title: Comparison grammar: repeating the main verb vs. using a helper verb

text: Is the following grammatically correct? > Corporation X spends a larger percentage of its revenue on insurance than > Corporation Y does on employee salaries. Should it not be: > Corporation X spends a larger percentage of its revenue on insurance than > the percentage that Corporation Y spends on insurance. Doesn't there need to be parallelism here? How can you compare "does" with "spends a larger percentage of its revenue"? Or is that just the meaning of the word "does"?


title: Is a "rubbish collection and/or disposal" service considered a "utility"?

text: If water, electricity, gas and similar services can be called "utilities", could rubbish collection and/or disposal be a part of this grouping?


title: Gentlewomen and Gentlemen

text: The phrase "gentlemen and gentlewomen" has some usage between 1586 - 1591 after which it just petered out. At the same time "gentlemen and ladies" seems to have more prominence and that continues to this day. The etymology of lady says "wife of a lord", so how come it's become a fit into the phrase "Ladies and Gentlemen" as opposed to "Gentlewomen and Gentlemen"?


title: “Open sesame”: how widely understood is it, and how else to put it?

text: “Open sesame” is a passphrase opening the treasure cave in the tale of Ali Baba and the Fourty Thieves. In French at least, it is a widely used phrase to say jokingly when using keys or any other mean to open a locked door (especially if your friends have been waiting for you, the bearer of the keys!). I don't think I have ever heard it used in English, though, and I was wondering:   * How widely understood is it? Is it a common cultural reference, or something only literary or classicaly-educated people would understand?   * Is it commonly used in media or kids’ books (other than variations on _The One Thousand and One Nights_ )?   * How else would you put it? Are there other idioms that pertain to opening of doors and gates?


title: Word or phrase to describe banging finger downwards to demand something

text: I'm trying to find a short and sweet phrase to describe the following action. A man is upset. He is demanding for something to be done. He reaches his hand forward, his finger pointing downwards, and he bangs his finger on the table several times, indicating he wants that something now. Or maybe just as an action to reaffirm how serious he is. Is there a clear way of describing this action?


title: Should Units of Measure be capitalized?

text: I just created an inch to mm conversion calculator and I am writing a blog post announcing its launch. When should I capitalize the terms inch and millimeter? Does it matter if I'm spelling it out? What if I'm using an abbreviation or symbol? What if it begins a sentence?


title: What's a word for doing something eagerly despite the pain? Especially in the context of eating something hot or spicy

text: I'm looking for two words: Specifically, is there a word to describe the activity of eating or being compelled to eat something despite its hot temperature or spiciness? The second word I'm looking for would describe same concept but at a more general level: a word for doing something eagerly despite the pain that it causes because it feels so good. I'm looking for a single word, but idiomatic phrases capturing the same meaning would be helpful too. Edit: Some clarification; while masochism is pretty close, per ermanen's answer, the word I'm looking for isn't about pleasure from pain, but pleasure _despite_ pain. In other words, the hypothetical person is compelled to eat the hot food (temperature) because it tastes so good, not because she derives pleasure from the pain.


title: What is the moon zenith called?

text: The time of day when the sun at its zenith, relative to the observer, is called "noon." What is the lunar equivalent? "Moon's zenith" sounds so clunky.


title: "has been" vs "have been"

text: I am answering an online English grammar test and encountered the following question > Where was Jack yesterday? —I don't know. He **___ __ ___ ____** seeing the > doctor. My answer is: _might has been_   Correct Answer is: _might have been_ Why not _might has been_? _He_ is singular?


title: Present participle vs. past participle

text: How to distinguish the difference between the two of them? For example, in the following sentence: > Local times, originating from X and perpetuated by Y, have been abolished. Why can I not use "originated from X and perpetuating by Y"? I know that this fragment sounds awkward, but I am interested in knowing the rules behind it.


title: defining the subject

text: It is commonly asserted that the subject of a sentence is the noun or pronoun that does something or exists in a particular state of being. Therefore, in the sentence "All but Jones are here" the subject would seem to be "all," but in fact it is not true that "all" exist in the particular state of being "here," because Jones is absent. Is it actually inaccurate to define the subject as something that performs a verb or exists in a particular state of being? Is it sufficient/better/more accurate to say simply that the subject is the noun or pronoun that dictates the inflection of the verb? Or is it the case that the actual subject is "all but Jones"?


title: What's the difference between "I want" and "I am wanting"?

text: What is the difference between the two? Why and where is the latter very strange sounding variant used?


title: Is there a word that describes the swift and skillful covering of the natural emotions?

text: Some people become adept at completely hiding their natural reaction to a situation. Some may call this _lying_ , or just control. Neither of these describes when it is done swiftly in the moment, and done with such skill that most observers will not see the _'glimmer'_ of the natural reaction. I think this is a form of lying, psychoanalytically-speaking, but I do not think malice is an inherent condition here - sometimes a leader or a parent will swiftly hide concern from their children or those who look to them for guidance. This latter case is not evil. * * * I would think that _'deft'_ is related, but am unsure if **the element of concealment** is an inherent quality of _deftness_. I am speaking to _the swift-covering of the natural response_ , and want a word identifying that a natural reaction began, **_evanescently_** , and was deftly replaced by another visage.


