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To Alexander Hamilton Mount Vernon Novr 10th 1787. ... The new Constitution has, as the public prints will have informed you, been handed to the people of this state by an unanimous vote of the Assembly; but it is not to be inferred from hence that its opponants are silenced; on the contrary, there are many, and some p... | It throws no other light on the Subject than such as are to be derived from the disinterested conduct of the Baron. There are a lot of pieces to this sentence that are being mixed in a way that is very uncommon in recent English. The moving parts: no other than — You use nothing other than and no other than when ... | "than such as" + Predicate | english |
Assuming two companies one called A which is the bigger (master), the other call B which is the smaller (child). B is going to join A to be part of A. Which one is the correct phrase here ( B merge into A), or (A merge into B) | A merge with B = B merge with A. Pour the smaller cup into the bigger cup of coffee = pour the bigger cup into the smaller cup of coffee. The traffic of the highway merged into that streaming out of the feeder ramp = the traffic streaming out of the feeder ramp merged into the highway traffic. The product lines of IBM ... | Merge into syntax | english |
While reading SICP , if found the following expression: Since the Fermat test has O(log n) growth, how would you expect the time to test primes near 1,000,000 to compare with the time needed to test primes near 1000? Do your data bear this out? Is it correct? Shoudn't it be "Does your data bear this out?" | Data is a plural noun as indicated here . As such it takes the plural verb form do rather than the singular form does . However, common usage often treats it as singular. This ngram reflects a significant usage of the singular, although the plural still is favored. | Is "Do your data bear this out?" correct? | english |
First, I have a question "How words 'seem' and 'there' are used together?" Which is correct: There seem ... or There seems ... Then, I'm am interested in general constructions with the word 'seem'. What are common mistakes people make when they use this word? | Singular: There is a problem with the car. A problem seems to be afflicting the car. There seems to be a problem afflicting the car. It seems to be a minor problem. Plural: There are multiple problems with the car. Multiple problems seem to be affecting the car. There seem to be multiple problems affecting the car. The... | 'There seem' or 'there seems' + usage of the word 'seem' | english |
E.g. "the market is very bid", meaning a bull market. | Since no one has actually produced a reference to an entry of "bid" or "sell" as adjectives it seems safe to claim that there isn't one. It hasn't been included in any typical, common dictionary that I searched. The term appears to be financial jargon and, presumably, it could be included in a dictionary of related ter... | Is the use of "bid" and "sell" as adjectives documented by any dictionary? | english |
I have been reading a report of a mining accident involving a skat conveyor. But I can't find out what the skat conveyor is conveying. I have found some references to a card game :- 1 : a three-handed card game played with 32 cards in which players bid for the privilege of attempting any of several contracts 2 : a wido... | It could be the model name of a mining conveyor ( Link - scroll to table, first line). Here is a PDF document with the mention of an accident with "Skat" conveyor in mining. | What is "skat"? | english |
In Italy when people say they measure themselves , they are not only measuring their height, or their waistlines. Instead they are measuring how well they do something in a challenging or difficult situation. It's like saying, I measured my expertise. It is similar to put yourself to the test but it doesn't quite conve... | English has an extremely similar idiom: Alice measured up the challenge before her. Bob tried to compete but didn't quite measure up . | If I measure myself am I only measuring my size? | english |
Most of the references I found online simply note that "see you later" is a farewell or parting phrase but nothing discussed when it is appropriate to use the phrase. Is it acceptable to use "see you later" in each of the following circumstances? When you will be seeing the person again later that day When you will be ... | Generally speaking, "see you later" is just slang for goodbye . I have heard it used in all of the situations you list in your question. The order you present matching the order I would give them for frequency/commonness. When you will be seeing the person again later that day. All the time. When you will be seeing the... | When is it appropriate to use "see you later"? | english |
I quote from An Evening in Dandaloo (1891) by Banjo Paterson: <code> It was while we held our races -- Hurdles, sprints and steplechases -- Up in Dandaloo, That a crowd of Sydney stealers, Jockeys, pugilists and spielers Brought some horses, real heelers, Came and put us through. </code> I wonder what is the meaning of... | OED1 (1901) shows the sense “3. One who has light heels; a quick runner”, which fits the context well. Another sense, “4. One who catches by the heels; one who trips up, undermines, or supplants” apparently is behind the name of dogs like red or blue heelers , which are called “’Red Heeler’ or ‘Blue Heeler’ on the basi... | "brought some horses, real heelers.." : what is "heeler" here? | english |
What is a single word for a title and short paragraph, for example: Lorem ipsum Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus sagittis dictum nisl. Duis ac dapibus diam. Maecenas porta non dolor in commodo. Aliquam feugiat nisl non enim vulputate semper. Cras imperdiet aliquet eros sed fermentum. E... | Note, some portions of answers to previous and related questions (stackexchange-url ("What do you call a quote from an article that is displayed prominently in the article itself?") and stackexchange-url ("What are footnotes called when they aren’t in the footer?")) are included below. Two of the main terms for [a prom... | A word for a title and description | english |
When my 6-year old daughter spells words phonetically, she regularly drops final 'n' at ends of syllables, after vowels, like "rabo" for "rainbow", "lach" for "lunch". This made me wonder, are we all dropping the distinct /n/ sound in these words? Is this a regular phenomena in American English, and what's the name for... | We don't "drop" the /n/, but it does undergo a change - English nasal consonants assimilate to the place of articulation of the following consonant. Thus rainbow is pretty much always pronounced rai [mb] ow , raincoat is rai [ŋk] oat , etc. As for how this explains your daughter's spelling, consonant clusters are "diff... | Is final /n/ sound reduced / nasalized in American English? | english |
By "path" I mean a route that has been walked by . The best I could come out with is starting point and ending point . Is there a shorter way to refer to them? (Maybe end points?) | You could refer to them as terminal points or just terminals if you want something shorter. Some transit systems refer to the train stop at the end of a line as the Terminal station, meaning that there are no more stations after this point, and the train just turns around and goes back the other way. | How to call the two points at each end of a path? | english |
I found this statement, "You can’t BS him!" in this blog . what does it mean? | I would guess it means bullshit . | You can’t BS him! | english |
