > Periods for bullet point items Should each item be in uppercase or not? I've seen both forms: > Yada, yada, yada, such as: > > * standardized bananas > * Standardized bananas > And if each bulleted item is a complete sentence, should it be punctuated? And even if it isn't, should it have a comma?",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Capitalization for a bullet list Let's say I have a bullet point list e.g: * Point 1. * Point 2. * Point 3. Notice I have put a capital letter for the starting letter of every bullet point and a full stop at the end. Is this the correct way to do it? If not, what is the correct way to do it? Do I put a capital letter and no full stop, or, the other way around, a full stop and no capital letter? Alternatively, do I not put a capital letter or a full stop? Is it only necessary to put a capital letter on the first bullet point and full stop on the last bullet point? For reference, I'm from the UK so British-English grammar would apply.",
"In a 'bulleted' list should items that happen to be complete sentences end with a period?",
"I would typically write a bullet point list that is all part of one sentence with: * no capitals * no punctuation at the end of each point * a grammatical structure that is consistent * a full-stop after the terminal point. However, I've come across situations where the list is an 'or' list, instead of an 'and' one. For example, when writing such a list, I would not use: * capitals * end-line punctuation [OR] * incorrect grammatical structure. How and where should I structure it so the 'or' is apparent? The 'and' is usually implied in such a list, but without punctuation at the end of each line, the 'or' can get lost. Thoughts? Thanks!"
] |
30336
|
"It is me" vs. "It is I"?
|
[
43413,
99897,
10643,
194155,
137199
] |
[
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Which one is correct to say: \"It's me\" or \"It's I\"? Which of these is correct? \" _It's me_ \" or \" _It's I_ \". I hear these both colloquially but need the grammatically correct statement if one is preferable over the other.",
"Referring to a picture, the question is \"Who is he?\" The answer I got back was \"he is me\". Is that correct? Shouldn't it be \"It is me\"?",
"I was taught at school that the following expression is not grammatically correct: > Who is there? It's me. The correct one is: > Who is there? It's I. Can you let me know which one is accurate? Here is a good explanation about both forms.",
"> **It is me** whom she loves > or > **It is I** whom she loves Because I know that \"It is I\" is grammatically correct.",
"Which is correct, \"such as myself\" or \"such as me\"?"
] |
143433
|
How can I improve my comprehension of rapid dialogue?
|
[
142299,
165959,
95138,
141431,
164538
] |
[
"From the beginning I had some problems listening to foreign accents. Like when someone from my native country (India) speaks English I understand it at once, but if someone from a foreign country especially US speaks English, I have to make them repeat the sentence several times to understand it. Also, I have noticed I have more problems when watching movies, talking than when watching lectures. I am having lot of trouble these days because of it. So how can I solve this problem? Also, is there is particular term for this state? Note: I have watched 100's of movies but still there is very less improvment.",
"Suppose I have problems * listening and understanding English esp. of non-Indian accent * speaking English fluently How should I tell someone about it using very few words instead of typing a long sentence?",
"I'm having a job interview in _a month_. My writing, reading and listening are good. However, I have weak conversation skills. I need an efficient resource to improve my speaking. Any resource is acceptable (website, audio-book, online course, community, tests) and It'd be great if you had a successful experience with it yourself. I don't need to learn English, just the everyday conversation with fluency. The slightest improvement is good enough for me. I don't know if this is an acceptable question here but any help is appreciated.",
"Where (what Internet site) can I get a good, continuous conversation in real time from? I need some sort of resource where I have the possibility of just sitting there listening to the conversations of others and optionally being able to answer, but that it isn't like a between just me and somebody else. I feel that I learn too little with English videos and audio. Having Video- Audio subtitles for English-English or English-Native is the best option I have so far. But I really need to get my ears fully used to natural conversation instead of things read from script. Spontaneous conversations are much more confusing to my ears than a very-well-pronounced script.",
"To improve my vocabulary, I read a lot of novels and learned more than few new words. Though I am able to comprehend the word when I see them, I am unable to _use (or recall) them_ when needed. What should I do to actually improve my English."
] |
35214
|
Use of ‘or’ when it means ‘and’ in negatives
|
[
89788,
103812,
159166,
40079,
87903
] |
[
"In the following sentence, the “and/or” seems odd in a case of total negation: Evidently some people are not able to interpret and/or analyze at that deeper level. Because the sentence says “are not able to”, total negation would seem to unambiguously require “or”. In a positive sentence, “and/or” is sometimes used to mean inclusive OR (although perhaps OR alone could suffice), but is there any possibility of ambiguity in total negation? In other words Not X and not Y = Not X or Y Would “not X and/or Y” ever be required? Or does such use merely reflect the increasing proliferation of superfluous “and/or”?",
"In a positive sentence, \"either . . .or\" is sometimes used to express an exclusive disjunction. However, what happens when “either” is used in negation, as in sentence two below? Is the meaning the same as in sentence one? > 1: John is not in the kitchen or the bedroom. This sentence indicates that John is not in the kitchen and John is not in the bedroom. > 2: John is not in either the kitchen or the bedroom. This sentence indicates what?",
"The following sentence came up in a recent conversation with a Polish national: > I don't have a wife and any children. I corrected his sentence to: > I don't have a wife or any children. He immediately pointed out that \"or\" usually means only one of the statements need be true, and that he wanted to convey that both statements were true, i.e.: > I don't have a wife and I don't have any children. What is the rationale for using \"or\" in this case? [As a side question, should we be using \"nor\" in this case? I'm assuming not, though again I'm unable to explain why.]",
"I came across the following sentence in some instructions and it almost seems like a double negative to me, yet there are not two negations in it that I see, so I am wondering how to explain what intuitively feels wrong about this sentence: > All of these are not applicable to both events or people. To me, this is more clearly written as: > Some of these are only applicable to either events or people.",
"In the following, “does not cause” seems to be clear negation, and total negation requires “or”, therefore: > The widget does not cause deformities or cracks However, it is unclear to me whether the following types of words and phrases are strong enough in negation to enable an “or” to clearly express total negation. For example: > The widget leaves a product: > > _without_ X or Y > _free from_ X or Y > _lacking_ X or Y Questions: 1. Would, for example, “. . . without X or Y” above unambiguously mean “having no X and having no Y”? 2. What is the term for this class of words and phrases and are there other common members of the group?"
] |
87900
|
"going to" vs "will"
|
[
101480,
2035,
445,
64923,
102581
] |
[
"What is the difference between the two verb forms: \"can\" and \"be going to\".",
"Does _going to_ only express an intention and _will_ some kind of prediction that doesn't necessarily happen? EDIT: Thanks for all your answers. I asked this question because I always fail to complete exercises like this from an ESL book: * We will fly to Venice in June. (Correct: But, how can I be sure that I'm not sick in June?) * Philipp will be 15 next Wednesday (Correct: Since his birthday is a fixed day, this will happen). * They will get a new computer. (Wrong: Why?, If I need a new computer, I simply get a new one) * In 2020 people are going to buy more hybrid cars. (Wrong, Why? Who can tell for sure).",
"Is there any difference in the meaning when we use _'ll_ or _will_? For example, > * I will go to university tomorrow. > > * I'll go to university tomorrow. > >",
"I'm from Brasil and here we study the differences of using \"Will\" and \"Going to\" to talk about the future. But it is usually very confusing because we have a different kind of conjugation that uses no auxiliary verb, and the English Grammar has many explanations about the context we must use one or another. So my question is. What are the real differences and needs of the colloquial usage of \"Will\" and \"Going to\"?",
"Is the following usage of \"will\" grammatical? > Usually on Saturday, I will go to the store."
] |
95796
|
How to pronounce al- at the start of a word?
|
[
33026,
66608,
52683,
68132,
100575
] |
[
"I'm confused about how to pronounce _-al_ at the end of the word. These words end with _-al_ and are pronounced without a \"ə\" sound. * dig·it·al _/ˈdijitl/_ * men·tal _/ˈmentl/_ These words also end with _-al_ , but are pronounced with a \"ə\" sound. * lo·cal _/ˈlōkəl/_ * glob·al _/ˈglōbəl/_ * herb·al _/ˈ(h)ərbəl/_ Why does the first group not have the \"ə\" sound, but the second group does?",
"_-al_ can be added to a word to form a an adjective or a noun. If the adjective-forming suffix is added after a base word that ends in [l] then it can change to an _-ar_ suffix (e.g. _polar_ ). But are there any examples of this, or another sound change, with the noun- forming suffix?",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Which words may start with \"al-\"? The word _alright_ comes from _\"all right\"_. Where did the second _l_ go? Similarly: _altogether_ from _\"all together\"_.",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Pronunciation of \"'ll\" Trying to understand completely how \" _'ll_ \" should be pronounced in spoken English, I uploaded a part of AJ Hoge lesson. You can listen to it here. And the question concerns me a lot is: Does AJ exactly tell about the \"dark L\" and use it (the \"dark L\") as well in this lesson and especially in the end of one? And should it be pronounced as \"/əl/\"?",
"Can I use _Al_ as a reduction of the name _Alexander_? Is this reduction clear to native English speakers?"
] |
43859
|
"Needs to be X" vs "Needs X"
|
[
78482,
124656,
60475,
138029,
45583
] |
[
"I want to be able to say something like: > There either needs to be X to do either Xa or Xb or there needs to be Y. ( **edit** : since from some answers it doesn't seen to be clear, I mean that that Xa and Xb would only happen under X, not Y. ) Is there any way I can make it less cumbersome or more clear which \"either\" the \"or\"s are associated with? **edit2** I think the word \"do\" is confusing things. Another way of phrasing it would be: > There either needs to be X which would either [have behaviour] Xa or > [behaviour] Xb or there needs to be Y.",
"Is it _need_ or _needs_? > * Highway 68 and Robinson Canyon Road need your support. > * Highway 68 and Robinson Canyon Road needs your support. > I voted _needs_.",
"I just revised a program comment from: > This needs to come out eventually. to > Does this need to come out? In both cases \"this\" is functioning as a third-person, singular, demonstrative pronoun (granted, out of context and, thus, without antecedent). In this case, \"this\" refers to a set program statements. My question, why does \"needs\" become \"need\" in the second sentence?",
"Do the following two sentences mean the same thing? If so, which is more commonly used? > 1. My car needs repairing. > 2. My car needs to be repaired. >",
"Is this sentence right? > Xs need to be at least as much as skilled as Ys. If not what should it be?"
] |
63028
|
What expression would be the opposite of "Deal Breaker"?
|
[
185051,
55018,
70835,
43878,
122319
] |
[
"In one of my short stories, I have to compare a guy who is a heartbreaker to someone who is exactly the opposite of him. Instead of describing the opposite character of the guy, I am looking for a word that I can give to this non- hearbreaker character.",
"This may be as simple as a synonym for _hallmark_ , but with a negative connotation. An example: A security consultant publishes an article on security practices that is so egregiously erroneous that it reflects poorly on 3rd parties who cite the article or author. The poor reflection is what I'm trying to describe. _Black mark_ is close, but I'd like to find a word taking a stronger stance - one could have multiple black marks that are overcome by strong qualities, while _this word/phrase_ is effectively the end of the discussion. Maybe _deal breaker_ , but less vernacular.",
"If not, what word do I mean to use when I use \"show-stopper\" negatively? It seems that in high-tech culture a show-stopper is a development problem that prevents forward progress, or an unacceptable outcome. (At least in a non-english-speaking high-tech culture.) My wife called me on it this morning when I used show-stopper in this context. When I stopped to think about it, I couldn't think of the word or phrase I should be using that I seem to have confused with show-stopper.",
"Is there a good phrase or word that means the opposite of \"coexist\"? The phrase I am using it in is similar to \"these two ideas need not (be) ___ _.\"",
"I was just wondering if there a single English word or term that means \"trust breaker\" (that is, a person who breaks a trust)."