title: What's the word for a party to whom a business proposal is made?

text: What's a single word for a party who is made a business proposal to, i.e. the person or persons to whom a proposal is submitted?


title: Is it possible that "ensconce," "sconce," and "abscond" could be cognates?

text: It seems impossible that "sconce" and "ensconce" are not cognate. However, according to The Etymological Dictionary: > **sconce** (n.) Look up sconce at Dictionary.com   >  late 14c., "candlestick with a screen," a shortening of Old French esconse > "lantern, hiding place," from Medieval Latin sconsa, from Latin absconsa, > fem. past participle of abscondere "to hide" (see abscond). Meaning "metal > bracket-candlestick fastened to a wall" is recorded from mid-15c. > > **ensconce** (v.) Look up ensconce at Dictionary.com   >  1580s, "to cover with a fort," from en- (1) "make, put in" + sconce "small > fortification, shelter," perhaps via French, probably from Dutch schans > "earthwork" (cf. Middle High German schanze "bundle of sticks"), of > uncertain origin. Related: Ensconced.


title: marriage by a civil official

text: What does "a civil official" mean in the following context?   How goes a marriage by a civil official? > In a 2,500-person nationally representative survey commissioned for my book, > I found that weddings with religious leaders of different faiths are rare: > Only 4% of interfaith — and, surprisingly, 2% of same-faith — couples employ > them. Instead, interfaith couples are much more likely to have used a civil > official.


Can I use "among" instead of "in" in this sentence? > Test results showed that it could slow memory loss by as much as 17% **in** > patients if taken regularly and in combination with other prescribed > medication." If I can't, why?


title: "for the sake of" | synonyms

text: Are there any other ways of writing the below while keeping the same meaning ? > "for the sake of" I have used it so much in my essay so I am searching a thing which gives same meaning.


title: "There" as an adverb

text: In sentences like, " _there_ is a great place down the street," and " _there_ is no reason to do that," _there_ is being used as an adverb, and OED defines this particular usage as: > ADVERB   >  (usually **there is/are** ) Used to indicate the fact or existence of > something:   >  _there’s a restaurant round the corner   >  there comes a point where you give up_ My question is, what exactly is it modifying? Also, if it's modifying _is/are_ , then doesn't _is_ indicate the fact of existence well enough on its own? * * * Edit: Is it just a kind of there-support to avoid writing a sentence like, " a restaurant around the corner is"?


title: Mean of, 'Save by thine own accord'

text: I want to understand a prayer entitled 'Good Morning Lord' by Grace E. Easley. In the last stanza the words _thy_ and _thine own_ are used, ' No joy or pain is ever sent, save by _Thine own_ accord, so in the shadow of _Thy_ love, I say ...Good Morning Lord'. But since this a prayer to the Lord and both words are capitalized, does it mean by _his_ doing or by my own doing.


title: When did "by way of" start meaning "originally from"

text: Some years ago, after returning to New York from some years living abroad, I began to notice New Yorkers of a certain generation (in their 20s and early 30s) describing themselves or others as "from [neighborhood] by way of [city/state/country]," meaning that they now live in the named neighborhood, but originally come from the named city, state, or country. This is backwards according to the usual meaning of "by way of." Normally, if one travels "from A by way of B," then one started at A and passed through B. In those days, I saw this mainly in journals of perhaps lower editorial standards, such as Time Out New York (http://www.timeout.com/newyork) and Metro New York (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_New_York). More recently, this has appeared in a New York Times article (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/29/nyregion/29acrobats.html), which quotes a woman with an obviously Hungarian name and describes her as "from Queens by way of Hungary." Does anyone know when, where, or why this started? EDIT A related question about another instance of this usage: What does "by way of" mean?


title: Should I use activity or activities

text: I want to say something like "the antibacterial activity of these three drugs is the same". I am not sure whether i should use activity or activities in the above sentence, since three drugs are mentioned.


title: Meaning - "last importance"

text: > In the final appeal Lord Campbell said: > >> No one can suppose that Lord Cottenham could be, in the remotest degree, influenced by the interest he had in this concern; but, my Lords, it is of the **last** importance that the maxim that no man is to be a judge in his own cause should be held sacred. And that is not to be confined to a cause in which he is a party, but applies to a cause in which he has an interest. What does the adjective mean here? It can't be definition 1.2 'The lowest in importance or rank', which is logical, but contradicts the sacredness of the above maxim? Source: P48, How the Law Works, Gary Slapper


title: "No more dirty dishes shall meet the eye."

text: My flatmates frequently make a huge mess in our kitchen. I created a motivational poster to hang in our kitchen with a picture of Optimus Prime and the phrase: "Optimus Prime says: No more dirty dishes shall meet the eye!" (as a reference to the Transformers catchphrase "more than meets the eye") I'm not a native speaker—so, does that work?


title: Did "Mrs" originally imply possession?

text: Was _Mrs_ ever intended to mean _Mr's_ , as in _mister's_ to indicate possession? I started thinking about this when someone brought a breakdown of the word _history_ ( _his-story_ ) to my attention. It obviously would be very sexist but not surprising.