Is there a difference in meaning and/or connotation between "can not" and "cannot"? I have read and seen both used interchangeably, but I know people who argue for a slight difference in meaning. That is, cannot indicates that there is an incapability whereas can not indicates the possibility of absence. Is this a real... | Both are acceptable, but cannot is now more common. OED has this much to say about cannot : (ˈkænət) the ordinary modern way of writing can not : see CAN v. Notwithstanding, in some situations ambiguity may arise if you write can not , and the difference might not be a minor one. Compare: I cannot make love to you. ( S... | "Can not" vs. "cannot" | english |
I often send empty e-mails with just some attachments. Since some e-mail clients don't show the presence of attachments very clearly, I prefer to indicate that the e-mail contains attachments. In French I just write "cf pj", which means "see attachment". What's the shortest abbreviation in English for "see attachment",... | There isn't any abbreviation that I'm aware of. But there should be, and perhaps will be. Cc: (carbon copy) and Bcc: ( blind carbon copy ) are used to indicate a comparable type of meta info about a letter or email. In fact, they literally refer to a communication technology that is no longer in widespread use, but the... | What's the shortest abbreviation for "see attachment" or "see enclosed file" in an e-mail? | english |
I need to check the grammaticality of the following sentence: If I __ a doctor, I would serve the poor. (a) am (b) had been (c) were (d) was I am confused with were and had been since there is would in the sentence too. | The first thing to say, before considering the sentence, is that I would never use 'grammaticality'. It is the kind of word churned out by people stupid enough to believe they can improve on 1,500 years of the English language. All you need to say is: 'I need to check the grammar of the following sentence'. Anyway, the... | Checking the grammar of the following sentence | english |
I have searched a lot and could not come to a conclusion about what should be the exact word :) My guess is that the closest possible word for this should be "beneficiary", but there are other words as well. Can somebody explain, what exactly should be the word and why? | What about donee ? Donee , according to Oxford Dictionaries Online, is used in the matter of a gift, but perhaps it's the best option to use since a donor is one who donates. Other options (though these are a tad boring): recipient , receiver . | What would be the one word substitution of the phrase "one who receives a donation"? | english |
From Merriam-Webster out- in a manner that is greater, better, or more than something else. in a manner that exceeds or surpasses and sometimes overpowers or defeats. e.g outmaneuver> Does outmaneuver literally mean that manoeuvre the opponents out? How shall we explain outset (meaning beginning) and outtake then? | You may have noticed that some words have more than one meaning. I am going to the beach. I am going to eat. The same can go for parts of words like prefixes. outward (towards the outside) outbid (to bid more than someone else) Also, you may have noticed that when you put words together, or even standing a lone, they m... | Understand prefix out- | english |
I thought of shift but it didn't sound right given it's a longer period of time. | One phrase in use in the oil industry is tour or more fully tour of duty , by extension from the military or diplomatic service. ODO lists the latter users. | Name of "a period of time worked offshore" (usually 21 days) | english |
My question is in following sentence What happens, says Hume, is that we observe individuals of one species to have been constantly attended by individuals of another. Why use to have been instead of have been ? I searched for this and only get 5 patterns, 1、observe someone/something 2、observe someone/something do some... | It might be easier to understand with the present infinitive: We observe individuals of one species to be constantly attended by individuals of another. That could not possibly be: *We observe individuals of one species be constantly attended by individuals of another. A non-finite verb form is required after a constru... | observe someone ... to have been...， | english |
There are lines and when they intersect, there is a point. I am not sure if "make" is the correct here: With 4 points made by interesections of both vertical and horizontal lines. | You could say With 4 intersection points of vertical and horizontal lines. | Point "made by" intersections? | english |
May I say: "Why does this happen?" despaired Ralph. Or if not, do you have any suggestions as to a suitable replacement for the placid "asked". What I'm looking for is a mixture of despaired and entreated. | I haven't seen despair used in such context anywhere. As a verb, to despair means to lose hope or to be without hope . Words which usually fill in the following blank: "Why does this happen?" _ __ _ Ralph. are verbs which depict a verbal action by the subject. For instance, laughed, bawled, exclaimed, mumbled . All the... | Using "despaired" as a replacement for "said" or "asked" | english |
There are various set expressions, idioms or merely collocations, which include the lexeme 'dog' – such as 'a dog's life' and 'every dog has its day'. What other expressions including this lexeme are there, may I ask? | Use the Phrase Finder to search for dog . There are 963 results. top dog dog days dog in the manger ... | how many types we can use the word dog | english |
Each page on my organizations web site is assigned a person that takes responsibility for the content of that page. E.g. in the page footer <code> Page Responsible: John Doe </code> The current term used to denote this person is "Page Responsible" which does not sound like something you can say in English. English howe... | I'm a native speaker, and it doesn't sound okay to me. Although I don't think it's completely incomprehensible, it certainly takes some work to figure out what that string of words means. To me, page responsible sounds like it's elliptical for "page [that is] responsible [for something]". But the page isn't responsible... | Does the term "page responsible" make any sense in English? | english |
I'm just seeing dots, working with colons. Is it correct to use a colon to introduce a list of items which begin with colons? Or is it quite superfluous? Typically, I seem to employ this for lists of definitions, for example: The database stores three types of data: junk: data that no-one wants anymore. useless: serves... | Along with mplungjan, I believe a colon is fine in those cases. But if you wanted to limit its use you could consider a dash instead (I like spaces around em-dashes): The database stores three types of data: junk — data that no-one wants anymore; useless — serves no purpose whatsoever; irrelevant — ha... | Colon designated list of colon itemized sentences | english |
I would swear that we have had this conversation already. I have two questions regarding the sentence above: Can it be put just "I swear" instead of "I would swear". What is the difference? If they had the conversation already, why "we have had" not "we had"? | "would swear" is used to make an assertion of an idea that is not an immutable fact. It is a conditional form, and suggests the existence of conditions of conditionality behind the vocalization of the assertion (i.e. not of the truth of the statement itself) e.g. "I would swear [if pressed] that we had been past this s... | we have had or we had | english |
So I'm programming something, and it has the property to be toggled. Now I want to enable or disable this property. In other words, I want to toggle the toggle property. This property, whether or not something can be toggled, should it be called ' Togglable ' ? If not, what should I call it? | As a fellow programmer, I would call it "can_toggle" :-) | To be able to toggle something | english |