] |
6776
|
Where did prefix exceptions originate?
|
[
17672,
146809,
195349,
12226,
53985
] |
[
"It seems that _exemption_ and _exception_ have the same meaning. However, they seem to be used differently. When should we use one and not the other?",
"Looking at a Prefix/Suffix chart confirms that the prefix \"in-\" is _supposed_ to mean 'not' or 'without', just wondering why the exception only occurs for certain words. I don't know if it's an origin thing, as infamous originated in Latin, but so did insufficient, and I can't find a concrete orgin of invaluable.",
"I always thought it was a prefix, but then doing a google search confused me. I need to explain why a word like \"omnipotent\" is often mispronounced. If \"omni\" is a root word, it would be easy to conclude... If it is a prefix, i guess it's an exception to the rule?",
"\"Prepend\" is seeing a fair amount of use, both in programmer jargon and elsewhere. Its use seems to come from a desire to create a word that is a direct parallel to \"append.\" However, such a word already exists in \"prefix.\" They seem to need to be used differently: > To dial an outside line, prepend a 9 to your number. versus > To dial an outside line, prefix the number with 9. Are there any cases where \"prefix\" cannot be used in place of \"prepend\"? Any other insights into this word and its origins?",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Where did prefix exceptions originate? * efficient * accessible * consistent * articulate * considerate * conceivable * convenient * inefficient * inaccessible * inconsistent * inarticulate * inconsiderate * inconceivable * inconvenient However _valuable_ to _invaluable_ sits alone, like a trap, not merely an inconvenient irregularity but seemingly almost inconceivable that it's not a deliberate inconsistency, causing an inconsiderate degree of inaccessibility for the inarticulate. So English is even more inefficient and inaccessible than it would otherwise be. Or is there a logical reason why _invaluable_ doesn't mean _unvaluable_?"
] |
182435
|
Term for someone who lost something
|
[
57424,
28663,
156501,
56246,
52331
] |
[
"Is there a specific term for the loss of something by theft, or the non- specific suffering of theft? I am looking for something like \"lose\" but more specific.",
"Can anybody give me a single word for a person who suffers great loss as in the context below. The word loser is not appropriate: > Mike lost everything after his failed business venture. > > Phillip suffered great loss due to the flood.",
"Does a word exist for a person who has lost faith? I am looking for a single word that represents a person who lost faith, e.g. in religion, humanity, himself. The more general, the better.",
"> Think > Thinker > Draw > Drawer Can we call a person who loses thing a _loser_? Of course, I do not mean that they are not successful or failed but what should I call them?",
"When we travel around, some people get lost much more easily than others, since they cannot remember directions correctly. Is there any specific word for these kind of people?"
] |
124115
|
Why does "lemon" mean "inferior"?
|
[
53509,
32736,
40816,
169092,
40791
] |
[
"Related questions: * What does \"lemon on\" mean in this context? * What is the origin of the phrase \"when life gives you lemons, make lemonade\"? In the above questions, \"lemon\" is used to mean a faulty or defective item. A typical use might be to describe a second hand car that, once bought, turns out to have serious faults, as a \"lemon\". Why is the delicious fruit associated with faulty goods? Etymonline says: * perhaps via criminal slang sense of \"a person who is a loser, a simpleton,\" which is perhaps from the notion of someone a sharper can \"suck the juice out of.\" * A pool hall hustle was called a lemon game (1908); * while to hand someone a lemon was British slang (1906) for \"to pass off a sub-standard article as a good one.\" * Or it simply may be a metaphor for something which \"leaves a bad taste in one's mouth.\" But none of these rings true for me, and words like \"may be\" and \"perhaps\" show a lack of confidence. Can anyone shed more light?",
"I was standing around like a lemon the other day (meaning, standing doing nothing when I ought to have been a little more active) when it occurred to me to wonder, why does one _stand there like a lemon_? Does anyone know the origin of this term? I know that when you buy a poor-quality car it is said to be a _lemon_. Why does this particular fruit have such negative connotations?",
"What does the phrase _lemon on_ mean in this context? Is it an idiom? What is its correct usage? Excerpt from where I read this phrase: > ... Hold on, for this deal, one that does not exist anywhere outside a very > fertile imagination, could actually be a **lemon on** at least five counts. > These are the lures that should alert you and beg a recheck before you book > the deal. Source: How to Avoid Common Travel Traps",
"Why are soft drinks, such as lemonade etc., called **soft** drinks?",
"Lemonade is a fizzy drink, strongly carbonated. It comes in two varieties, white (which is actually colourless) and red. I have never known anyone to make it at home. Various things I've picked up in reading suggest that all three of the above sentences are untrue in American English, and the second sentence is untrue anywhere outside of Ireland."
] |
140854
|
"There Is"/"There are" depends on plurality of the first list element or not?
|
[
171703,
193792,
33393,
185448,
166825
] |
[
"I believe it well established that the choice of whether to use \"There is\" or \"There are\" with the phrase \"a lot of\" depends on the following word. For example, you would say: 1. There **is** a lot of wine. 2. There **are** a lot of cars. What is the right form to use for **_a pair of, a bunch of, a group of,_** etc.?",
"Which of the following is correct? Does the is/are depend on the total number of things in the list, or only on the thing immediately following the is/are? > There is 1 apple and 1 orange available. > There are 1 apple and 1 orange available. Also, would it make a difference if one would put the is/are near the end, like so? > 1 apple and 1 orange is available. > 1 apple and 1 orange are available.",
"Cambridge \"Advanced Grammar in Use\" provides following rule in Unit 95C: > If the noun phrase consists of two or more nouns in a list, we use a > singular verb if the first noun is singular or uncountable, and a plural > verb if the first noun is plural: > > * When I opened the fridge there was only a bottle of milk, some eggs, and > butter. > * When I opened the fridge there were only some eggs, a bottle of milk, > and butter. > But Grammar Girl in episode 278 Oddness When You Start a Sentence with \"There Is\" gives completely different explanation: > A listener reader named Joe wants to know whether he should say, \"There is a > couch and a coffee table in the room,\" or \"There are a couch and a coffee > table in the room.\" > > ... > > It's a compound subject since it has two nouns connected by the word \"and,\" > which makes it plural ... Now that you know the subject is \"a couch and a > coffee table\" and that it's plural, it's easy to choose the right verb: > \"are.\" I'm somewhat confused by these contradictory rules. Could someone explain what I'm missing here?",
"Examples: > **There's** six seasons, dude. Wouldn't it be: > There're six seasons, dude. We are talking about multiple items; six seasons. If we refer to multiple items, **we should use \"Are\" in most cases, no?** > There's cats everywhere! > > There's vans chasing us! People often use the contraction \"There is\", plural or not. Wrong?",
"Which sounds better? * _There_ **_is_** _water and butter in my fridge._ * _There_ **_are_** _water and butter in my fridge._ I think it should be: **_is_**. But what if we said: * _How much flour and butter_ **_is_** _needed to make a pizza?_ * _How much flour and butter_ **_are_** _needed to make a pizza?_ In that case, I think the plural verb: **_are_** , is the correct choice, which means (I think) there is a contradiction between both sentences."
] |
192576
|
Asking about date
|
[
113573,
162629,
107724,
153232,
120077
] |
[
"A standard date question would be: > What date is it today? But is > What date is today? acceptable?",
"Someone asks \"I want to know about your girl friend. Is that still a thing?\" to his friend. What does he exactly ask about? I don't understand. Please help me understand.",
"I was talking with a friend about an event that was going to happen in the future. He asked me \"What time?\" referring, as I discovered after a while, to the day this event was going to happen. I didn't know that \"time\" could be used instead of \"day\". I thought it could be used instead of \"hour\", or \"minute\", asking **for** the time of the event. But my friend meant to ask me the day. Is this common usage? If two people are talking about something in the future, can one ask the other \"what time\", meaning the day of the event, not the actual time?",
"How do I ask if a person is available and to inform me, in a polite way?",
"I would like to know if it is grammatically correct to ask the question, \"Is it today that you are going to town?\" My concern is specifically the \"Is it\" part."
] |
170911
|
could have done vs could do
|
[
30629,
149571,
50715,
192995,
180273
] |
[
"I am not referring to _could_ as a past tense of _can_ What is the difference between the following sentences? > You should do it. > You could do it.",
"In the sentence \"Who would have thought he _could_ do it!\" does \"could do\" mean \" _was able to_ do\" or \" _would be able to_ do\"?",
"What is the difference in meaning in these two sentences? > Is there anything else we _will_ have done? > Is there anything else we _could_ have done?",
"\"Little did he realize that ...\" What is the structure of this sentence with the past tense of the auxiliary verb 'do' in the beginning ? 2) \"Otherwise, could we...\" or \"Otherwise, we could...\" ?",
"Please consider: > Jack could get to work earlier. Is this use of _could_ in the dynamic modality about Jack’s inherent ability, or is this the _could_ of epistemic modality about the speaker’s knowledge about whether it’s possible for Jack to get to work earlier?"
] |
5057
|
Difference between 'If ..was' and 'If ...were'
|
[
18275,
660,
68587,
30090,
192802
] |
[
"Is it correct to use \"were\" or \"was\" in the following? > whenever either of two somethings [were/was] applied [...]",
"My question of whether to use _if I was_ or _if I were._ Which one is incorrect or nonstandard?",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > \"If I was\" or \"If I were\". Which is more common, and which is correct? I am unsure whether to use \"were\" or \"was\" in the following instances Instance 1: > If I **were** you or > If I **was** you Instance 2: > If I **were** her or > If I **was** her Instance 3: > If I **were** a monkey or > If I **was** a monkey Does it differ between forms of English (British, American)?",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > \"If I was\" or \"If I were\". Which is more common, and which is correct? \" If it were possible, and it were possible to do...\" that sounds wrong, shouldn't we have **was** after it?",
"Now this is confusing.. I wanna know the difference between the following sentences: -If you were there, I would see you. -If you had been there, I would have seen you. What's the difference between 'Was' and 'Had been'? And could we use 'Was' instead of 'Had been' in the 2nd sentence? Thanks in advance!"