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

text: If I want to abbreviate the sentence "Please fetch me the book; I think Jean has got it.", I can write "Jean's got it." But what if it's Carlos who has it? Assuming you prefer the style of possessives where you'd write _Carlos'_ instead of _Carlos's_ , is it ok to write _Carlos'_ to mean "Carlos has" in addition to "of Carlos"?


title: English comprehension task

text: The following is an English comprehension task, and we can't agree upon the correct answer. According to the textbook, answer B is correct. However, in my opinion, it is clearly lacking the word **not**. If the word "not" is put in, then it makes sense - otherwise it doesn't make sense for me. Could a native speaker confirm this? >   1. Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is a condition characterized by an > Inability to focus on any topic for a prolonged period of time, and is > especially common among children five to ten years old. A recent study has > shown that 85 percent of seven-year-old children with ADD watch, on average, > more than five hours of television a day. It is therefore very likely that > Ed, age seven, has ADD, since he watches roughly six hours of television a > day. > > > The argument above is flawed because it: > > (A) cites as a direct causal mechanism a factor that may only be a partial > cause of the condition in question > > (B) fails to indicate the chances of having ADD among seven-year-old > children who watch more than five hours of television a day > > (C) limits the description of the symptoms of ADD to an inability to focus > for a prolonged period of time > > (D) fails to consider the possibility that Ed may be among the 15 percent of > children who do not watch more than five hours of television a day > > (E) does not allow for other causes of ADD besides television watching


title: What a pluperfect a##hole

text: From _The Silence of the Lambs_ (1988): > "Marilyn Sutter saw it upstairs. Chilton was blowing off about "The Search > for Billy Rubin." Then he went to dinner with a television reporter. That's > where he was when Lecter took a walk. _What a **pluperfect** asshole_." While I am aware of the pluperfect _tense_ , the above usage of the word strikes me as rather exotic. ODO only lists the grammatical definition in its British English reference. But it provides an additional definition under its American English entry: > [as modifier] more than perfect: > > _they have **one pluperfect daughter** and are expecting an ideal little > brother for her_ Webster defines its alternate sense as _utterly perfect or complete_ along with a note on its origin: > late 15th century: from modern Latin **plusperfectum** , from Latin (tempus > praeteritum) plus quam perfectum I'm curious as to how this odd-sounding construction made its way from the grammar book into common parlance. Is it used in this sense only in the US? Is it still in use? (Although I see it used in other languages, I believe that _pluperfect_ is no longer the term of choice in English grammar.)


title: What's the word for a counterparty of a customer?

text: When I want to refer to the people (and organizations) who supply me with the goods and services I consume---that is, those of whom I am a customer---what word do I use? My candidates:   * Customee   * Seller   * Supplier "Customee" gets the meaning across, very effectively I assume, by piggybacking on _-er_ and _-ee_ being paired in many other contexts. However, it sounds _awful_ (IMNSHO). "Seller" is less foreign to most ears, but only speaks to what the other party does, not specifically that they do it in relation to me. Also, and this is probably connected, "my sellers" could easily be mistaken for "the salespeople I have hired" or something similar. "Supplier" doesn't sound too bad and speaks to what they're doing for me. However, I have heard that term used more of suppliers of capital goods---that is, inputs to or tools which facilitate production processes; I haven't heard the term used in reference to those who supply me with consumer goods (the things I want "just because"). For that reason, I think it may sow confusion. What do?


title: What's a better word than "colon-ized" or "title-rrhea" for this style in book titles?

text: With a few online searches I found   * Nelson's complaint about long book titles and the trend to use colons,   * Kottke's list of reworked titles ( _then_ : The Grapes of Wrath, _now_ : California Dreamin': Traveling Cheap in the Middle of an Economic Downturn),   * Rados' rant and descriptive **[Punchy Book Title] [COLON] [Incredibly Long Subtitle of What The Book's About, in Case the Reader Doesn't Get Our Pun]** ,   * Rosenthal's request to "kill the colon!", etc. What's missing is a succinct word describing the technique of using title- colon-subtitle (not just that a book is subtitled, but in an excessive/irritating fashion). "Colon-ized" is the first thing that came to mind, but isn't very good. Is there a better existing word, or one you wish to coin (eg, title-rrhea)?


title: Why does the verb "succeed" change to "successor" as a noun?

text: Can someone explain the why the verb **succeed** changes to **successor** as a noun and not **succeeder**? Why the double s?


title: Is there a special English name for one’s mother’s sister’s son?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Family Relationships My friend is trying to find out what is needed to apply for a work visa in Canada. You get extra points for having a relative with citizenship. However, we’re confused about whether his particular family relationship counts. I’ll quote the text: > Family in Canada (parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, sister, brother, niece, > nephew, child or grandchild, spouse or common-law partner who is a Canadian > citizen or permanent resident living in Canada) In our language, there is a separate word for _mother’s sister’s son_ , but is there a word for that in English, apart from _cousin_ and _relative_? Could we unambiguously conclude that he’s not eligible for extra points based on the quote above?