While I know that most songs don't necessarily follow proper grammar or usage, or even need to make any sense I couldn't help but be troubled by a line in a song I heard. <code> "These are hurried times" </code> It felt as though I had heard this phrase somewhere before, and after some quick searches I saw a handful of... | The phrase "These are hurried times" means that people or society in the era felt "hurried". There are similar phrases: These are troubled times. These are fortunate times. You can certainly say: These are slowed times. This would mean something akin to: In those times, people/things/technology were slow. It may not be... | "Hurried times" grammar/usage | english |
I cannot interpret the following sentence from Dickens' The Haunted House , particularly the bold parts. Can someone help, please? If this should meet the eye of the gentleman who favoured me with these disclosures, I trust he will excuse my confessing that the sight of the rising sun, and the contemplation of the magn... | If this should meet the eye of the gentleman means If the gentleman happens to read this. I trust he will excuse my confessing means I have every confidence that he will forgive mefor confessing. | What is the meaning of some phrases used by Dickens? | english |
What is the action ot slowly blowing air on the ignited fire to build heat and intensity called? Intensifying the flame. Making a dying flame alive. | The already mentioned fan is a more precise verb than the following ones are going to be, so consider my answer only supplementary. rekindle/enkindle To relight (a fire). To set alight or start to burn again. stoke To feed, stir up, and poke the fire in (a furnace), to tend the furnace of (a boiler). Also, to feed or b... | Words for building fire's intensity | english |
I am a university student studying hospitalities and business English,I have to read a lot of published paper and cite them into my paper, but I find it really hard to understand the articles. I am not an English native speaker, but I can speak fluent English and understand most English newspaper. However, when it come... | I would offer a few reasons journals can be hard to read: 1) Researchers who established and talented enough to have their work published in journals are not necessarily good writers. These are highly intelligent folks, gifted in their specialized areas, but not necessarily well-schooled in the art of writing clearly. ... | Why are academic articles/journals/papers so hard to understand? | english |
Google search gives about 19,500,000 results for "haven't known" and about 12,500,000 results for "haven't knew". So I am a bit confused about this. Could anyone please explain how should I say and why? | Have is an auxiliary verb. When we use have , we should use the past participle form of the verb. In your example, the past participle of know is known , not knew . ( http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/known ) Seeing the number of Google results may be one way of knowing the truth. However, since we are talking abo... | "Haven't known" and "haven't knew" | english |
I'm looking for ways to say "I'm having a bad hunch", or more like a bad feeling about something upcoming. The gut-wrenching feeling that something bad will happen. | fore·bod·ing: noun - fearful apprehension; a feeling that something bad will happen: with a sense of foreboding she read the note adjective - implying or seeming to imply that something bad is going to happen: when the doctor spoke, his voice was dark and foreboding Synonyms: apprehension, anxiety, trepidation, disquie... | Other ways to say "I have a bad hunch" | english |
The following is a sample question taken from the revised version of the ETS-administered Graduate Record Examination (GRE). I normally try hard to understand the logic behind selecting the choices offered by the answer key and often, after a few minutes, I come through. Here, however, I seem to be grappling with the c... | The full statement would read as such with the word in question emphasized: It cannot be denied that without creative reasoning it would not have been possible to lay the foundations of classical physics. Yet classical physics has no contribution to make to the understanding of creative reasoning. This kind of symmetry... | (GRE) Parallel Structures | english |
An equivalent formulation, generalizable to interacting systems , is to consider... I want to know what kind of grammatical structure the part "generalizable to interacting systems" is. It is not a participle construction, right? What is it? | Generalizable is an adjective, and the phrase generalizable to interacting systems post-modifies formulation . It could also be expressed as which is generalizable to interacting systems . | What grammatical structure is this parenthetical? | english |
From The Haunted House of Dickens. He is travelling by train from north towards London when he says this: It was a cold, dead morning (the sun not being up yet), and when I had outwatched the paling light of the fires of the iron country, and the curtain of heavy smoke that hung at once between me and the stars and bet... | It's an older version of the nickname 'Black Country'. The Black Country today lies within the borders of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall Boroughs and Wolverhampton City but does not actually coincide with any "official" boundaries. There is no definitive map of the Black Country. In fact, it almost defies definition. How... | What does he mean by iron country? | english |
I know that "in sequence" means "one by one" or "one after another". I want to express that there are two phases (A and B) and that they are exactly in this order and do not overlap. Would this be correct? In this game, there are two phases in sequence: A and B. Is that correct? | A more common approach would be to say In this game, there are two sequential phases: A and B. | There are two phases in sequence - correct? | english |
Suppose I have a collection of numbered items, say toll booths that are numbered from 1 to 10. Consider three sentences: Toll booth 4 is closed today. Toll booth 1, toll booth 2, and toll booth 5 are all closed today. Toll booths 1,2 and 5 are all closed today. This is not a question of correctness. I believe all three... | According to Longman's Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language , as well as The Elliptical Noun Phrase In English: Structure and Use , these are both examples of a general process of noun phrase ellipsis . Here's one example from the latter source While Kim had lots of books, Pat had very few. with the word 'book... | Toll Booths 1,2 and 5 | english |
I'm looking for a single word to indicate a point in time which is either the beginning or end of an event. Edit, for a better example: A bell rings at the start a round of boxing. A bell rings at the end of a round of boxing. Assuming the bell rings at no other times, we can say the bell always rings at the BLANK of a... | Terminus (plural termini, if you want to be stuffy) is the Latin word for either end of a 1-dimensional extent, and specifically of motion along that dimension. If one uses a Time Is Linear Motion metaphor theme, and considers the timeline of an event, one can talk about the beginning as the terminus a quo 'the terminu... | Word or Phrase for the beginning or end of an event or period of time? | english |