] |
38566
|
What is the practice of pricing goods at numbers such as 3.95, 69.90, 198 called?
|
[
7025,
107238,
146668,
148075,
119585
] |
[
"What is the name for the pricing strategy where the item price is just below a psychologically significant amount? For example $199 instead of $200, $2.95 instead of $3, $49,990 instead of $50,000.",
"I'd like to know the correct way to read dollar amounts after the expression \"priced at.\" If I want to read the sentence > \"This app is priced at $3.99.\" would it typically be read as > \"This app is priced at three dollars and ninety-nine cents?\" I really want to use \"dollars\" and \"cents\" instead of saying something like \"priced at three-ninety-nine.\"",
"I've often been wondering where the phrase in the title comes from - I always picture it as coming from an early television era game show, but more likely it has to do with pricing of telegrams or news paper advertisements? In particular, I'd like to know if there is a more subtle meaning to the numerical value being used; at least, moreso than \"higher value means more sophisticated.\" From memory, I've seen it used (at least) with 0.10$, 2$, 3$, 4$, 5$ and 10$. Which values are commonly used to indicate what? Would a native speaker intuitively spot someone who's just making up numbers (e.g. \"8$ word\")? I've searched ELU and found a few usages, but no discussion about it: Should I use 10 cent words or $2 words? Is \"autodidact\" too obscure to use in a resume? Numbers and units Are these phrases too posh-sounding for conversational English?",
"Imagine the following conversation: B: What's the price? A: It's fifteen each. B: Okay, I'll buy it. A: Too late, now it's twenty each. B: Why? Because I can afford fifteen? A: Exactly. How would you describe A or A's method? A is a scoundrel, his method greedy. Is there a better word for it, or a more precise one? Such a conversation is not new at all. Perhaps some famous writer made use of it in one of his or her novels, and I can take the name of the character who is a seller. I am debating a slightly more complicated bargain strategy than the previous example: B: What's the price? A: It's fifteen each. B: Okay, I'll buy a dozen. A: You can only buy one at this price, the next will be twenty. B: Why? Because I can afford fifteen? A: Exactly. And I'll keep raising the price to test your bottom line. As you can imagine, this strategy, or its variants, are employed by some e-commerce websites. It cannot go without a name, but I am not yet in the industry to know its name, and I didn't find it when I googled it. Since I am not specifically addressing e-commerce, I may as well improvise one for the convenience of debate. **Edit** : in the end I used the term \"Lowball technique\" as suggested by the chosen answer.",
"I am trying to describe the desired formatting for numbers in a given document. For rounded monetary quantities over a million this would be dollar sign, arabic numeral, unit (e.g. 3,000,000 dollars would be written as `$3 million`). Is there a term that describes this format?"
] |
175240
|
A single word for "non-empty" or "not empty"
|
[
123002,
102771,
15406,
114147,
74131
] |
[
"Empty doesn't seem to have a gradable antonym. If something is _not empty_ and _not full_ , then it is **not empty** , but is there a single word expression for this? ## Edit: To make it more evident, I'm looking for something like what _warm_ is on the scale of _cold_ and _hot_.",
"Is there a single word which means \"not empty\"? That is, a word which one might use to describe a field with one or more cows in it, as opposed to an \"empty\" field with none? _Full_ or even _partially-full_ are not appropriate, because the number of animals is indeterminate, and the final count could be a single bull [which are best kept on their own] or fifty cows. Or three sheep. And the field is really only _full_ when there is no more space available. I'd prefer a single word, to go with the single word \"Empty\". Currently I'm using \"has animals\" which I feel is not particularly succinct. _[This is an edit of the original question reproduced below, in an effort to keep it on-topic]_ * * * I'm trying to figure out the names for different states of a set of items, empty or non-empty. What I came up with so far: EmptyAndFetching, EmptyAndReady, HasItemsAndFetching, HasItemsAndReady, Error `HasItems` seems awkward, I would rather use one word than two. How do you call a set that is not empty, i.e. has at least one item, in a common language?",
"I'm looking for a single word that can describe a container object as having the ability to be in a state of emptiness. The first word that springs to mind is \"emptiable\", but that implies an ability to change the state, rather than the possibility of \"empty\" being a state at all. I'm looking for a word that describes that possibility. What do you call something that may or may not be empty? I've been dancing around the word \"void\", but that seems to have the same issues (see \"voidable\").",
"There are some adjectives that are logical binaries, e.g. _empty_ — either the noun is empty or it isn't. Can we apply a superlative degree to such adjectives? E.g. > This is the emptiest these roads will ever be / have ever been.",
"I'm looking for a single word that means \"not yet open\". For example: > Registration Status: (Open|Closed|XXX) \"Closed\", while technically correct, can lead to confusion as it implies (in this case) that registration was open at one point in time. Also, due to length constraints, \"Not yet open\" cannot be used (8 characters or less is preferred)."
] |
44223
|
Verbing, or turning nouns into verbs
|
[
15473,
35100,
23706,
155871,
158702
] |
[
"Is it possible to verb anything other than a noun? Although slightly meta, I noticed that English SE has verbing as a tag, rather than verbing-nouns.",
"When a noun is used as a verb, linguistically, this process is termed as morphological conversion: > Fish (n): This is a fish. > Fish (v): I'm fishing in the river. Why shouldn't we call it syntactic conversion? The word itself didn't change only the grammatical role has been affected? And if an adjective, for example, is converted into a verb by adding a derivational suffix, then it should be called morphological conversion. Am I right?",
"Sometimes I adjective my verbs (as opposed to verbing my nouns), making up a new word in the process: > Friday nights are unwindy nights (unwindy night ~= night for unwinding) If I do this, is there any case for \"dangling\" the y off of the end of the verb like so: > Friday nights are unwind-y nights or is that _more_ confusing?",
"To turn \"pencil\" to \"pencils\" is to pluralise. To turn a verb into it's 'associated' (?) verb is what? Example: \"Lease\" to \"leasing\", \"look\" to \"looking\". Is there a word for this? Or are the two words not closely enough associated?",
"How to convert verbs to nouns, and nouns to adjectives? I was told that if I put -ing to the end of a verb, the verb could become an adjective or a noun. For example: > read-reading > interest-interesting > talk-talking But I also find that not all the nouns related to verbs are formed by adding -ing to it. I am confused about these nouns, like decision and suggestion. Why can one not use deciding, suggesting instead?"
] |
44227
|
What is the word for an unmarried female?
|
[
102273,
50048,
83765,
28821,
62659
] |
[
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > What is the word for an unmarried female? What is the word for an unmarried female? The above closed question is unanswered as _bachelorette_ implies both unmarried and divorced/widowed. _Spinster_ is for old women. _Bachelor_ is a never-married man. Is there no such female equivalent of _bachelor_?",
"Is there a male equivalent of \"damsel\" ? > **damsel (dam·sel)** > _Pronunciation:_ /ˈdamzəl/ > > _noun archaic or literary_ > a young unmarried woman. (from OxfordDictionaries.com)",
"I've been trying to find a word that describes someone that's older than a 'girl' but not yet a 'woman'. It seems the connotation of girl is an immature female that's still growing up. Whereas a woman connotes a female that's starting to settle down in life. Other words such as lady connote delicateness. There are few other words and most of them are derogatory. My curiosity is around the maturation of a female i.e. someone just out of college figuring life out but out of the 'girl' stage.",
"What's an antonym for \"virgin\"? A single word would be preferable.",
"I came across the word 'benedict' recently: > Benedict: A name for a newly married man, esp if formerly a confirmed > bachelor Is there an equivalent feminine noun for a newly married woman? 'Bride' won't do, as we need to refer to woman after the marriage."
] |
123947
|
Title Capitalization Help
|
[
194631,
5007,
14,
21019,
6560
] |
[
"Is it necessary to write all the title in capital letters or is it fine to write only the first word in capital letters and the rest all small?",
"What is the motivation behind capitalizing the first letter of each word except prepositions in news, articles and blog post titles?",
"Are there any concrete rules that say which words (parts of speech) in a title should start with a capital letter? What would be a correct capitalization for the title of this question?",
"It seems quite common on the web to capitalise certain words in a heading, or navigation bar, but not others. Here are some examples: > Visit the Member's Page > > How to Format _(as seen on this very website)_ > > Create a Corporate Themed Website with our Tutorial To me it seems any \"important\" words are capitalised, and words such as _and, of, to, from_ are not. Is that the case? If so, is there a name or term for this behaviour? This is generally only seen in titles of web pages, or headings perhaps, and not something I've seen commonly in the body of a piece of text.",
"Are there any guidelines for when you should capitalize titles/headings or not? Should you always do this in English? I am referring to **A Capitalized Heading** vs **A capitalized heading**"
] |
83631
|
English expression "pear shaped"
|
[
36167,
174832,
80001,
47245,
71706
] |
[
"I said to a person that she is \"chubby\" and, apparently, she took it very seriously. What I meant to say is that she's not skin and bones, she carried more pounds than needed but, precisely because of that, she should be actually more attractive. In Italian I would say that she is \"in carne\" but I don't know its English equivalent. Is there a word for it in English?",
"I have written a story for children in Persian. Somewhere in the story, I have mentioned \"pear\". \"Pear\" In Farsi is _gool-abbi_ , which translates literally as \"blue flower\". I have mentioned that as something that is neither blue nor a flower. Now I am about to translate the book into English and am looking for an exocentric compound in English that a 6- or 7-year-old English-speaking child can understand easily.",
"**Example:** > Miss Beam was all that I had expected middle-aged, authoritative, kindly, > and understanding. Her hair was beginning to turn grey, and _her round > figure_ was likely to be comforting for a homesick child to look upon. Here, I think \"her round figure\" means the \"fullness of her figure\". But how exactly would it be comforting? (Especially when in movies, the bad guardians are mostly represented by big, fat people.)",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Euphemisms to replace \"fat\" In French you could say that a woman is _plus en chair_ , _plus ronde_ , which are not necessarily pejorative. How can I say the same thing in English? > Lindsay Lohan was cuter when she was […].",
"What word would you use to describe a large, short, wide, roundish, fat bottle, the kind used for some wines: _tubby_ or _chubby_? This kind of flask called _growler_ would match my request, but I'd like to learn what adjectives could describe this shape. "
] |
174119
|
Do you need to get "a" -or- "an" European ID
|
[
138856,
153522,
114131,
46230,
109905
] |
[
"It seems like \"A European\" is the correct one but why ? Is this a general rule about Capitalized words?",
"I find it interesting that not only do British and American English speakers both use the noun 'ID card' as a verb in the context of (trying to be in a position of) purchasing age-restricted items, but abbreviate it differently: British speakers: > \"The bartender ID'd me\" American speakers: > \"The bartender carded me\" Which do we prefer? Any other similar examples? Personally I think 'to ID' makes more sense, since although in 'ID card' it's an acronym for 'identity', it easily transforms into 'to ID' -> 'to identify', which makes sense. But then, I'm British! Edit: As @DavidM points out, American speakers say \"I got ID'd\" to mean \"I was [literally] identified\" - in a police line-up for instance. If a Briton says \"I got ID'd\", he more than likely means \"I was asked to show some form of ID\".",
"I am wondering which is the proper way to say that one thing or the other is required. > Only one of passport and national id is required. or > Only one of passport or national id is required.",
"As an American in Europe I often get questions about the British \"have got\" which is hard for me to answer since I have little feeling for what is correct. E.g. someone today asked me: > If someone asks me, \"Have you got a pencil\" and I say, \"Yes, I've got.\" Is > this incorrect? I told him, \"Yes, that is incorrect, you should either say, 'Yes, I have' or 'Yes, I've got a pencil.\" I know, as an American speaker, I would answer, \"Yes, I do\" but in a British context, is my answer above correct?",
"I am confused about the usage of \"the\" before _European, British_. I am able to find situations where \"the\" before European, to denote the people of Europe, and the European army to denote the army of Europe. However, I was equally able to find \"the\" not being used before European when they are denote non-living or emotional things. Like \"European raw materials\". Please advise me on this!"
] |
178471
|
"Did used to" vs. "did use to"
|
[
165627,
128,
16480,
30035,
130027
] |
[
"According to the various grammar books that I have read, the question and negative , with \"used to\" starting with \"did\" has two forms. One for example is \"Did he used to smoke Cigars?\" and the other is \"Did he use to smoke cigars?\". I would just like to know which form is correct and widely used.",
"It is common to hear people say \"used to\" to indicate that they did something in the past but no longer do; for example, \"I used to play basketball.\" How would \"used to,\" used in that context, fit into a sentence diagram? What part of speech is it?",
"What is the correct way to convert \"used to do\" into a question? Since I want to emphasize that the action is not on-going any more, so simple past tense is not a good idea here. Could I say \"do xxx use to do\" or \"did xxx use to do\"? Both sound weird to me. If there is no way to do it. Do you suggest any other alternatives?",
"Which is the correct way of saying the following sentence (if there is a correct version)? * \"I use to be a hitman\" * \"I used to be a hitman\" I've read the 2nd recently in a book, but was sure it should be \"I use to\"",
"Is it proper to say something \"used\" to be a certain way? Not sure how the word used should be used."