title: Using "henceforth" to refer to future events, but from a "past perspective"

text: The title isn't great, sorry, I couldn't really come up with anything better :D Here's a bit of context: I'm working on my thesis and am currently writing down the historical evolution of a certain subject, and I got to a point where I wrote something like this: > [...], underlining the importance of Foo in order to achieve Bar. Directly after that sentence, I want to express that the **importance of Foo** has been acknowledged many times after the writing I am referring to in the quoted sentence. I was thinking of something like this: > The importance of Foo has been henceforth acknowledged in many sources [...] So my questions are:   1. Is it even possible to use "henceforth" in this manner, and if so   2. Is it still commonly used, especially in a scientific environment, or does it just sound terribly outdated


title: OED Appeals: Antedatings of "blue-arsed fly"

text: The OED has made a public appeal for help in tracing the history of some English words, including: > ## **blue-arsed fly** > > noun _earlier than 1970_ > > The first evidence for the metaphorical blue-arsed fly in the OED entry > comes from a 1970 quote attributed to the Duke of Edinburgh: > > 1970 _Times_ 22 Apr. 7/3 The Duke of Edinburgh‥asked a photographer if he > was getting enough pictures… ‘You have been running around like a blue-arsed > fly.’ > > The r-less _blue-assed fly_ , however, is attested from at least 1932. Why > such a discrepancy? Since our original OED entry was published in 2005, > we’ve discovered an earlier example of _blue-arsed fly_ in a dictionary of > slang from 1949, but we suspect there may be evidence out there that is > earlier still. Can you help us find it? Real-life examples dating from > before 1970 and dictionary examples from before 1949 would both be welcome. > > For reference, here are the entries as currently published in OED Online: > > ![blue-arsed fly in the OED](http://i.stack.imgur.com/Z0iN8.png)


title: "Hundreds of applicants" vs "hundreds of resumes"

text: When I am referring to a number of job applicants, I might say, "I've got a hundred qualified applicants in this folder"; when what I mean is, "I've got RESUMES from a hundred qualified applicants in this folder". Although most English speakers would understand what I meant, it is not proper English. Is there a name for this grammatical shortcut/faux pas? Although the Web has powerful search capabilities; unless you KNOW the name of something, it is hard to search for it. I am very grateful for all the StackExchange sites.


title: Is it acceptable to nest parentheses?

text: Is it acceptable to nest parentheses (for example, if I (meaning myself) write like this)?


title: Is it correct to use multiple brackets in a sentence?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Is it acceptable to nest parentheses? Sometimes I want to explain something a bit further twice or more in the same sentence, and I usually find it awkward to use or not use brackets. Let me say for example I want to say > I was in a bus when a 'pastor by claim' (who supposedly repented from being > the assistant of Pericome (a very popular dibia (necromancer))) was making > calls to different people and convincing them to 'sow seeds'. I find it very weird to do the above, so I usually patch it up like this: > I was in a bus when a 'pastor by claim' (who supposedly...) ... then after all the statement I add: > NB: Pericome is blah blah blah, and dibia means necromancer Normally in formal writing or documents I could add footnotes, but it's not everywhere you can do that...


title: Double parentheses

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Is it acceptable to nest parentheses? Are you allowed to have parentheses within parentheses in English? Something like > "(I did that because I wanted to (and the want came from too much vodka), I > still regret it, however)" I just made that sentence up.


What do you call someone who betrays his/her spouse? Is the word different for men and women? Is it different for people who are in a relationship and not still married?


title: Synonym for "Love handles" (flanks)

text: Is there a synonym for this term? I heard it on an US TV show. It refers to the flanks. Thank you!


title: What is the meaning of "store-testing"?

text: I would like to know what is the meaning of the term **store-testing** as seen in the commercial ad below. Is there a verb "to store-test"? What does it mean? ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/4XyCe.jpg) It seems merriam-webster does not have this word "store-test"


title: Is "as" used correctly in this sentence?

text: > Young, naive and trusting as I was, I believed every lying word he said. From what I learned, "as" used the way here should mean "though". But if it means "though", the meaning of this sentence is wrong, and a correct sentence should be: > Young, naive and trusting as I was, I didn't believe a single lying word he > said. or > As I was young, naive and trusting, I believed every lying word he said. Is my understanding right?


title: Origin of "Comparing apples and oranges"

text: What is the origin of the idiom "comparing apples and oranges," as in, > You can't compare those things! That's like comparing apples and oranges. EDIT: I can find a book from 1889 making the comparison.


title: What is the difference between omnidirectional and non-directional?

text: As I understand it, omnidirectional and non-directional both indicate that something: > ...is not affected by direction in any way Is the meaning of these two words equivalent.