I am writing a scientific paper. In this context, it is usual to cite other works with the last name of the first author followed by "et al." when there are many. If I want to use a possessive form, how should I use the Saxon genitive? For example, is "Smith's et al." correct? | First of all, et al. should be in italics . That said, the common way to refer to a publication like that would be: Smith and coworkers'... or Smith and colleagues' Et al. means and others , it is an abbreviation of the latin et alii . If you really really wanted to use it in the possessive, you would write Smith et al... | Saxon genitive and "et al." | english |
Despite the apparently same meanings of the three words (which I looked up in Wiktionary), I would like to know if my interpretation is correct regarding their differences. "sensible" is used to describe a person who can be perceived and understood by other people. "sensitive" is used to describe a person who can perce... | Where did you find definitions that show the words to be synonyms? They are hardly even close: sen·tient Having sense perception; conscious: "The living knew themselves just sentient puppets on God's stage" (T.E. Lawrence). Experiencing sensation or feeling. sen·si·tive Capable of perceiving with a sense or senses. Res... | sensible, sensitive, and sentient | english |
In my textbook, it said "In an active sentence we need to include the agent as subject; using a passive allows us to omit the agent by leaving out the prepositional phrase with by " Ex: Jackson threw me into the dungeon I was thrown into the dungeon The prepositional phrase is still intact, so why does it say " leaving... | In an active sentence we need to include the agent as subject; using a passive allows us to omit the agent by leaving out the prepositional phrase with by . Active: Jackson throws me into the dungeon. Passive: I was thrown into the dungeon by Jackson. Agentless passive: I was thrown into the dungeon. The “prepositional... | Ambiguity about passive in my textbook | english |
What is common humanity as Dickens uses it? “You will excuse me,” said the gentleman contemptuously, “if I am too much in advance of common humanity to trouble myself at all about it. I have passed the night — as indeed I pass the whole of my time now — in spiritual intercourse.” | The word common has many meanings, among them belonging to or shared by two or more people ⇒ common property belonging to or shared by members of one or more nations or communities; public ⇒ a common culture of ordinary standard; average ⇒ common decency prevailing; widespread ⇒ common opinion widely known or frequentl... | What is the meaning of the phrase "common humanity"? | english |
And Prince Arthur, nephew of King John of England, had described himself as tolerably comfortable in the seventh circle, where he was learning to paint on velvet, under the direction of Mrs. Trimmer and Mary Queen of Scots. | Found it: Dickens did not like Mrs. Sarah Trimmer 's protection of young readers from fairy tales From Opening The Nursery Door By Mary Hilton, Morag Styles, Victor Watson | who does Charles dickens refer to in The Haunted House when he says the following: | english |
According to my search, I think the phrase "extended all the way up" is usually to refer to things that are spread until a certain location. Can this phrase be used to refer to a very tall object? For example: The coniferous trees extended all the way up to the sky. Or is there a better phrase to use in situations like... | In “The X extended all the way up to Y”, extended is the simple past tense or the past participle of the verb extend , whose principle meaning is to increase in extent, or to cause to increase in extent. Thus, if you are describing a circumstance where some spruce, fir, or pine trees suddenly grew tall, all the way up ... | Can the phrase "extended all the way up" be used to describe very tall objects? | english |
Does one write Utopia (with capital) or utopia (without capital)? Or does it not matter which one is chosen? I do not know whether it matters, but I want to use it as follows: Using a (certain) view is still seen as a sort of ‘utopia’, as it is supposed to make (it) understandable with just a single glance. (sentence i... | I think it depends on the context. I'd use a capital letter if I describe a city/place as a utopia in lieu of it's name (perhaps as a callback to an earlier description), or if it was indeed the place name (within the lore of the story/setting). Utopia has vast green plains. If I'm using it as part of a description, th... | Utopia or utopia | english |
I'm trying to translate a phrase from Spanish ("Hasta el final de los tiempos") and I was thinking of using one of these phrases: Until the end of time Until the end of the times Until the end of times I googled all these three and all show up in examples so I'm wondering. Should time be singular or plural? Should I us... | It should be until the end of time . The time here is referring to the entirety of time itself, from the Creation until the end of the world, perhaps. Time here is not countable, so you cannot use times . | "until the end of (the) time(s)"? | english |
From etymonline, ingenious, ingenuous, indigenous all share the same roots: in- and indu- mean "in", and "gen" means "produce". But the meanings of the words are not the same. So do you have some ways to remember the differences between their meanings? | ingenious - Latin ingeniōsus - full of intellect, superior in mind, able, intellectual, clever, ingenious ingenuous - Latin ingenuus - inborn indigenous - Latin indigen - homeborne ingenuus can refer to different words in English, and that I think is the confusing part. The only way to remember is to be familiar with t... | How to memorize differences between ingenious, ingenuous, and indigenous | english |
Say I have the following sentence: I went to the store to buy eggs, regular, chocolate and soy milk, apples, and bread. There are two and clauses here, one that describes the kinds of milk I was buying, and one that describes the other groceries. One option would be: I went to the store to buy eggs, regular milk, choco... | Parallel construction is good for simplifying sentences for your audience: I went to the store to buy regular [milk], chocolate [milk], and soy milk. Here, the parallel construction removes the repeated word milk, simplifying communication and making it more pleasing to the ear. Unfortunately, as you've noted, it can b... | What's the best way to write nested "and" clauses? | english |
Which is the correct usage? <code> 1. I don't know how did it go wrong. 2. I don't know how it went wrong. </code> Similarly it happen in the following cases also <code> 1. He doesn't know where she is. 2. He doesn't know where is she. </code> Is there any alternate way to express the same? | The first is ungrammatical. The second is grammatical, but the question mark should be replaced with a full stop. | Which is the correct usage? | english |
I know what is the meaning of this. I know what the meaning of this is . If the first sentence is considered correct, can someone please explain the reasoning? Edit: The answer of the "Changing Subject and Verb" post illustrates my question, not the answer. Another example: To know whether you are dealing with the main... | The first one is wrong: this is an indirect/subordinate/dependent question , which has regular word order (subject-verb), not the inverted order of an independent question with a question mark. | Are these sentences both structured correctly? | english |
I am looking for a verb analogous to "embezzle", but concerning goods rather than money. "Theft" is of course valid, but it's too broad - embezzle carries the connotation of stealing from your employer , or from assets that you had legitimate access to. (In case it matters: in this case, the character is stealing weapo... | Embezzlement can refer to goods as well as money the conversion of money or property entrusted to one fraudulently to one's own use The term misappropriation can also be used for money or goods to appropriate wrongly (as by theft or embezzlement) Businesses call the loss they experience through both employee theft and ... | Verb for the action analogous to embezzlement, with goods rather than money/assets | english |