] |
76209
|
"Where are you now at?" — grammatically correct?
|
[
18444,
110241,
67145,
146402,
187546
] |
[
"Is this sentence OK? Is the \"now\" at the end of the sentence redundant?",
"Is the use of the redundant \"at\" a regional idiosyncracy? As in \"Where are you at?\" when asking someone their physical location, or progress in a project? It seems to be a Chicago regional saying.",
"What does \"by now\" stand for? Where should I put it within a sentence? starting or finishing? Is it right if I say \"By now, I won't go to Melbourne\"?",
"In sentences like: > What is your name _ now that you have changed it? > > Where do they live _ now that the coal industry has collapsed? > > Why are we still here _ now that the election is over? is any punctuation needed in between the clauses? The only options I can think of: > 1) What is X now that Y? > > 2) What is X, now that Y? > > 3) What is X; now that Y?",
"In most cases 'where' seems to be substituting for a prepositional phrase. As in: - **Where** do you live? / I live **in Brighton**. **Where** does the train stop? / It stops **at Reading and Bristol**. So why is it seemingly okay to say 'Where are you going _to_?' as well as 'Where are you going?'. Is the former actually correct? And if it is correct, is it something to do with asserting the preposition 'to' because the listener may otherwise assume 'in' or 'at' as default? And now I come to think of it why do we say 'Where do you come from?' as opposed to 'Where do you come?'? In this case 'where' is substituting for a noun with no preposition which kind of messes up my theory and my mind at the same time! Please help - I don't know **where** my head is **at**!!!!"
] |
12580
|
Creating a new word
|
[
34889,
137207,
107036,
112805,
124226
] |
[
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Creating a new word > What are the criteria to adopt new words into English? What if I want to use the term _supertibi_ somewhere accompanying _superego_? We have _superego_ in dictionaries all over the world, but _supertibi_ is a new term morphologically based on the same components (super = great, tibi = you, ego = I) and it is not used anywhere. How can we coin new terms? Is there a formulated procedure?",
"Around 1999, a woman told me about this sort of meta-verb (in English) which I found so magical. I've been searching for this word again but can't find it. As an example, I could say \"Look, I attached these three short wooden rods to the bottom of this flat circle of wood. I can place it so that the rods are against the floor and then rest my bottom against the circle of wood, thereby elevating me above the floor. How nice.\" But if instead I say, \"I made a stool,\" I've taken that whole idea and expressed it in one word, and this word carries meaning even beyond the one stool I just made. If there were no such word, stool, this concept of wood-assisted buttocks elevation would never congeal in the same way. What is the word for this thing that happens when a word for something is created or discovered? _Edit:_ I really appreciate all of these awesome words you all have shared. I've been studying the meanings of neologism and reify. And I think what I'm basically looking for is neologistic reification. Does anyone know of a single word synonym for something like neologistic reification?",
"I am writing an article and I am having trouble finding a word for \"to create out of nothing.\" The following are slightly different forms to show you the general 'feel' of the word that I am looking for. \"to obtain without [any] effort\" \"to create without any input\" \"producing something effortlessly or from nothing\" A Latin word for this that I was thinking of is Ex Nihilo but I was hoping for more ideas.",
"Sometimes, when I read essays, I see that writers make up words and by using them, they bring those words into existence. For example: > In her article **_\"Juban America\"_** , Ruth Behar uses the term **\"Juban\"** > , which is just the Jewish-Cuban identity, and though we know this term > doesn't exist, she uses it. We know this word doesn't exist but after using > it, it is brought into existence. Is there a single word to name this strategy or phenomenon?",
"Does _create_ come from the Latin word _creatra_? Is it linguistically correct for a person to use the word 'Create' for other than the meaning of bringing from non-existence into existence, which is only for God? Did this word undergo a natural change over time to the extent that we recognize a new authentic meaning, like 'make' or 'construct'?"
] |
185998
|
Specifying geography with cardinal directions
|
[
80031,
168646,
119883,
120150,
143661
] |
[
"If I want to speak of _North, South, East, West_ in a general sense I could, for example, use the term _cardinal direction_. Which term is appropriate to sum up _horizontal_ and _vertical_ in the same manner?",
"I'm writing a research proposal in which I frequently reference the cardinal and inter-cardinal (ordinal) directions together. Is there some term, no matter the obscurity, that refers to the eight of them? If there are any related words that come to mind that don't quite fit (like one that collectively refers to vaguely \"major\" directions), I would like to hear those as well.",
"I am looking for a word to describe a location (an x,y coordinate) and an orientation (north, south etc). Is there such a word?",
"Reading some grammar rules for this topic (points of the compass), there was one saying that if it is \"where - asking for direction, not position, 'the' should not be used\". E.g. Go west, the river flows south. But when I google for \"Look north\" and \"Look to the north\", the latter has much more hits.",
"The horizontal (left-right) dimension is called longitude. The vertical (top- bottom) is called latitude. However, I'm not sure how to adjectivize and adverbize those terms. The best shot expressing the meaning I can think of is \" _latitude-wise_ \" for the vertical case. Here, I have two questions. Is there a more sophisticated term for that? And if not... What is the most recommended way to express the work-around of mine? a. latitude-wise b. latitudewise c. latitude wise d. latidudelly e. lati-what-ever-else-combo-might-be-conceiveable Of course, the same wonderings go for the horizontal dimension, i.e. \" _longitude-wise_ \". However, I'd be strongly surprised if it differed in principle from the vertical one."
] |
16000
|
"We've" vs "We have"
|
[
11958,
44106,
105647,
134461,
112990
] |
[
"When do I use _have_ and _have got_? Are \"I have the answer\" and \"I've got the answer\" both correct?",
"Where should we use **\"has/have been\" and \"had been\"**? What is the difference between them?",
"What is the correct form? \"We have been in a dilemma\" or \"We have had a dilemma\"? Or are the two of them incorrect? I'm a non-native English speaker discussing this with another non-native speaker.",
"Saying either: Google have been acquired and Google has been acquired both sound correct, however I'm wondering what differences \"has\" and \"have\" bring to the sentence? What it, in linguistic terms, is the difference between the two?",
"> 1) Our team of nationally recognized trainers has earned multiple titles…. In the first version _team_ is the object making _has_ correct. Or > 2) Our team of nationally recognized trainers have earned multiple titles…. In the second version _trainers_ is the object making _have_ correct."
] |
16008
|
UK English: Is "dived" a valid word?
|
[
82764,
25040,
85111,
126407,
139359
] |
[
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > UK English: Is \"dived\" a valid word? Can anybody explain the difference between _dived_ and _dove_ in the following sentence? > He **__** in to the pool yesterday to have swim. Which one is better to fill the blank field?",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > UK English: Is \"dived\" a valid word? > Spelt and Spelled > “Dreamed” vs. “dreamt”, “leaped” vs. “leapt”, “lighted” vs. “lit” > Evolution of irregular verbs over the last century > Origin of different past tenses for verbs with the same endings? What's the difference between 'dived' and 'dove' as the past tense of 'to dive'? 'Spelled' and 'spelt' ( _to spell_ )? There are others which are similar. Is one form British usage?",
"I realised today that I use the terms _divisible_ and _dividable_ interchangeably, even though there may be a difference between them. If they are in fact different, I'm interested in any general rule that might apply to a large case of similarly related terms as well.",
"Acting like a _div_ yesterday:- > a stupid or foolish person I started to wonder how this term of abuse came about. Urban Dictionary has a quaint tale:- > Actually originates from prison slang in the UK. A job often given to the > lowest inmates was to put cardboard dividers into boxes. Someone given this > job was a 'divider' or a 'div'. Now used as an insult to those who display > stupidity. which sounds somewhat contrived to me. Collins has it:- > C20: probably shortened and changed from deviant Inky Fool, a website new to me, offers two other explanations:- > Div is a scouse word for idiot. It is short for divvy which in turn is a > corruption of Deva. The Deva Hospital was a well known mental hospital > (since renamed the West Cheshire Hospital) on the outskirts of Chester. > Chester was founded by the Romans who named it Deva. and > Derived from \"individual needs child\", a cruel schoolyard insult. Not at all > politically correct. Someone who's \"not quite normal\", an idiot, spaz, etc. Green's _Dictionary of Slang_ suggests:- > perhaps related to DUH! It seems to me that at least four of these explanations are wrong. Does anyone know the correct etymology of this term?",
"I am writing a paper about a geometric algorithm where one of the main operations is dividing a rectangles to two smaller rectangles. It is important that there are two pieces, and that the pieces don't have to be equal. I am looking for a single verb that I can use in this context. There are many English words that are specific to the number 2, for example \"couple\" (a group of 2), \"half\" (one of 2 equal parts), \"both\", etc. So, I thought there may be a word specific for dividing to two parts I thought of _bisecting_ , but according to Meriam-Webster it means \"two equal parts\". _Bipartite_ seems like a good candidate, but according to Meriam-Webster it is an adjective, and I need a verb. I asked in ell and got many answers ( _splitting_ , _cleaving_ , _dividing_ , _separating_ , _breaking_ ), but none of these imply that there are exactly 2 pieces. EDIT: In the future I may change the algorithm to cut into 3 parts, so, it could be good to have a verb that can be naturally modified to indicate 3 parts."
] |
116353
|
Using quotations and commas in a list format
|
[
133388,
186432,
64557,
121809,
137825
] |
[
"When stating a book title, is the comma before or after the quotations?",
"I have a list of classes (titles) which have colons as a part of the titles, in this list should I use commas or semi-colons to separate them? (there are no items which have commas internally to them)",
"A basic list is punctuated like this: > The park has some bears, deers, and other animals. > > (bears) (deers) (other animals) When commas appear inside the items of a list, or when lists appear inside other lists, I often see semi-colons used, e.g.: > The park has: some bears; many deers, which are quite friendly, like to eat > camp food, and watch visitors; and other animals, most of which live in the > trees. > > (bears) (deers (friendly) (like to eat) (watch visitors)) (other animals > (live in trees)) When semi-colons appear inside the items of a list, or when lists appear inside lists of other lists, what punctuation can be used? > (bears) (deers (friendly) (like to eat (popcorn) (marshmallows) (chips)) > (watch visitors)) (other animals (live in (tall trees) (short trees)) Update: To clarify, I am not looking for a way to reword the sentences. I am looking for a way to punctuate the lists in these situations.",
"I am listing things in a sentence which includes commas between the internal parts. Do I finish with an 'and' at the end of it? For example: > I arrange interviews through phone and film; co-ordinate the editorial > team’s travel; and I write blog posts, articles, and reviews of local London > events. It would be great if I knew the definitive answer, or any tips on how to restructure this.",
"Where should I put the comma and the quotes in such a sentence? > The comments were significantly focused on my being “engaging, patient and > extremely helpful,” “very coherent and easy-to-understand,” or \"clear and > straight to the point\". My question is whether I can do something like this \"bla,\" \"bla\" - meaning, a simple space between two quotes and the comma before the first one. Thanks!"