title: Does this make sense .. to you ? word choice help .. please

text: I'm trying to define some variable definitions for a report I am drawing up, but I need a second opinion & some help rewriting it to become a bit more formal.. Background, it's call center where an agent calls to get a customers account balance and arrange with an agent (using system dial) , then transfer to agent , then if they talked and agreed they make arrangement. here we go: Call Volume = Number of dial calls Apps Volume = Number of unique applications ( same day ) Transferred Calls = Number of calls that dialer transferred to agents ( with agent ID ) Contacted Calls = Number of calls that agents directly talked to customers Arranged Calls = Number of successfully arranged calls that occurred same day ( including customer call back after outbound dial , or system leave a message) Contact Arranged Calls = Number of successfully arranged calls that occurred same day ( contacted calls only ) Arranged Amount = Arranged amount for all successfully arranged calls Contact Arranged Amount = Arranged amount for contacted arranged calls ===> I have problem with word choices and I like some opinion or recommendation how can I change this definitions to become more formal. My boss said I can't use same word as the variable in my definition, he didn't understand what I meant by these. Does this make sense to you? I'm not sure where to go from here.


title: Week, weekdays and weekend

text: Is the meaning of 'week' changing? These days a number of texts are using 'week' as an alternative to 'weekdays'. e.g. _I have a number of meetings lined up in the week, but will be spending my weekend playing golf._ I see a number of things wrong with the sentence. Am i the only one?


title: what is the past tense of "hangar"

text: Is this question grammatically correct in regards to the word "hangared" pertaining to aircraft. > If your aircraft is hangared in another locality, please let us know > immediately.


title: What is "the exception that proves the rule"?

text: I've heard the phrase, "the exception that proves the rule," but it's not clear to me what it means. It sounds self contradictory. What is a good example of "an exception that proves the rule?" Can this phrase be used effectively in formal dialog, or is it only colloquial?


title: "Represented by" vs. "represented with"

text: What should I write? >   * A certain property is represented with a special color. >   * A certain property is represented by a special color. > Or maybe even "indicated with/by"? But the main point of this question remains: _with_ or _by_?


title: Sorted vs Sorted out

text: I'm an American and I refer to a situation which is settled as "sorted out." My English family would just say that it's "sorted". Which is the earlier expression? Did Americans add the preposition or did the English drop it?


title: How to comprehend "The output should be false."?

text: Consider a function in a computer program which returns a boolean value (true or false). _The output should be false。_ can be interpreted as either of the following two: **1\. As we expected, the output is false. i.e. it is ought to be false.** **2\. We expect the output can not be false, but it is strange that the output is indeed false.** If you see the sentence at first, how will you comprehend it?


title: What is "newbie" as an adverb?

text: The title says it all! What is _newbie_ as an adverb?


title: Word for a person with a negative attitude

text: What is the person called who always thinks negative? E.g. >   * Mr. X always thinks negative. >   * Mr. X has negative attitude. > What we can use either? Is there any particular word for this?


title: Past Perfect and gerund vs. Past Perfect and Simple Past

text: When using the past perfect tense to say something happened before something else, is it correct to use the gerund form (as opposed to the past tense) to express the latter event? For example, is it correct to say: > I had given him the book before leaving for Canada. Or is it only correct to say: > I had given him the book before I left for Canada.


title: comes to think of it?

text: Which of the expressions, "come to think of it" or "comes to think of it", grammatically correct? Or are they grammatical at all? If it is a short form of, > When one comes to think of it, I would rather have a cat. It should be > Comes to think of it, I would rather have a cat. But it seems that it is more often used as > Come to think of it, I would rather have a cat. Which one is correct? Grammatically, it neither seems to be a normal sentence. Are there more expressions with similar structure (verb phrase that is not an imperative).


title: Is "steel breeze" an idiom?

text: I had only known of the phrase from the lyrics to the Pink Floyd song _Shine on you crazy diamond_ and had always assumed that they had coined it. However, I stumbled upon a book by Alastair Reynolds called _On the steel breeze_. I was wondering whether the title is a reference to the song or not so I ran a couple of Google searches which came up with 21,100,000 uses of the phrase, including a rock band from the '80s and a maker of parachutes. A Google NGram search for the phrase returned nothing. This answer, claims that the phrase existed long before Pink Floyd and that it means "cold breeze". However, there are no references given and I have not heard it used in that context. So, I am wondering if the phrase was indeed coined by Pink Floyd and all subsequent uses are references to the song or if the phrase already existed before they used it and the song's popularity is masking older uses. If the latter, I would also like to know what it means.


title: Someone who just thinks they know what they're talking about

text: What is a word or phrase that means a speaker (or writer) is talking about something they know very little about, but they think they know more than they do? An example: If you read diet message boards, you get dozens of people saying ‘Eat 6 small meals a day,’ or ‘Eat 3 big meals, but don’t snack,’ or ‘Eat more/less protein/carbs/fat.’ Each person is sure they are knowlegable enough to give good advice, but real experts(dieticians or researchers, for example) are rare. I want a word to describe this attitude. Bullshit is close, but someone bullshitting usually knows they aren’t an expert, they just want to convince the listener they are. Also, I’d prefer something politer than bullshit.