Which meaning of "impose" is "imposing" based on? From Wikionary, "imposing" means "Magnificent and impressive because of appearance, size, stateliness or dignity." "impose" means (transitive) To establish or apply by authority. (intransitive) to be an inconvenience to enforce: compel to behave in a certain way To prac... | Something in between the first one and the third one, to make a great impression, to be heavy upon one's mind . When something is imposing, it overwhelms you with its force or skill, it is formidable. Latin impono means "to put (something) in/onto (something)". So an imposing statue affects you by the metaphoric weight... | Which meaning of "impose" is "imposing" based on? | english |
In "incessant", "cess" mean "cease", while in "secession", "cess" mean "go, move" So can "cess" mean either "go, move" and "cease", two meanings contradictory to each other? | Cess- is the supine stem of Latin cedo , "to go, give way". Words on -io(n) are generally derived directly from the supine stem of a verb, so se-cession means "going away and apart from somewhere", with the prefix se- meaning "apart". A desiderative or frequentative verb cesso was also formed from this supine stem, mea... | Can "cess" mean either "go, move" and "cease"? | english |
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21588069-scientific-research-has-changed-world-now-it-needs-change-itself-how-science-goes-wrong Even when flawed research does not put people’s lives at risk—and much of it is too far from the market to do so*—*it squanders money and the efforts of some of the world’s best minds. ... | A pair of dashes is used, as here, to separate a strong interruption from the rest of the sentence. Consistency requires the interruption to be terminated by the same punctuation mark that began it. | dash non-restrictive element in the middle of a sentence | english |
I'm creating a web page (intranet) where administrators can add customers to scheduled "follow-ups" by phone (we'll call them in the future and ask how it goes). So I used google translate and the web to find a good word for my menu tab. When using Google Translate I got "follow-ups" as a suggestion. This don't seem ap... | Perhaps callbacks a return call Also often found as call-back . | Is follow-ups the right word? | english |
The same behavior can also be seen [in/for] other properties such as the color and the mass. Which one is correct here, in or for ? EDIT: Adding more context: The charge of quarks increases as we move to the heavier region. The same behavior can also be seen [in/for] other properties (of the quarks) such as the color a... | I would say "in." Or, depending on the larger context, "with," as stackexchange-url ("FumbleFingers says in a comment"). Either way, don't use "for" there. | "The behavior is seen in other properties" vs. "for other properties" | english |
I've seen the following sentence in a newspaper. Is it grammatical? He's considering taking early retirement. Taking = present progressive was used near another present progressive? | Yes, it's grammatical. Considering is part of the finite present progressive construction is considering . Taking is not a present progressive form, but a non-finite verb form. | Is "considering taking" grammatically correct? | english |
I am now reading stackexchange-url ("The Clean Coder") book and have noticed a couple of cases of weird (for non-native speaker) future tense usages. The point of the kata is to train your fingers and your brain. I'll do a kata or two every day , often as part of settling to work. I might do it in Java, or in Ruby, or ... | In both cases will is correctly used. In the first example, will is used to indicate that the doing of a kata is typical behaviour. Swan in Practical English Usage (p629) states: We can use will to talk about typical behaviour. Example: She'll sit talking to herself for hours . In the second example, the knowing is in ... | Weird future tense usage | english |
I work as a freelancer for a company and I do most of my communication via e-mails. My boss usually ends his mails with "cheers" whereas I always use "regards". Are there any alternatives to "regards" that will be formal but not too formal? | There are numerous sign-off phrases used in letters, but most e-mails are more succinct, often forgoing closing phrases and even omitting a name at the end (because it presumably appears in the To box). This is especially true if there is a standard signature block containing business card-like information at the end o... | Which valediction should I use with my boss? | english |
Here is an exercise from Intermediate Language Practice by Michael Vince: Complete the following sentence with a present simple or present continuous form of the words in bold. Pat has got an interesting hobby. _ __ _ __ _ ___ a boat. she build The answer key says "She's building", but I think "She builds" is more appr... | If it were boats , you could definitely say Pat has got an interesting hobby. She builds boats. However, because it's about a particular boat, you cannot build it over and over again, hence the simple present (which implies regularity, recurrence) is not very appropriate. The present continuous, on the other hand, is n... | Present simple or present continuous? | english |
I am expressing that one writing method is not good. If we follow that method, the essay written with that method is likely to be of a poor quality. Can I say " A such-written essay is likely to be of a poor quality."? If not, could any one please provide a condensed and formal way of doing so? BTW, I am writing a form... | John Lawler's comment that such is a free form quantifier and can't be combined may be true, but a related form, “A thusly-written essay” is a possibility. However, while that form is grammatically correct, it's clumsy. Perhaps adopt the phrase “such an essay” as suggested in another comment, or consider forms like “An... | Can I say something like "a such-written essay"? | english |
I saw a quote by Golda Meir Don't be so humble; you're not that great. Can a non-great person self-claim humble? I now wonder if I have misused "humble" in the past. I knew I wasn't great (but not too bad either), but I said I am humble and sincere in a self-evaluation. | No,you have not. I do not know the context of this statement by Golda Meir but I guess being humble in this context means being modest even after being great.So,if a proletarian tries to show how modest then it does not really matter because it is the expected behavior in society.On the other hand,if a celebrity or som... | Can a non-great person self-claim humble? | english |
This is from The Gift of The Magi by O Henry (William Sydney Porter). Oh, and the next two hours tripped by on rosy wings. Forget the hashed metaphor. (part 4, paragraph 5 in the reference above) I fail to understand what the hashed Metaphor is, in the context of this story. Apart from this line, the rest of the plot i... | One of the definitions of hashed in your reference is "mangled" (combined in a haphazard way; contorted and damaged thereby). The metaphor is describing how time passes: it "tripped by" — that is, with dainty dancing steps — on "rosy wings". While time does fly according to one turn of phrase, the juxtaposi... | Meaning of a mixed metaphor from "The Gift of The Magi"? | english |