] |
90875
|
'Comes in' instead of 'is coming in' or 'came in'
|
[
171075,
177580,
32849,
139130,
6552
] |
[
"Why do two adverbs follow _come_ in the phrase, **_come on in_**? I know _come in_ , _come on_ , _go away_ , but when I hear _\"Come on in\"_ in American movies, I can't figure out its grammatical structure.",
"I ran into this sentence in a ESL testing, \"It really is like a dream come true.\" Just wonder why should we use come instead of comes here.",
"> Bagman suddenly spotted Harry, got up quickly, and bounded forward. > > “Ah, here he is! Champion number four! **In you come** , Harry, **in you > come** … nothing to worry about, it's just the wand weighing ceremony, the > rest of the judges will be here in a moment –“ (p303, Harry Potter 4, US > edition) I’d like to know the meaning of ' **in you come** ' by comparing and contrasting it with two other expressions ' **come on in** ' and ' **do come in** '. These three expressions are vaguely mixed in my mind. I know they are emphasizing 'come in', but are they equal in every way? If there's any difference, when should they be used? I’d be happy if you could help me.",
"When should one use the word \"coming\" vs. \"going\"? For example, is it \"I'm coming home.\" or \"I'm going home.\"? (Ehhh maybe that was a bad example). \"Are you coming?\" vs. \"Are you going?\" may be a better example. I always get confused by this expression but most people I notice use the word \"coming\".",
"I've heard this phrase in some lyrics and even read it in some online articles. > don't know if he's coming or going What's the meaning and correct usage of _coming or going_?"
] |
90874
|
Capitalization rules for "the"
|
[
93402,
115643,
171250,
14,
131398
] |
[
"I'm starting a new business and recently decided on a name. The problem is that the name has the word \"the\" stuck right in the middle, like so: _**___** the **___ _**, LLC My question, should the \"the\" be capitalized or not? **Edit/addendum:** I believe the following capitalization rule should be used, but am unsure for this specific case and if my business name constitutes a \"title\". Rule: Do not capitalize short prepositions, conjunctions, or articles unless they are the first word of the title. From this, I'm guessing the \"the\" should stay non-capitalized. Anyone care to verify?",
"The Chicago Manual of Style sets out these rules for capitalizing \"Captain\": Robert greeted Captain Jones, \"Hello Captain.\" \"Good evening,\" replied the captain. I looked at 20 books by the most famous novelists of the 1900s to see who follows the rules noted above. Generally, most writers follow those rules (Michael Chriton, Dan Brown, Ken Burns, Tom Clancy, Wilbur Smith, Clive Cussler, James A. Michener, Joseph Heller, Robert Ludlum, Nora Roberts, to name a few). Some other writers do not follow those rules and would write \"replied the Captain.\" Those include Douglas Adams (in some books), William Goldman (the Princess Bride), JK Rowling (Harry Potter). To me, it's strange that none of the \"style books\" cite any authority as I just did. Finding authority for a rule was the basis of the Oxford English Dictionary, and gave it credibility. Generally, American writers use \"down style\" as in the Chicago Manual of Style. British writers are more likely to use capitals. I think it looks sloppy to have the word \"captain\" capitalized in some sentences, and lower case in other sentences, despite the fact the word is used differently. Should I consider the nature of the writing? If I were writing an article for the New York Times, I would use \"down style.\" But if I were writing a fanciful book like the Princess Bride, should I consider using capitals, as William Goldman did? People say \"the captain\" is correct, because with that use, it's a descriptive noun, whereas, when the character is addressed, \"Hello, Captain\" the word substitutes for the name and is thus a proper noun. To me, that is a rather fine distinction. When I choose between writing \"said Captain Jones\" or \"said the captain\" it is interchangeable, yet one is capitalized and one is not. When writing alternates like that, it looks sloppy to me. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!",
"When writing a title, do you capitalize \"the\" in names like \"Boris The Animal\", \"Mike the Bike Guy\" or \"Tom The Dancing Bug\"?",
"Are there any concrete rules that say which words (parts of speech) in a title should start with a capital letter? What would be a correct capitalization for the title of this question?",
"Should I capitalize the word \"the\" when speaking of God as \"the/The Lord\"? > I praise the Lord. or... > I praise The Lord."
] |
121970
|
How do I use parentheses to pluralize something
|
[
56576,
154151,
14252,
153294,
178261
] |
[
"If a set of parentheses lies between a subject and its verb, and the parentheses contain an substitutive subject whose singularity/plurality disagrees with the original subject, whose singularity/plurality should be chosen for the verb? In other words, in the following example, should \" **questions** \" (and its verb \" **are** \") be singular, or should they remain plural as shown? > Many (if not every) **questions** on this StackExchange **are** answered. My intuition tells me that the two words in question should remain in plural forms, since the text in parentheses only interrupts the sentence (and the sentence would be grammatically incorrect if everything in parentheses were removed and the words were in singular form). On the other hand, when read aloud (assuming one reads the text in parentheses), this has an uncomfortable sound to it, and I've seen others write in what would be the above example's singular-form case, so I'm curious to find out which is correct. And, thinking about it, I suppose the same question would apply when commas are used in place of parentheses.",
"Do these look right to you? I'm pluralizing the following words. In doing so, I'm italicizing the word to be pluralized but not the 's': _and_ s (instead of and's) _wherefore_ s (instead of wherefore's) _his_ s (instead of his's)",
"I need to name a variable containing `()[]{}`, what is the common name for all of them? Two side questions: * parentheses is plural, or singular, or both? * is abbreviating it as `parens` understandable?",
"I heard that the plurals of letters, numbers and words could be punctuated - with single quote marks on both sides - in this manner (especially in Britain): 'X's 'd's '5's 'thank-you's 'maybe's 'his's 'as's I am sufficiently aware that we could italicize the letter, number or word and follow it with an unitalicized apostrophe 's'. We could also use just one apostrophe: x's, thank-you's, maybe's. This makes 'thank-you's and 'maybe's look possessive, not plural. In the two examples I just used in the previous sentence ('thank-you's and 'maybe's), the insertion of a single quote mark before and after each word (followed by an 's') definitively defines the plural of the word as a word. The same logic is applied to individual letters and numbers ('9's, 't's). Bottom line, is my usage (albeit probably somewhat antiquated) correct?",
"If I take a singular noun like 'person' and turn it into its plural 'people', I think I'm doing _pluralisation_ (or, if you insist, _pluralization_ ). What am I doing if I take a cardinal number like '13' and turn it into an ordinal, like 'thirteenth'? I liked _ordination_ , but that already means some kind of religious thing. Should I refer to it as _ordinalisation_? I couldn't find ordinali(s|z)ation in a dictionary, and all the Google hits are from software packages."
] |
81383
|
The difference between "to think about" and "to think of"
|
[
71003,
97188,
127687,
53446,
141576
] |
[
"Is there a difference between \"think of something\" and \"think about something\"? I've also met \"have heard of/about something\".",
"I was amused by the line “I got to thinking about something” in the following answer to the question, “You don't want to answer this word-placement question, now do you?” which I saw this morning in my inbox from Stack Exchange: > “Prompted by this question I **got to thinking about** the placement of the > word _now_. If it's placed before the comma, it refers to an immediate > condition: _You don't want to answer this word-placement..._ ” Does “get to doing [something]” mean “come to doing [something]” or “begin to do [something]”? Though I think it’s a too naive question for native English speakers, how different is _“I got to thinking about something”_ from _“I got to think about something”_? Does it become totally different with and without the _‘ing’_?",
"Is it correct to use the phrase \"Think on it\"? You can use sleep on it for thinking about something overnight and you can say \"I'm thinking on my bed\" to mean that I am sitting on my bed and thinking, but is it correct to use \"think on it\" as a replacement for \"think about it\"?",
"Could someone please explain the contextual difference of this two words? If I for instance say: > I am using my **brain** to decide in what direction to move. or > I am using my **mind** to decide in what direction to move. what would be the difference between this two phrases?",
"Is there any difference in meaning between: > 1. take account of > 2. take into account > Or do they both mean \"to take into consideration\"?"
] |
192051
|
Usage of Who and Whom
|
[
181327,
18777,
56,
9144,
111441
] |
[
"What is the difference in the usage of \"whom\" and \"who\"? please also tell me the rules behind their usage and some examples to clarify their difference.",
"I understand that \"who\" is for the subject and \"whom\" is for the object. However, sometimes they are used as the only word in a sentence. For example: > Person 1: Yeah, he ate the entire cake. > > Person 2: Who(m)? Which form is correct? I can see it being short for both \"Who is the person who ate the cake?\" and \"Whom are you talking about?\"",
"I can never figure out whether I should use _who_ and _whom_. Most people use _who_ for both colloquially, but that’s not correct. What’s the rule for using _who_ and _whom_ correctly?",
"When I am not bound by a style that mandates otherwise, I like to use _whom_ in dative constructions and _who_ in accusative constructions (I am aware that English doesn't have a proper case system, but it is convenient for the purposes of this qn). Let's call this _who/who/whom_ usage, matching nominative, accusative, and dative respectively. This appears to be moderately widespread, the death of _whom_ notwithstanding. For an accusative example, consider _Is there anyone who I could ask?_ vs. _Is there anyone whom I could ask?_ Are there authorities who explicitly recognise the possibility of differentiating between the accusative and dative constructions in this way? To document what I have looked at so far: 1. _APA 6th_ stands by the old-fashioned _who/whom/whom_ , saying \"Use _who_ as the subject of a verb and _whom_ as the object of a verb or preposition\" (3.20). _Chicago 6th_ has a very similar formulation (5.63). _The Economist style guide_ has a nice discussion explaining its identical prescription. 2. _Butcher's_ and _New Hart's Rules_ both say that grammar should be correct, but say little about what correct grammar consists of. I think _MLA_ also doesn't prescribe on this point. 3. _Fowler's 3rd_ articulates three rival views, namely that (i) _who/whom/whom_ is moribund, stifling, or artifical, and _who/who/who_ is the right usage, (ii) the righteous _who/whom/whom_ should be defended against the slacker _who/who/who_ , and (iii) _who/whom/whom_ is appropriate for written language, but _who/who/who_ for spoken language (from CGEL). Fowler's further talks about tricky issues about the use of _who/whom_ as a relative pronoun vs. as an interrogative pronoun. _Fowler's_ makes no prescription about this. _Who/who/whom_ is defensible according to Fowler's reasoning, but the possibility of this usage is not discussed. Bonus points to anyone finding relevant guidance from CGEL.",
"Take the sentence: > **Who** is the right person to turn to? I'm not sure whether _who_ or _whom_ should be used in this position."
] |
186457
|
Are the hyphens necessary in "hard-to-find" or can they go without?
|
[
8666,
128909,
889,
151631,
34583
] |
[
"Do I need hyphens? Should I use the indefinite article or zero article?",
"Does the hyphen belong there? Thanks!",
"Some words are written without hyphens ( _nonaggression_ , _nonbeliever_ ), and some words are written with a hyphen ( _well-intentioned_ ). Is there a schema in the use of a hyphen?",
"Are hyphens needed in these? If so, where would you insert them? > 1. Joel applied for the assistant store manager position. > (Not: assistant-store-manager position, right?) > > 2. Joel was enrolled in the assistant store manager trainee program. > (Not: assistant-store-manager-trainee program, correct?) > > 3. Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream > (Not: chocolate-chip-cookie-dough ice cream, correct?) > > Do you support my original versions without the hyphens?",
"Consider the word _quasi-first-class_. Are the hyphens used correctly? Should the two hyphens be of different length to denote the distinction of the _hyphenation_? Is there a general rule to deal with such doubly hyphenated words? This tells me that I should _avoid_ an _en dash_ in this case."