title: Matching tenses of sentences

text: I'm writing to enquire whether there is a need for ...       Wishing to be a part of your team thought the best way to go about it     was to ask you directly.          My background is mostly with ... but my interests lie with ...      My question is about the second and third sentences - I don't know how, or if at all, they can be rewritten to match the tense of the first one.


title: Difference between the use of "supplier", "vendor", "provider"

text: Which is the difference between the use of _supplier, vendor, provider_? The way I see it, they are complete synonyms. Am I right?


title: Is there a word that means "as its name would suggest?"

text: Does there exist a single word that more or less means "as its name would suggest?" For example, is there a word that appropriately might replace the bolded portion of this sentence? > Computer Science, **as its name would suggest** , is the science of > computation. Something perhaps in the vein of the following? > Computer Science, **unsurprisingly** , is the science of computation.


title: What is correct, "in-stock" or "on-stock"?

text: Do we have products in stock or on stock?


title: Why is it "either . . . or" and "neither . . . nor"?

text: Do we say it this way because of some connection with French and the "ne . . . pas," "ne . . . ni" constructions? I'm thinking that it might be a direct importation from Old French by the Normans, or perhaps this duality is a general feature of PIE languages? If anyone can clue me in I'd be grateful.


title: What is the agent of a trial called?

text: It is simple enough to refer to the object of a trial (in the general sense, e.g. test driving a car) as _the tried_ , but what is the best term to use for the agent of the trial? "Trier", although ostensibly cromulent, sounds very unnatural to me. "Investigator" sounds metaphorical outside of scientific contexts. There must be a better alternative.


title: Why are decimals read as fractions by some cultures?

text: I find it very strange that the top results on Google for _"how to read decimal"_ give me a very strange way to read them - as fractions. I have learnt to read the digits individually and it makes a lot of sense. There is no fumbling with which _"-ths"_ the fractional part is, and there's no confusion for the listener. The ESE QA here and here also agree with me. However, I find that the system of reading decimals as fractions is being widely taught and accepted. The top result here has an example: What is the numerical value of **"two hundred thousandths"**? Three students gave the answers as follows:   * Student 1: 200,000.   * Student 2: 0.200   * Student 3: 0.00002 Apparently only Student 2 is right. The explanation given is that the individual answers when converted to words would be:   * Student 1: two hundred thousand   * Student 2: two hundred thousandths   * Student 3: two hundred-thousandths And that Student 3 is wrong because the question did not contain a _hyphen_. But here's what I don't understand: How do you state the _hyphen_ when actually speaking the number out loud? Do you say **"two hundred _hyphen_ thousandths"**, or do you simply say **"t-w-o hundredthousandths"** (saying the second word as compressed as possible)? According to other sources like this video, even the question is wrong, as the "correct" answer by Student 2 should actually be read as **"two tenths"** , ignoring the insignificant zeros. **I am trying to understand how this system came to be and why it is accepted** over the simpler system of reading out the digits individually after the decimal point:   * Student 1: two hundred thousand.   * Student 2: zero point two.   * Student 3: zero point zero zero zero zero two.


title: Words that change meaning when the first letter is capitalized

text: What words change meaning when the first letter is capitalised? The only word with this property that comes to mind is _polish_.


title: disproven in context

text: What is the role of the word _disproven_ in this sentence: > . . . my colleagues who rail quite eloquently against the disproven idea > that the disparity between what women in the workforce make compared to men > is only because the system is patriarchal and sexist,but who had nothing to > say when. . . . Is the author being condescending towards the colleagues in that they only rail against ideas that have already been disproven? Nevertheless, do the colleagues believe that there are other factors for the “disparity” apart from the sexist and patriarchical society?


title: Difference between "before" and "in front of"

text: Which one is correct? > The patterns swam before her eyes. OR > The patterns swam in front of her eyes. I know that "before" is mostly used when we talk about the time, but is it right to use "before" when we talk about space? I'm most interested in spoken usage.


title: Article in a phrase

text: I saw a phrase on the curb. Literally: "NO DUMPING. FLOWS TO BAY". Why there is no article before "bay"? Bay is countable, and I think article should be there. Or it may be Bay? (The curb situated in SF Bay Area, probably bay is Bay here)? Articles are pain for me.


title: "Such is life, and every day is getting sucher and sucher"

text: Where did this saying come from? > Such is life, and every day is getting sucher and sucher. It doesn't make any sense to me, perhaps because I'm not a native English speaker. Can someone explain?


title: What does "creeping on one's turf" mean?

text: When you check in on foursquare to a place whose mayor is your friend, your check-in message is "Your friend X is the mayor here (and **you're creeping on their turf** )." What does this expression mean? EDIT: In foursquare's game mechanics, the person with most checkins (in different days) to a venue is the venue's mayor. So, when you check in somewhere you're actually getting yourself close to steal that person's mayorship. I understand that the word "turf" here has to be a slang for territory; my main doubt is about the word "creeping," then. Does the sentence means "you're on your way to steal your friend's mayorship" or "you're enjoying the benefits of hanging out on a place that is commanded by your friend"?