A "spelling bee" is an expression usually used to describe the spelling contest, but not necessarily. With that in mind, is it be considered redundant to call it a "spelling bee contest" or a "spelling bee competition"? | In the US, the term spelling bee is very common, but it is rarely seen or heard immediately followed by the terms contest or competition . This ngram shows that the phrase standing alone is nearly a hundred times more prevalent. Most US speakers would consider the terms contest or competition to be redundant. | Is it redundant to say "a spelling bee contest"? | english |
The shape of a cap, a igloo, and that sort of things. What's that shape called? (It's there a common way to refer to it?) | Dome is the word that comes to my mind Wikipedia A dome is an element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. So although it is also a hemisphere, the dome is the top half of a sphere, which is what janoChen was looking for | What's the shape of the upper half of a sphere called? | english |
I am a native speaker of German, and I often see the English verb find being used like its German cognate finden . For example: My students and I find your platform very useful and very appealing visually, as well. — Source This just feels wrong to me. Shouldn’t it be something like: My students and I find your p... | According to the Cambridge Grammar of English (p523) under the heading Complex Transitive Complementation : Many common verbs may be used with a direct object followed by an adjective phrase acting as an object complement. The GCE includes the example: We found the garden slightly disappointing. This corresponds to the... | Usage of “to find (noun) (adj)” | english |
I saw an article recently where the author used the term "flogging a dead horse" where the term flogging was meant in the UK slang sense of "to sell". It was accompanied by a drawing of a stuffed horse being sold at market with a sign along the lines of "fast, living horse for sale". (I can't find the article again). I... | It's certainly valid to say "flogging a dead horse" to mean "selling a dead horse", but "flogging a dead horse" is an idiom meaning you're doing something pointless: whipping a dead horse won't make it move any faster. However, the drawing you saw must have been a comic making fun use of word-play by punning on two mea... | Flog meaning to sell in "Flogging a dead horse" | english |
There are some fruits* that cause a peculiar (unpleasant) numb sensation in the mouth. An unripe perssimon or a quince are two examples that come to mind. I can't describe the feeling any more eloquently so my bet/hope is that you will know what feeling I am talking about. Is there a word in English that describes the ... | Astringency or Puckering From Wikipedia Some foods, such as unripe fruits, contain tannins or calcium oxalate that cause an astringent or puckering sensation of the mucous membrane of the mouth. Examples include tea, red wine, rhubarb, and unripe persimmons and bananas. Less exact terms for the astringent sensation are... | What is the numb sensation in the mouth caused by some fruits called | english |
I have been learning Python programming from a book and I came across a sentence which I can't understand! When you enter this code in the IDLE, it will automatically indent, so be sure to press the backspace or delete key once you’ve typed each print statement, so that your if, elif, and else statements will start at ... | I text talks about a case like the following <code> if x: print("Hello") else: print("Goodbye") </code> That's the correct way to format. Wrong would be: <code> if x: print("Hello") else: print("Goodbye") </code> To prevent the wrong way from happening you have to hit the delete key after you wrote <code> print("Hello"... | What does "would be in" mean in this sentence? | english |
I'm also curious to hear synonyms for this meaning-in-context; the idea that "this is a thing which generates other things algorithmically." Sorry for the pathetic definition that uses the word itself. :( | The Online Etymology Dictionary pretty much says it all. Generator has had the meaning of a thing which generates other things from its earliest use. The specific use for power generation came later. The use you ask about is consistent with the original meaning. 1640s, "person or thing that generates," from Latin gener... | Etymology of the word "generator" when used in the context "random name generator" | english |
A: When you insist, I will reconsider the matter. B: Since you insist, I will reconsider the matter. Sentence A is incorrect (or to me, not natural) while B is correct. I would parse the "Since" in sentence B as "Now that", which makes sense. What is wrong with sentence A from the grammatical point of view? | Both sentences are correct as WS2 has already stated. The first sentence may feel unnatural to you because it is somewhat rude. It is saying that you have considered the matter, you know that the person will object, and when that happens you may change your mind. It suggests the person has to become upset as a conditio... | Usage of "when" in "When you insist, I'll reconsider." | english |
The whole paragraph is like this: An experiment has three possible outcomes, l, J, and K. The probabilities of the outcomes are 0.25, 0.35, and 0.40, respectively. If the experiment is to be performed twice and the successive outcomes are independent, what is the probability that K will not be an outcome either time? I... | Your first answer is correct. "What is the probability that K will not be an outcome either time?" By "either time," this question is referring to the possibility of K being an outcome in either one of the two performances; therefore, K cannot be in either of the outcomes with falsifying the answer. | What does the "either" in this sentence mean? | english |
what does the phrase "hog the mirror" mean? I think I am just not sure what "hog" means. I heard it in a talk show. | To hog something is to not let someone else use it verb, informal keep or use all of (something) for oneself in an unfair or selfish way. synonyms: monopolize, dominate, take over, corner, control So in a house with one mirror, you can have two people needing to use it, if one of them keeps standing in front of it, he/... | What does hog the mirror mean? | english |
If I am introducing someone to my daughter's husband's parents can I say "Hi, I'd like to you meet my _ __ ". In-laws would not work here because they are my child's in-laws not my own. Is there a word for this relationship? | Wiktionary attests a specific term for the relationship you describe: co-parents-in-law. However, it recommends simply using in-law in conversation: Rare in conversation, the generic “in-laws” is generally used, with context left to disambiguate. Once grandchildren are born, the term co-grandparents may be used if the ... | Is there a word meaning "my child's spouse's parents"? | english |
In my opinion, 'the' is a definite article. It emphasis saying "that one only". Why then 'the' before winter season. There is only one kind of winter season. There cannot be different kind of winter season. For example, the food means that specific food, food - means general. The winter seasons means specific, whereas ... | Rather than seeing the definite article in this usage as indicating a particular winter, I see it as (at least usually) referencing the particular season that is winter. The hunting season. The holiday season (is when most hoteliers make their money). The diesel locomotive (can mean 'as opposed to the horse, the electr... | Why is 'the' before winter season? | english |