] |
45630
|
"Dysfunctional" vs. "disfunctional"
|
[
47617,
24604,
101410,
111229,
122151
] |
[
"Dictionaries give both _dysunction_ and _malfunction_ the meaning 'failure to function properly'. Are they complete synonyms?",
"Is this word spelt **dysfunction** or **disfunction**? Are there any correct spellings at all for this word? The reason I asked is because I've always learned to spell it as \"disfunction\" until recently, when I realized I'm starting to see more of \"dysfunction\"",
"I wonder if it is possible to use the noun \"dysfunction\" as a verb. It is certainly a noun, but in general use it seems to mean something far more awful and much less technical than \"malfunction\". It might be useful, in certain instances, to use it as a verb, at least colloquially, in order to emphasize just how badly something is malfunctioning. Has anyone seen this? E.g., a graduate thesis in family psychology discussing common causes for the breakdown of a family unit: > This tends to cause a family to dysfunction and create animosity among > siblings and spouses.",
"Difference between _misfunction_ and _malfunction_? Is _misfunction_ a proper English word? If it is, what's the difference between the two above?",
"Technically speaking can _broken_ be correctly applied to a thing that is not and never was functional? I think there is a connotation that a thing once was functional, but is that required for proper usage? American Heritage Dictionary has simply: * Not functioning; out of order But dictionary.cambridge.org has: * damaged, no longer able to work"
] |
42176
|
"1 out of 100 chickens is" or "1 out of 100 chickens are"?
|
[
13284,
64575,
93007,
56754,
114738
] |
[
"Should the phrase be \"one or more _is_...\", or \"one or more _are_...\"?",
"Take the examples: 1. \"One in ten children are dyslexic.\" 2. \"One in ten children is dyslexic.\" 3. \"One in ten children has dyslexia.\" 4. \"One in ten children have dyslexia.\" The \"one\" is singular so 2 and 3 should be correct. But the \"one in ten\" is a fraction\" so 1 and 4 should be correct. And yet I _think_ I usually say 1 and 3. Which is/are correct?!",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Which is correct: “one or more is” or “one or more are”? > “1 in 10 are” or “1 in 10 is”? Which is grammatical and why? > About one in 12 Australian babies **is** not fully immunised. or > About one in 12 Australian babies **are** not fully immunised.",
"Technically, \"percent\" should mean \"for every hundred\". So, I would think that it's perfectly fine to say \"150%\". However, in common usage, people rarely say percentages greater than a hundred. Is there an official grammarical rule for this?",
"Which is the correct expression for say that I have two items of three possibilities? * Two of three? * Two out of three? * Other?"
] |
63256
|
Which is correct: "has died" or "died"?
|
[
114991,
55146,
134918,
63471,
95030
] |
[
"I came across a question in Chinese@SE, which is about a status update of someone's cat. I asked the OP in the comment whether the cat _was dead_ at that time: > I assume his cat was dead, can you confirm this? But a friend of mine later told me that this usage is not correct because _was_ implies \"previously was in a certain status, but now is not\", which is impossible for death. I've found an answer to a related question on English@SE, somehow backing my friend's opinion in another way, but meanwhile I think the last exception raised in the answer fits my situation. So do I have to use _died_ or _has passed away_ in this case?",
"When someone dies, do we say they _expired_ or _passed away_? Does the word _expired_ give any more respect when used? Or less respect than _passed away_?",
"Which is correct? When do you use has been and was?",
"I know it is correct to say > He has been dead for three years. I've learned the present perfect tense, and it's said that non-continuous verbs are allowed. Is this sentence correct as well? > He has died for three years.",
"What is appropriate to use in cases of death in natural disasters: _killed_ , or _died_? Lets say, I wanted to say, \"Earth destroyed this morning, everyone [died|got killed] in a parallel universe.\" I am not sure what is more appropriate to use. _Died_ seems to me as if someone died from injury, or disease or something that does not intend to kill it. While _killed_ seems more like an external factor that caused the death of someone purposefully."
] |
21408
|
Is the past tense correct in "Did you know Fred was a doctor?"
|
[
3585,
139879,
104409,
90611,
121648
] |
[
"I came across this sentence today in a wait screen for a twitter client: > Did you know that this wait is actually Twitter's fault, not ours? Is \"Did\" correct usage in this case? I didn't know it earlier, but I became aware of it as I read it. Hence this seems logically correct. But a \"Do you know...\" sounds more natural in this case. What tense would be correct in this case?",
"In asking a question, which is preferred, \"Did you know?\" or \"Do you know?\"",
"When someone makes an assertion, the distinction between \"how did you know\" and \"how do you know\" seems to be that \"how did you know\" implies that the person in question is correct in their assertion. \"How do you know\" is normally an inquiry into the person's credentials, and often expresses that the assertion is incorrect and/or ungrounded. Does anyone know what the reason for this distinction is? Why does simply changing the tense of the verb change the implication so strongly? I suspect that, linguistically speaking, the \"did\" might be a different tense than the past tense, but I'm not sure what it is, or I could be entirely wrong.",
"Which is correct? > Few people knew the way, didn't they? > Few people knew the way, did they?",
"I wonder when verbs like _think_ or _know_ are followed by _that_ ; I encountered both forms, is there a difference? For example, > I know that he did it. // I know he did it. Are the two sentences both correct?"
] |
21406
|
Is it correct to say "Lets Answer me" or "Let's Answer me"?
|
[
107208,
180971,
7344,
108672,
12834
] |
[
"Why are \"answer me\" and \"answer the question\" acceptable but not \"answer me the question\"? Is it similar to \"explain me (something)\"?",
"What is correct - \"If anybody answer this question please let me know\" or \"If anybody answers this question please let me know\" Thank you.",
"What's the right usage: an answer _to_ my question or _on_ my question?",
"\"To address the question\", \"To answer the question\". What's the difference?",
"Which of the following would be correct? Is it a question of dialect? * \"If this question gets answered, ...\" * \"If this question is answered, ...\" (Inspired by this answer.)"
] |
168543
|
List of names when there is ownership associated
|
[
91330,
17707,
188266,
175351,
178548
] |
[
"I have to describe owners of certain properties and those can be persons or companies. I was thinking of naming them _entities_ , but that seems too broad.",
"We use _owned_ to denote something that we possess or that belongs to someone. What can we call things that do _not_ belong to someone? [ **Editor's note** : I can't tell whether the asker wants a word for something that a specific person does not own, or a word for something that nobody owns.]",
"I've read Preferred way to apostrophise in case of dual or multiple ownership by distinct entities and \"Nikki's and Alice's X\" vs. \"Nikki and Alice's X\", but my question is a little different. Not sure if the title is correctly chosen or not. So the question is, if something belongs to a person, whose name I don't know for example, then I would say: > 1. It's my uncle's sister's nephew's object > 2. It's my uncle sister nephew's object > I suppose the first one would be correct, but it looks strange. Can anyone point to a rule that specifically states how to deal with the possessive apostrophe in those situations?",
"Is there a _neutral_ term that means \"owner of the house\"? By _neutral_ I mean words that do not suggest superiority, e.g. \"landlord\", \"land owner\", etc. Note: \"innkeeper\" wouldn't work because it suggests owner of a hotel (a building primary for lease), instead of owner of a house (a building not primary for lease).",
"My problem is about the possessive s (the _ownership s_ ) not that _ending-s_. For example, we say, _America's Flag_ , here the _America_ has gotten one _ownership s_ that is _America_ is the owner of that _Flag_. And also we say, _Computer Science_ , here that _Computer_ doesn't get the _ownership s_ (why?) even though we talk about _Science_ which is of _Computer_ (here). My question is when we should add that _s_ to the end of the first name which appear to be the owner of the second name? Or how we can recognize what names get that _s_ , please?"
] |
79724
|
Is "Betty learned that Albert telephoned after Isaiah visited" ambiguous?
|
[
106682,
119631,
68298,
182246,
103313
] |
[
"I often read or hear statements like \"Joe robbed the bank because I saw him running away with the money.\" Clearly, the literal interpretation is not the intended meaning and there is an understood \"I know/state/believe this\" before the \"because.\" Today I came across similar wording in a new ad campaign: \"If you have seen AT&T's recent advertising campaign, someone is obviously worried.\" My first thought is, \"well what if I haven't seen it?\" Here, \"then you (should) know\" is apparently implied. I don't recall this topic coming up in school, but then I wasn't the best English student. Is this implied phrasing (in formal terms) correct? Is there a specific word to describe it?",
"> If I leave, it’s because Bob has arrived. Does this mean: * Bob has not arrived yet. When Bob does arrive (shortly), I may leave. * Bob is here now and requesting my attention. Therefore, I may leave shortly. Or is the sentence inherently ambiguous? Is there a name for this subjunctive–future-tense ambiguity? MAJOR EDIT: Apparently, this sentence was even more ambigious than I thought! The situation: I'm chatting online with someone. I say: \"If I leave, it’s because Bob has arrived.\" My meaning: when Bob arrives, I will stop chatting with you, and attend to Bob. My chat partner's interpretation: Bob has already arrived, and, any moment now, you will attend to Bob and stop talking to me.",
"I was reading a fairy tale from Andersen, \"It's Quite True\", and there was one phrase that I don't understand the meaning of - 'she heard and she didn't hear'. It sounds ambiguous to me. I'm confused whether **she's heard it or not**? The context is: _'There it went,' she said. 'Indeed, the more I preen myself, the more beautiful I become!' It was dark all around. Hen sat beside hen, and the one who sat next to her did not sleep. **She heard and she didn't hear** , as indeed you should in this world if you are to have peace of mind. But still she had to tell it to her other neighbor. 'Did you hear what was said here...'_ Thanks!",
"Please help resolve a disputed text message and its meaning. The question is whether the sender of the message stated that he had left the garage door open when leaving the house. > I ve left the house and notice she's gone out and left the garage door open. The possible answers would be either * Yes, * No, * or ambiguous. (big dispute between myself and a friend).",
"Here are some examples: > Erica turned to him > > Erica turned towards him > > Erica turned to face him > > Erica turned to look at him I'm not sure if the first one is grammatically incorrect and/or ambiguous?"