title: Shorebased, Shore-based or Shore Based?

text: What is the best or correct way to spell this adjective (e.g. shorebased training)?


title: Which would you place in parentheses: the expansion or the abbreviation?

text: When dealing with abbreviations, should you parenthesize the abbreviation or its expansion? I have seen it both ways. Can anyone make a good case for preferring one style over the other?


title: Can a book be divided in categories?

text: A book divided in several chapters/topics, can also be considered to be divided in categories (or have categories)? Not sure if category can be used in this case, or if it should only be used in the context of category theory.


title: "Fermentor" vs. "fermenter"

text: I am curious to know the correct usage of these words as it seems to be misused often. See http://meta.homebrew.stackexchange.com/q/202/59 for a related question.


title: Origin of "rub someone the wrong way"

text: What is the origin of the idiomatic expression _rub someone the wrong way_? Is it correct to use the idiom in reverse, i.e. _rub someone the right way_ , possibly meaning _to calm_ or _to please_?


title: What is the polite way to acknowledge a pregnant lady after a long hiatus?

text: I knew her well, but I see her again when she's 7-months pregnant. Do I say, "Congrats on the upcoming baby?"


title: Meaning of "The Lord is on our side"

text: **Written in 1836 in Texas** > P.S. The Lord is on our side—When the enemy appeared in sight we had not > three bushels of corn—We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 > bushels & got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves. (for further context, see the Wikipedia entry for this letter) The bit I found interesting was the last line about the Lord being on their side. Was this used as an expression to encourage people to join them, or was it used as a literal statement, as in, the Lord literally put bushels of corn in the house for them?


title: Should I place a question mark after "Can you (just) imagine"?

text: I mean should I always split the sentence into two ("And can you imagine? He escaped through the window!") or I can just get away with one long sentence without a question mark at all (something like "And can you just imagine - he escaped through the window!"). What punctuation would be correct in such cases?


title: What is the difference between "ostensibly" and "probably"?

text: Most of the time _ostensibly_ and _probably_ are used interchangeably. What is the difference between these two words?


title: What does *countenance* mean, and why do I have hard time remembering it?

text: I keep seeing this word every couple of months in NYT or Wall Street Journal (and once again, I stumbled upon the word in the article America's True History of Religious Tolerance). Every time I see this word, I always look it up. But shortly after — typically a few days later — I gleefully forget the meaning. What's the best way to remember what this word means?


title: To Break Bread -- the origin of the phrase

text: I am looking for the origin of the phrase "break bread" meaning to eat (or, I expect, to share food). I know that it can be sourced to the book of Acts but I have also seen many websites which say that it is older than that, reflecting a biblical era practice of sharing food to solemnize a meal, just with no actual references. What language does the phrase come from or is it an invention directly into the English?


title: Does the phrase "begging the question" make any sense?

text: I know what "begging the question" originally means, but I just can't make any sense of the idiom. The phrase really seems to have nothing to do with its own meaning. The original Latin phrase, _petitio principii_ , is often translated as "assuming the initial point," which quite simply explains the practice. Does the phrase "begging the question" carry any meaning (related to what it's used for)?


title: Which vocabulary to choose for this sentence?

text: When the animal control officer cornered the stray dog in an attempt to catch it, the dog bristled and whined in a low **_** tone. A) tremulous B) Confident C) Unexpected D) Erratic E) Passive


title: Naming product packs and bundles

text: I am creating a couple of different ecommerce modules:   1. A module that allows the shop owner to sell a product in packs (multiple units of the same product), even though the product in the system is entered as a single product;   2. A module that allows the shop owner to make bundles of different products and sell them together;   3. A module that allow the shop owner to assign mandatory/optional accessories to a product (e.g. iPod + Earphones) My problem is that the previous programmers who worker on these module did not choose module names very well: 'moreproductscontentmodule', 'productkitmodule', 'packcontentmodule', etc. These are obviously horrible names and it became really hard to distinguish which module did what. I would like to know how would you name modules described in 1. and 2.?   1. Product Packages / Product Packs ?   2. Product Bundles ?   3. Product Accessories ? Thank You!


title: Is “at turns” a familiar idiom as ‘at every turn’ ‘in turn(s)’ and ‘by turn(s)’ are?

text: I found the word, “at turns” in the beginning sentence of the article of Time magazine (September 18) titled, “How Mitt Romney’s Luck Ran Out” that reads: “For a good long while, Mitt Romney was the luckiest man in politics. He joined the 2012 race as the default Republican front runner after more- formidable challengers chose not to run. His declared rivals were _at turns_ ineffectual, ridiculous, or self-destructive — granting Romney a fairly easy, if occasionally fraught, path to the nomination. I was almost overlooking the phrase, “ _at turns_ ” as a commonplace idiom, but curiously enough I couldn’t find this phrase in any of Cambridge, Oxford, OALED, and Merriam-Webster Dictionary though they register “by turns,” “in turn,” “at every turn” “on the turn,” and you can name it. On the other hand, GoogleNgram indicates track of pretty high usage of “at turns” dating back to 1840. Because no dictionary I consulted does offer me the definition, I cannot get exact idea of ‘at turns.’ Is it the same as ‘at every turn,” “by turn(s),” "one after another,"or “respectively?” Is “at turns” a familiar idiom as these idioms? Of course it’s freedom of the editors of dictionaries what words and idioms they pick up in their dictionaries. But I wonder why none of wellknown English dictionaries accommodates the idiom of which high incidence of use being evidenced in NGram.