Is it a rule that 'for' should follow after word 'search'? Does any form of search should be followed by for? For example, searched for searching for | 'Search' can be used both as a verb and a noun. When used as a noun it can be followed by 'for'. e.g 'They conducted a search for the body', but need not be as in 'The police have done a thorough search of the premises.' Used as a verb it sometimes takes 'for'. e.g. 'I am searching for my socks', but not always e.g. We... | Does 'for' always comes after search? | english |
I can't remember to hear "I hoped..." in any movie I've watched. I always hear "I was hoping..." when people talk. Nevertheless I know both forms are correct in terms of grammar. So when "I hoped" is more proper then "I was hoping" and vice versa? | In typical narratives about past events the past simple is the default tense. However, if the speaker wishes to convey the ongoing nature of the past action or state, then the past continuous can be used. For example: In the days before the wedding I was hoping that the weather would be good. You might also have encoun... | "I hoped" vs. "I was hoping". What's the difference? | english |
I have come across the following sentence in a dictionary: Though not very attractive physically , she possessed a good sense of humour. I think the adverb "physically" postmodifies the adjective "attractive" to form the adjective phrase "attractive physically". But as far as I know the usual order is adverb(s) + adjec... | I think you can stress physically with the words in either order: 1a. Though not very physically attractive, [...] 1b. Though not very attractive physically , [...] But you can only stress attractive in the final position: 2a. Though not very attractive physically, [...] 2b. Though not very ... | "physically attractive" vs. "attractive physically" | english |
The phrase "double whammy" is used in a situation where two bad things happen but can it be used in a situation where two good things happen? I didn't know "double whammy" is used in a situation with two bad things! All I believed was whammy was something good. Can anyone suggest another phrase for a situation where tw... | A whammy is never good. Origin 1940s: from the noun wham + -y1; associated from the 1950s with the cartoon strip Li'l Abner, in which the hillbilly Evil-Eye Fleegle could ‘shoot a whammy’ (to put a curse on somebody) by pointing a finger with one eye open, and a ‘double whammy’ with both eyes open. The antonym to a cur... | double whammy usage for two good things? | english |
Why are you "On a train" yet "In a car" when you are inside both vehicles? "On a bike" makes sense but "On a plane" seems wrong as you are actually inside the plane rather than on it. | Generally speaking, the get on and get in follow dimensionality: the object of on is a Surface , i.e, an object with 2 dimensions, or the surface of a 3-D object the object of in is a Container , i.e, a bounded 2-D or 3-D object In terms of conveyances, humans get on a raft, a horse, a bicycle, a sled, a wagon, a skate... | Why are you "On a train" yet "In a car" when you are inside both vehicles? | english |
Hey could someone please tell me what is the word or synonym for "copying someone's pose, style , get up"? | "Copying" is in itself a way to describe that, but I imagine you're looking for something a bit more specific. You could say that person is being your ' doppleganger ", which is a good word for a double of someone, with a slight connotation to being an 'evil' double from its German roots. Being a " copycat " is a commo... | synonyms for "copying a person"? | english |
For instance, should I say: She woke to the rattling sound of the alarm clock. or She awoke to the rattling sound of the alarm clock. (If both are correct, which one is more commonly used?) | I think that the "a+ verb " form is restricted to intransitive uses and that the basic form (" verb ") is used mainly in transitive contexts. I awoke. The dog awakes. vs. I woke the dog. (transitive) The dog will wake me when he barks. (transitive) The logic here is that the other 'a verbs' in English are transitive: I... | Which is grammatical correct "woke to the..." or "awoke to the..." | english |
Is there a name for words with the same consonant sounds, but different vowel sounds? For example: talk, take sit, site taught, tote bough, bow My son has been mixing up these sets of words. I'd like to find a list of them for him to practice (we homeschool him), but I don't know what to search for. | In the context of literary analysis, there are a few applicable terms: Matching consonants create consonance. Words that nearly rhyme are half rhymes or slant rhymes. Pairs where only the vowels vary are pararhymes. In the context of studying language, John Lawler's suggestion of minimal pair is apt: two words that dif... | Name for words with same consonant sounds but different vowel sounds | english |
I'm not a native English-reader, I'm Chinese. So mostly I get meanings of words by consulting dictionaries. I read this in a dictionary about the word shag : a sexual partner of a specified ability. Sexual partner is quite understandable to me, but what does "of a specified ability" refer to? Sexual ability? Could ther... | Shag as a noun as defined in your question is not used without qualification. You could say: She was a great shag, goes like the clappers. Or He was a crap shag, too much teeth. But not *They were a shag. A word with similar usage patterns is lay . In fact the definition is the same. | A vague definition in a dictionary, "shag：a sexual partner of a specified ability". Is there any better or plainer explanation? | english |
It's convention and polite to always list yourself last in a list. I say "John and I went to the store" and not "I and John went to the store." So does that mean that I should always list myself last, even in the case when the pronoun that represents me is first person, plural (i.e. "us" or "we")? In my case, I'm writi... | I love this kind of question. There are a whole bunch of conventions of formal English that were imported from Latin and really don't sit well in their new home. The usual justifications ("Don't say, 'me and my dog' because it's rude to put yourself before your dog.") are just that: post hoc justifications. As soon as ... | Noun order: "He and we..." or "We and he..."? Similarly, "...him and us" or "...us and him"? | english |
During a term, my students have to take two tests, which I call midterms*. Therefore, the term is divided into three periods 1) From beginning of the term till the first midterm exam 2) From the first midterm exam till the second midterm exam 3) From the second midterm exam till the end of the term. What can I call the... | I have both taught and been in graduate school in the US and Canada, and I believe there are no standard terms in wide use for such precise distinctions. Usually periphrases are used: before the first midterm, between the two midterms, after the second midterm, from now until the second midterm, etc. Lessons are split ... | What is the time period between midterms called? | english |
There is a situation where I have never worked out the correct thing to do. For example, here is a sentence I just used in a comment on Stack Overflow : The 'strong disagreement' was about using those methods in this (or indeed most) cases. If (or indeed most) were removed from the sentence, it should read.. The '... | You can either make the "prefixed" portions all match the word they are prefixing: The 'strong disagreement' was about using those methods in this (or indeed in any) case. Or you can eliminate the use of "prefixes" by repeating the target word: The 'strong disagreement' was about using those methods in this case, or in... | Use of plural form when applied to both singular and plural cases | english |