] |
79728
|
Does modifying a collective noun with a number make the subject plural?
|
[
80822,
21751,
192314,
14932,
189429
] |
[
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Plural/singular verb agreement with units > Does modifying a collective noun with a number make the subject plural? Can anyone help me determine the correct verb in this sentence? I am not sure what to do. If it were not such a complex introductory phrase, it would be more obvious. The general consensus of my friends who are not professional writers is that the verb should be _are_. To me the question is whether or not the subject is singular (i.e., “a large collective volume of paint”, perhaps in a tank) or plural (a lot of the individual gallon containers of paint). If simplified to other options, it would be like these: 1. Paint is sold. 2. Gallons of paint are sold. 3. More paint is sold. 4. More gallons of paint are sold. 5. More than 1000 gallons of paint is sold. [emphasis on total volume] 6. More than 1000 gallons of paint are sold. [emphasis on individual containers]",
"I've been wondering, since these example numbers end with 1, isn't it natural to use the following noun in its singular form? From what I've been seeing around on the web this does not seem to be the case. All numbers except for 1 are followed by plural nouns. In some languages you do need to use the singular form with the numbers ending with 1. How is it supposed to be in English?",
"can someone explain this rule to me, please? > A few collective nouns (public,infantry etc) occur in the singular, but are > followed as a rule by a plural verb, though a singular verb is also > possible. This is about agreement of subject and predicate",
"How can I refer collectively to a group of people with the same name, for example: > Having so many Johns around is confusing. or > Having so many John's around is confusing. Which one is the correct usage? Or should I only refer to them as \"people named John\"? This could be somewhat compounded when surnames are used, if the pluralized version is also common.",
"In the expression `hundreds of <noun>(s)`, I would think that _hundreds_ is what's being modified because _of_ is usually right-branching: > hundreds`<-{of <noun>(s)}` (This is in contrast to `X hundred <noun>s`, in which _X hundred_ is clearly the modifier, and hence the plural.) If so, I can't see any reason (apart from overwhelming usage, of course!) why `<noun>` must be plural. To me, the idea expressed seems to be a multiplication of some sort: > X00 * `abstract instance of <noun>` (This would then be similar to the formal \"There are two kinds of person.\") Is the singular archaic, and did we somewhere along the way begin thinking more along the lines of `{hundreds of}-><noun>s` than `hundreds<-{of <noun>}`, or am I completely off? Evidence from Google Books: > ~~I have asked many **hundreds of person** of all classes respecting their > own places of residence. (1843)~~ > > ~~... there was every reason to suppose that an epidemic would be certain to > lay claim to **hundreds of victim**. (1869)~~ > > The officers of Police could point to **hundreds of person** who lived > solely by picking pockets and other selonious acts ... (1792) > > I have traveled **hundreds of mile** by rail, buggy, lumber wagon, and on > foot. (1889) > > For **hundreds of year** it was the coronation site and burial ground of > Polish monarchs, saints, and national heroes. (2010)"
] |
144622
|
Is there a single word for the conjunction "and/or"?
|
[
79287,
124459,
64683,
121577,
190014
] |
[
"What is the best way to join 'or' and 'and' together? 'or/and' or 'and/or'?",
"In the expression \"one or more of A, B, C, [and, or, and/or] D,\" what is the correct conjunction? Examples of all three choices abound with apparently equivalent intended meaning.",
"Are there (better) verbs for \"and\"ing or \"or\"ing a bunch of clauses together? * * * ### Edit: Can't believe I didn't think of this earlier... would \"conjoin\" and \"disjoin\" work?",
"So when I want to say \"You can choose an apple and/or pear, and a bottle of soda and/or juice.\" Is there a better way to say this, without the clump of and/or?",
"In logic and computer programming, a conjunction of two logical statements is said to be true if and only if both statements are themselves true. For instance: \"The sky is blue\" and \"the grass is green\" is a conjunction of two logical statements. Note that a conjunction in this context is not the same as a grammatical conjunction. In product manuals, one often sees things like: \"These values are **anded** together\". However, \"anded\" doesn't seem like a proper English term, and it seems like there should be a verb for the act of combining two logical statements with a conjunction. Other logical operators like \"xor\" certainly use \"xored\" or \"xor'd\", but \"anded\" seems less acceptable somehow. Is there a nice English word for this operation? Some thoughts: * \"conjoined\" doesn't seem sufficiently precise, because we're not just sticking the logical statements together, we're combining them with a particular operator (i.e. the clauses could still be conjoined with a disjunction operator instead). * \"conjuncted\" might be appropriate, but I can't find anyone using it on the net, and I've never seen it used before in manuals and the like."
] |
178734
|
"is my hair" or "are my hair" when I'm referring to all my head hair?
|
[
9951,
163029,
102571,
189253,
144004
] |
[
"When one says _I was washing my hair_ , is it singular or plural? What is the singular for _hair_?",
"I understand that \"hairs\" is plural when talking about multiple hairs, as in \"my hairs have split ends\", and that \"hair\" is singular when talking about ones collection of hairs, such as \"my hair is blue\". However, I'd like to know what the plural form is when I am talking about the collections of hairs of multiple people. \"We must wait until our **__** dry\" Furthermore, if the answer is \"hair\" which is typically singular, then would it be \"We must wait until our hair dry\" or \"We must wait until our hair dries\"?",
"If I am referring to one thing, but multiple people, is it \"is this ___ one of yours?\" or \"one of you all's\"?",
"When we add 's' at the end of a word, it refers to more (unit) of the thing. I.e. A car vs Cars Why is it when we refer to \"hair\", it is kind of the other way around? i.e. 1) Your hair looks great (comment on ALL your hair) 2) You dyed some of your hairs (comment on SOME of your hair)",
"Is there a single English word for **a single hair** that grows on someone's head which is practically bald? I found a picture like this one, this is a movie character:  See that one hair? Is there an English word that describes that **hair**? [Not just that is _one_ , but also _a hair_.]"
] |
148995
|
can't have worked vs mustn't have worked
|
[
192998,
153956,
140310,
151284,
141589
] |
[
"What's the difference between \"could not have been\" and \"must not have been\"? For example, > * That could not have been an easy task. > * That must not have been an easy task. > I've seen both used. What's the difference?",
"1. Can \" _You mustn't have done that_ \" have a similar meaning to \" _You shouldn't have done that_ \" / \" _You were not supposed to do it (but you did)_ \"? (not logical probability but obligation) 2. Since we have the imperatives like \"Have done with that!\", wouldn't it be possible to use **must** to express prohibition of a future action: \" _You mustn't have done that (by the time the bus reaches here tomorrow)_ \"?",
"Both forms express an obligation not to do something (although one phrases it by declaring that permission is missing). I figure that _must not_ sounds a little more urging but what I am interested in is this: Are both phrases semantically interchangeable or are there situations in which only one will work? If so, why?",
"_Must have been_ can have two meanings— it depends on the text. _Must have p.p._ doesn't always mean that, for instance, something did not occur— it might occur. For instance: > Clerks must have been in the garden. > > 1. Clerks who have to be in the garden, but they were not. > > 2. Clerks who have to be in the garden were in the garden. > > Am I right?",
"I don't understand when and why to use **_can't have been_**. It seems so strange to me."
] |
126344
|
Data as a plural noun
|
[
3718,
180801,
50427,
94135,
56574
] |
[
"I know that the singular of data is datum. I know that data is a plural. However, common usage of the word \"data\" suggests it is used as a \"collection of data\". > Here is [the collection of] data. In which case, is the word _data_ now a singular again, or still the plural? If so, what is the correct use of the word _data_ and _datum_ now?",
"The longstanding question of whether \"data\" is singular or plural has a very appropriate answer in: Is \"data\" considered singular or plural? Yet, I wonder if the same arguments hold true for the related \"metadata\". In the same \"technical paper\" context as the linked question, is it appropriate to use \"metadata are\"? Or does it perhaps depend on the context?",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Is \"data\" considered singular or plural? Milton Friedman, the Nobel-prize winning economist used to threaten that he would \"take away any graduate student's Ph.D. if they used the word data as a singular.\" Proper usage of the word data is in the plural: * The data _are_ very hard to gather * The findings follow directly from the data. _They_ unambiguous support our hypotheses I'm wondering though how you refer to data in the following sentence, \"The analysis using the data should go quickly since I am familiar with **them (??)** \" I'm not sure how to correctly refer to data in the above sentence. Most people (including myself), find it hard to use the first two examples correctly. This last example seems even trickier. Does anyone have advice on the right way to refer to data in the above sentence?",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Is “data” considered singular or plural? I was reading a book in which the author has used the sentence as follows: > _**Data show_** that unemployment in America is in smaller states where > farming is the main occupation. But when I am searching in the internet it reveals that **Data shows** is used more frequently. Can anyone explain the correct usage?",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > Is \"data\" considered singular or plural? Which one the following is right grammar \"Limited data **support** the use of ...\" or \"Limited data **supports** the use of ...\""
] |
148025
|
"I don't understand you" vs. "I'm not understanding you"
|
[
148123,
117665,
21649,
19854,
65129
] |
[
"\"I couldn't understand this.\" Is that more polite than saying \"I can't understand?\"",
"> I don't think you understood me. / I think you misunderstood me. Do these senteces mean the same thing? If not, what's the difference? **Edit:** I just realized that I asked something different from what I originally wanted. So I am also interested in the following comparison: > I don't think you understand me. / I think you don't understand me.",
"I am trying to learn/improve my English by remembering grammar rules. Everyday, I read a lot of technical documentation and have many conversations with my colleagues from US. I already have many phrase templates, but sometimes I urge myself to stop using this and try to figure out rules by which a phrase was constructed. So, how common is the usage of the sentence \"I'm not understand\". ( _Understand_ — is verb in 1st form used after form of _be_.) What rules were used? Why doesn't it sound like \"I don't understand\" or \"I'm not understanding\"?",
"What are the best ways to ask an interlocutor whether he understands you in different circumstances (formal conversation, informal talk)? What are the best ways to answer such questions meaning \"I understand,\" \"I understand and agree,\" and \"I don't understand\"? What are the best ways to let the speaker know that you understand him and/or agree , or you don't understand when you were not asked?",
"Which of the following is correct or better? Can they both be used? > * I'm not making any sense, am I? > * I'm not making any sense, do I? >"
] |
110515
|
Proverb/Idiom for Free from certain problems only to get trapped into other?
|
[
31867,
38103,
38243,
95775,
92927
] |
[
"Are there idioms or expressions in English that describe going from one bad situation to one that's even worse? I heard \"between a rock and hard place\" but this describes a dilemma not really a transition. I am looking for an expression that describes someone trying to get out of a bad situation but after much effort, the situation only got worse.",
"What is an appropriate proverb or expression that means one has: 1. Taken on too many tasks 2. Set out to do something that one isn't qualified to do and hence probably will fail 3. Set out to do something that probably is impossible to begin with",
"I'm searching for a proverb or expression that describes a situation which has two choices or two ways out (that is, somewhat of a forced choice) where both lead to some kind of trouble (but not the same trouble). As an example: Let's say that you can chose to go either left or right. If you go left, you will have to fight your way through an army of trolls. If you go right, you will have to go through a desert without any food or water for one week.",
"Is there an idiom or phrase which means: > The solution for the problem is the cause itself. I was thinking of > Use the snake to suck out the venom which, I'm unsure, is a valid phrase.",
"Is there a word or expression for someone who is often a cause of difficulties that he later has to overcome? For example, a man who always has to work extra hours to finish his job at time just because when he _has_ time he slacks instead working. Or maybe a good chess player that makes silly mistakes because he always underestimates his opponent (and later has to try hard to compensate for these mistakes). So basically I want a word or expression for someone who makes avoidable and totally unnecessary difficulties for himself."