Example sentence: The Adventure's of Huckleberry Finn My dilemma: I would like to convey to the writer of the example sentence that the word Adventure's , in its current _ ____ form, is grammatically incorrect (as opposed to its should-be plural form). At first I started to use the word possessive to describe the form,... | Apostrophize - punctuate (a word) with an apostrophe I would like to convey to the writer of the example sentence that the word Adventure's, in its current apostrophized form, is grammatically incorrect (as opposed to its should-be plural form). | What's the proper way to refer to the form of a word that's improperly punctuated? | english |
Related to stackexchange-url ("How did kil get its positive conntations"). Which goes into the origin of "making a killing" and "killed the audience", but not this specific phrase. Musicians have a particular phrase for doing something very, very well (other individuals use it too, but it seems to crop up with musician... | There are two distinct uses of "killing it" in your question. The first would be used as such: You killed it out there! The crowd loved it! This meaning is more or less explained by stackexchange-url ("the question you linked to"): While its usage to mean "very funny" is partly covered in another question, its usage vi... | The Origin of "Killing It" | english |
Is there a name for dialect/variant of English that is commonly used in titles? The one that intentionally omits auxiliary verbs, articles and other words for shortness: Normal English: The new album is now available, and it contains exclusive booklet inside. “Title” English: New album available, exclusive booklet insi... | Such compressed language may be called headline English —for which we even have a tag, headline-english — or more jokingly, headlinese , also the name of a book on the subject by Ingrid Mårdh. Ah, headline English: home of the article drop , land of the crash blossom . | English dialect used in titles | english |
"This fine-looking, commanding man had become a shadow of his former self." "a shadow of his former self" means he was not like what he once had been, right? Then, I am wondering if "this fine-looking, commanding man" was fine-looking and commanding and his former self had been much worse before, or he had been handsom... | "A shadow of his former self" means that compared to the past, he is now as insubstantial as a shadow. Usually this is used to describe insubstantial, unimportant people who used to be substantial and powerful. What is unusual here is that the shadow itself is described as fine-looking and commanding. It is difficult t... | "This fine-looking, commanding man had become a shadow of his former self.", I don't know how to underatand this sentence. Help me please | english |
Let's say I've put forward an idea to a number of people and each person has several different objections to it. I know I can say: What are each individual's objections? - OR - What are the objections for each of them? But can I say: What are each of them's objections? It sounds awkward, but is it wrong? I don't want t... | The best way to structure this statement will not only depend on the goal of the statement itself, but also on the body of text which surrounds it. In all cases, you must indicate who "they" or "them" are, either in this statement or another. Since here, I assume you are referring to a group of individuals, such must b... | Is this wrong? "What are each of them's objections?" | english |
I'm not a native English speaker. I am having difficulty with some words. Could anyone please tell me if there's any difference between the above mentioned short sentences, as I'm a little confused. | The short answer is 'not much'. The two expressions are more or less interchangeable. It can depend on distance. 'Come over here' would be used if the person you were calling was some distance away, at the other end of a hall, let's say, and there were other people in between. 'Come over here' is also perhaps a little ... | Difference between "come here" and "come over here"? | english |
I'm looking for an alternative ways to ask my email recipients about themselves before we go into more serious discussion. I think "how are you" does not sound professional when you are emailing to authority departments/ hotels/ other professional bodies. Thank you. | I would say I hope this email finds you well I hope this email finds you in good health I hope this email finds you well and in good health I hope this email finds you in good health and spirit The last one sounds a bit casual for business emails. It is usually good when you are about to make announcements in the follo... | What are other alternative ways of saying "how are you?" in business email | english |
What word do you use when you are trying to say that you attempted to do or solve something which you know would most probably fail? For example, I dropped my Nokia off the highest level of the Eiffel Tower. The screen shattered and the phone could not be turned on anymore. In a [word] attempt, I still tried to repair ... | From Google's dictionary (search [ define vain ] ) vain /vān/ adjective 2. producing no result; useless. "a vain attempt to tidy up the room" synonyms: futile, useless, pointless, to no purpose, hopeless, in vain; ineffective, ineffectual, inefficacious, impotent, unavailing, to no avail, fruitless, profitless, unrewar... | Word for an attempt which you know is useless | english |
When you talk about "shrimp" in the plural, there's no "s." However, how can you explain it grammatically? | Some words may be either singular, plural, or uncountable, depending on how they are used in a particular context. That's just the way it is. There's really no grammatical explanation to it, although for some words, there may be historical explanations behind how their plurals are formed. I should note, however, that "... | Why is "shrimp" the plural of "shrimp"? | english |
Is there a place on the Interent where we can find words with meaning that marked as literary in the OED like these: literary for literary : because; since: he felt guilty, for he knew that he bore a share of responsibility for Fanny's death. antic literary : grotesque or bizarre. pinion literary : a bird's wing as use... | Depending on how much time/energy/money/programming you are willing to throw at this problem, the Oxford English Dictionary provides an API for querying the dictionary; you could just ask for words with definitions with the "literary" tag. | Where can I find words that have "literary meaning" like "ardent", "antic" | english |
Basically what't the difference between these two forms in all regards? What do I use? From my native language I've got this habit to always go gerund. | You happened to pick a particularly ornery example for talking about the difference. It's easier to explain with a sentence in the past tense, and with a telic verb - one which has a 'built-in' end state. So let me start with a different example. 1a. I saw him make a ham sandwich. 1b. I saw him making a ham sandwich. I... | "I see it moving/move" | english |
I was reading the paper today about a skier ...losing control on an icy ski slope and colliding with a tree. This seems to be rather a strange usage of collide ; the word seems to me to carry the implication that the things that collide are both active agents, and the tree cannot by any stretch of the imagination be he... | ‘Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage’ has the answer (my emphasis): By far the greatest number of our citations for collide are figurative, in which ideologies, politicians, nations, searing glances, and the like collide. In these uses relative motion is not a consideration. We thus suspect that you will seld... | Strange usage of "collide"? | english |
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