] |
115922
|
If you place an ly adverb after the verb is the meaning different than if it were infront of the verb?
|
[
107777,
49545,
143779,
149621,
79547
] |
[
"When a negative adverb (or adverbial phrase) is placed at the beginning of a sentence, we exchange the normal placement of subject and verb. Why is that?",
"Where should I place the adverb? 1. Potentially, it could be moved back to where it was. 2. It could be potentially moved back to where it was. 3. It could potentially be moved back to where it was. Should it directly precede the verb \"moved\"? Or ahead of \"be moved\"? Or in front of the whole statement?",
"How does one decide whether an adverb of manner should precede or follow the verb? In some cases, it seems to be more natural to have the adverb follow the verb, as in: “She moved slowly and spoke quietly.” But in other cases, it seems to be more natural to have the adverb precede the verb, as in: “The minister solemnly addressed his congregation.” But I can’t work out why this is the case. Is there a general rule to follow to decide where to place the adverb? Does it have anything to do with whether the verb is used transitively or intransitively?",
"I was writing a text and I stumbled upon the differences between: 1. Lily slipped and threw up her keys 2. Lily slipped and threw her keys up [in the air] For a moment I was finding phrase 1 more natural to hear but then I realized the meaning there is completely different. Is there a name for this phenomenon in English (if this is not an exception), in which a verb+adverb change completely its meaning by repositioning the object on the sentence? Should I learn some rule in order to be cautious when using this composition?",
"I know that the pattern _manner-place-time_ shouldn't be taken too seriously if one wants to speak natural English. In real life, people rarely use a string of adverbs. Speakers will easily break the pattern for emphatic or stylistic reasons (usually placing the adverb at the beginning of the sentence). Other factors such as length and specificity will also override the arrangement. But I'm constructing illustrative sentences that highlight (and stick to) the Royal Order of Adverbs. What all the online sources are doing is mixing adverbs and prepositional phrases, but I can't have the concept of prepositional phrases in my examples just yet. This means I should include only one-word or two-word adverbs (without prepositions). So, I have these: * He sat quietly upstairs all day. * She waited impatiently outside this morning. * They gather noisily downtown every Saturday night. Are the sentences above still correct, as in natural-sounding? Somehow they started sounding a bit off to me. I guess I just need to test them with a second pair of ears."
] |
115928
|
"The above technique is a double-edged sword"
|
[
154628,
60728,
133613,
95376,
185359
] |
[
"Can someone give me a few synonyms of \"Double-edged sword\"? I generally need a phrase that describes a situation that can go good and bad.",
"When something can have both favorable and unfavorable consequences, the term `double-edged sword` is often used to describe it. Why? Does a `double-edged sword` have unfavorable consequences? Are `double-edged swords` known to accidentally kill the person wielding the sword?",
"Is there a euphemism for, within a given scenario, the fundamental conflict between two things? Almost akin to 'double-edged sword'. But that would not be right. I can clarify more. Open to any thoughts.",
"Suppose you improved an old method with a novel technique. Is it OK to say that it (your technique) is your trump card in paper? If not, what is your suggestion?",
"I need a term or word to refer to something which is very powerful but if used naïvely will cause great harm. I could say: \"This is a [noun], use with care.\" or: \"Use this with care it is [adjective].\" My example would be Fusion, it's powerful... but you better know what you're doing."
] |
35586
|
Why is 'that' sometimes optional before dependent clauses?
|
[
192295,
188688,
93683,
40795,
8145
] |
[
"When is it necessary to include \"that\" in a sentence? In what case should \"which\" be used, and is it ever optional? Some examples: * I didn't know (that) you had to leave. * My grandma said (that) her cocaine is far more concentrated than mine. * The dog jumps six times for every banana (that) I throw. * I see (that) you have railed my entire bag, grandma. I've always been reluctant to omit \"that\" from any sentence in which it seems to fit, however awkward it may sound.",
"Consider the following use case: * Please check the username and password are correct. * Please check _that_ the username and password are correct. In this case, I would say that _that_ is required because it feels more natural to me and so the flow is better. However, is the lack of _that_ wrong in this case? The question boils down to: when is _that_ optional? See here. A quick summary: * _That_ is optional if the pronoun is the object. * _That_ is required if the pronoun is the subject. I think that we fall into the second case: _that_ is required because the relative pronoun is the subject. But I'm not sure if I'm interpreting these rules correctly. Can someone please advise?",
"Given this sentence, the _that_ **feels** unnecessary: > If I believed that I were in a position to do so, I would. I find these seemingly spurious instances of _that_ working their way into my prose all the time. Another example where it seems unnecessary: > I've been around people so critical that I ceased hearing them. My question is: What is the grammatical basis determining where _that_ is appropriate in sentences like these?",
"What is the grammar behind the construction \"I think it strange/necessary that ...\", and when can and cannot this apparent omission of the copula be used? Do we always need the \"that\" clause? Also, this seems to be only allowed when the object is a pronoun (it in the above example). That is, we don't say \"I think this method strange\", correct?",
"I am not clear on when the word \"that\" can be omitted in a relative clause. I only know that when the modified noun is the object in the clause, the antecedent \"that\" can be omitted. Are there any other such situations? How about the following sentence: > Students should be skeptical about everything they are told. I am not sure whether everything is the object, and if not, whether this sentence is correct."
] |
56471
|
What tense to use for a dead person's permanent contributions?
|
[
156588,
108057,
118682,
186231,
120110
] |
[
"Given a wish of the form, \"May he rest in peace,\" what tense is being used?",
"I heard a lady talk about her late husband today and was curious about her verb tense usage. She said, > \"He was a loving father. He always took the kids out on weekends. He would > stop whatever he was doing for the kids.\" But then, I'm not entirely sure why she talked in simple past, since although he is dead, she was talking about a lot of things that happened in the past. It feels like she should have spoken in present perfect, since she was talking about several different events, not about specific times in the past. Can you please help?",
"In the acknowledgement section of my thesis, I want to mention a person who is no longer alive. What is the correct way of saying that? > I want to thank my aunt who assisted me with financially – too pity she > cannot see me graduate. > I want to thank my aunt who assisted me with financially – your memory will > be eternal. > I want to thank my aunt who assisted me with financially – too unfortunate > she cannot see me graduate. Or any other version would be appreciated.",
"Every so often, I see a death-notice for someone who was deceased on the following date. However, understandably, it feels grammatically problematic to remark that someone had \"died yesterday\". What is the correct grammatical approach for referencing events which have occurred but are still in the future when either the date or time is taken into account?",
"Now, say, I am talking to A about B's brother: -He **is/was** a man of bad habits. In English grammar, usually when referring to a dead person, or things related to him, we need the past tenses, but when I don't know whether the person in question is dead, like B's brother, what tense would native speakers use?"
] |
138595
|
Are there two comparative forms of "clear"?
|
[
24517,
34761,
51214,
104903,
79772
] |
[
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > \"More clear\" vs \"Clearer\", when to use \"more\" instead of \"-er\" What's the comparative for the word _modern_?",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > \"More clear\" vs \"Clearer\", when to use \"more\" instead of \"-er\" Which of these two terms is correct? If they are both correct, are they identical in usage and meaning, or is one of the words more appropriate for some usages than the other?",
"Does the adjective \"different\" have a comparative form? If so what is it?",
"Compare: > **\"He modified the sentence for clarity.\"** vs > **\"He modified the sentence to make it clear.\"** Any difference here?",
"Uncountable nouns are usually used without an article. Superlatives require definite article. What comes out of these 2 rules when superlative meets uncountable article? We need an example, I hope it is good: > This lake has clear water. > > This lake has clearest water. > > This lake has the clearest water. When I searched the web I found both \"clearest water\" and \"the clearest water\". I read on this site, that in informal speech _the_ is frequently omitted, so let's concentrate on formal speech or writing. If there is Am/Br specific it would also be interesting. Please comment on the examples and in general. Thanks."
] |
57787
|
In which form should verbs following nominal phrases like "none of you", "either of you", etc. be?
|
[
159907,
55580,
183103,
140677,
33739
] |
[
"When we refer to two people, which is right — \"both of you\" or \"the both of you\"? Are both the same or is there any difference between them?",
"> **Possible Duplicate:** > \"Neither Michael nor Albert is correct\" or \"Neither Michael nor Albert are > correct\"? > Is \"either you or [third-person]\" followed by a singular verb or a plural > verb? If a noun phrase is made of two noun-like words that conjugate differently, then which conjugation do you use? Consider: 1) He nor I has... 2) He nor I have... \"He\" and \"I\" are connected with a conjunction. Between 1 and 2 which is correct? Are they both correct? Is neither correct?",
"Are the following sentences gramatically correct: \"None of Tom, Dick nor Harry participated in the contest.\" \"None of Tom, nor Dick, nor Harry participated in the contest.\" If it were a two-person list, the neither-nor construction would clearly be correct (\"Neither Tom nor Harry participated\"). It seems to me that nor remains the correct conjunction in a three-person list, but I can't find any supporting references. Thanks!",
"Which is correct? \"Neither them nor us went to the show.\" or \"Neither they nor we went to the show.\" I think the second because Neither is the subject and so it should be in the nominative.",
"**If** there are only two alternatives, which is more correct, > \"They don't use either of them\" or > \"They don't use any of them\"? I am pretty sure than \"any\" is more correct, but can I use either \"either\" ?"
] |
32058
|
What is the tense of "I would have been happy to..."?
|
[
133549,
150660,
151734,
125063,
60770
] |
[
"This question is about conditionals > If I had money, I would give it you * conditional 2 (present tense) > If I had money, I would have given it to you * conditional 3 (Past tense) But I've come across people mixing conditional 2 and 3 like > If I was there, I would have done that What does this statement mean? Is it grammatically correct? I feel it should be like \"If I had been there I would have done that.\"",
"I wonder how can it be it is correct to say: I would like to have come but I was not informed. (I found many examples on Google). Wouldn't it better to say: I would have liked to come? Or is there a difference between the two? Thanks.",
"Does \"had have been\" exist and what tense is it? > I **had have seen** her",
"Is there anything wrong in this sentence? > \"I would go to work tomorrow if the buses were plying.\" I know it is not wrong to use 'would' in _hypothetical sentences_ in the past and present tense: > \"I would finish the project by today if I were you.\" > \"I would have made the necessary changes had I been the leader.\" But what about the future tense, as shown in the first sentence? Is it incorrect? And if it is, what _would_ be the correct way to say it? P.S: See what I did there? ;) :P",
"I run into the following sitatution: > If he had bothered Mike, he would have bothered him back so much that he > **would have forgotten** about bothering anyone in his life again. Is 'would have' the correct format for the part in bold? Can we use other tenses in the same context?"
] |
99957
|
What is the difference between 'can', 'could', 'may' and 'might'?
|
[
192912,
8470,
1,
64374,
9938
] |
[
"We can use _can_ , _could_ , and _may_ for requests and permissions, but is there any difference between the meanings of the following three versions? > 1. **May** I go? > 2. **Can** I go? > 3. **Could** I go? >",
"When should I use each of the following: * This _may_ help. * This _might_ help. I always get confused about the use of _may_ and _might_.",
"When should I use _can_? When should I use _could_? What is right under what context?",
"What is the difference between _might have_ and _could have_? > He **might have** come. He might have studied. > > He **could have** come. He could have studied. How would you describe a possibility? For example: > It's possible that he **came** from a different culture. > > It's possible that he **come** from a different cutlure.",
"What is the difference among the following questions: > Do you know where I **might** find them? vs > Do you know where I **may** find them? vs > Do you know where I **could** find them? vs > Do you know where I **would** find them? vs > Do you know where I **will** find them? vs > Do you know where I **can** find them?"
] |
75096
|
"To be mad at somebody" vs. "to be mad with somebody"
|
[
16843,
17721,
43671,
55817,
38377
] |
[
"Can anyone tell me what the difference is between 'I'm cross with you' and 'I'm angry with you'? I have the feeling that _being cross with someone_ (by the way, can you be cross 'at'? or is one always cross 'with'?) is more used in Britain than in the US. Is that correct?",
"When Americans say something like, \"Are you mad at me?\", is there any difference between that and, \"Are you angry at me?\" To me, as a Brit, 'mad' means 'insane'. Saying, \"Are you mad at me?\" should indicate an even greater state of anger than usual, such that it actually drives the person insane.",
"Which is the most appropriate/correct usage? > * Are you angry on me? > * Are you angry with me? > * Are you angry at me? >",
"Are there any differences between _mad_ and _angry_ and when should you use one instead of the other?",
"Does _getting mad_ mean the same thing as _getting upset_? Is there any difference at all?"
] |
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