title: Writing out heartbeat sound

text: Is it correct to write out the sound of a heart beat as lub dub or are there other variations that are also acceptable?


title: Differences between "knowledge" and "experience"

text: **Context:** I'm exploring how people acquire, share and efficiently apply knowledge and experience; structuring my thoughts by writing axioms, propositions and formulae. When writing, I struggle with choosing the right words to accurately describe certain thoughts around these subjects, because some essential words are either ambiguous, synonymous or overlapping; yet I feel like there are subtle distinctions that I fail to discern. **Questions:** Specifically, I struggle with choosing between _knowledge_ and _experience_. These are the definitions I have in mind: > **Knowledge**: Facts, information, **and skills acquired through > experience** or education; the theoretical **or practical** understanding of > a subject. > > **Experience**: **The knowledge** or skill acquired by a period of practical > experience of something, especially that gained in a particular profession. What are the nuances and differences between knowledge and experience? My current understanding is that _knowledge_ and _experience_ are very much synonymous, however, _knowledge_ emphasises theory, whereas _experience_ emphasises practice. Whenever I struggle with choosing between the two, it's usually because I'm looking for an "all inclusive" word. Here are a few excerpts from my own working definitions: > Knowledge is the sum of my impressions, based on how I understand my sensory > input. Experience is the act of exercising and challenging my knowledge (or > lack thereof), in order to obtain sensory input. There is a symbiotic > relationship between knowledge (theory) and experience (practice). One of the things I'm trying to figure out is if the mutualistic relationship between knowledge and experience is obligate or facultative in nature. Does there exist a collective term that includes _all_ nuances of both knowledge _and_ experience? I greatly appreciate any information and advice you can give me.


title: When and where did saying "nice" become so popular?

text: When one person tells another something good or shows off something they like the other person will often say "nice". For example, "Check out my new car it has so many bells and whistles" -Person one "Nice" -Person two. It seems this is relatively new as I don't remember everything good being "nice" 15-20 years ago. Am I correct that "nice" is a new phenomenon and if so, when and where did it start?


title: Etymology of "mortgage" and "deed". Are they both related to "death"?

text: I read something that said the word _deed_ was related to the word _dead_ , deed being the document signifying ownership of a house and dead being no longer alive. The article didn’t elaborate but after reading that I thought about it and concluded mortgage could be related to mortuary assuming the first assertion is true. Any information about this would be interesting.


title: Usage of "note (bill)" and "banknote" in AmE

text: Do American English speakers use _note_ to mean _bill_ (as in _ten-dollar bill_ )? If so, is _note_ a shortening of the word _banknote_?


title: The use of "exact same"

text: My English teacher feels very strongly that _exact same_ is redundant and therefore incorrect. I disagree with her. She feels that _exact_ should be used in place of _exact same_ , but I have rarely heard someone use _exact_ by itself. For example: > I have the _exact same_ shirt   >  I have the _exact_ shirt In the same manner, I believe that she shuns _exactly the same_ as well. What support is there (if any) supporting the use of _exact same_ or _exactly the same_? What proof can I provide for using _exact same_ when challenged?


title: Shouldn't "the exact same" always be "exactly the same"?

text: I've always avoided using the common phrase "the exact same" because it sounds incorrect to me (unless perhaps a comma were inserted thus: "the exact, same".) Shouldn't "the exact same" be "exactly the same"?


title: Is it correct to use "giving rating"?

text: For example, is "they gave the same rating to the movie" a proper usage?


title: What is the name of words like 'bottle' or 'clove' that provide a singular for a counted item?

text: Title pretty much askes the question. What is the term for words like 'bottle', 'cup' or 'clove' (as in clove of garlic). Are they counters, countables, determiners...? I swear it's on the tip of my tongue but I cannot find the correct term.


title: Meaning of "living within means"

text: > Anyone who **lives within their means** suffers from a lack of imagination.   > — Oscar Wilde. What does _living within means_ mean?


title: Meaning of 'sphere of'

text: > who attempted to make sense of every **sphere of** social life


title: What is the word to describe something more incredible than being merely incredible?

text: For instance, Riemann mapping theorem is more than just incredible: merely using the word 'incredible' to describe it is not enough. So, what is more incredible than incredible?


title: How to say "time span of data" formally?

text: I am currently working on a technical documentation for data analytics. I am wondering how to say "time span of data" formally, as a section name. For example, I have temperature data per second and it is from 2012 to 2014. I want to say, "time span of data" is 2 years. How can I say it formally? Thanks!


title: Disenrolled and Disenrollment

text: I'm having trouble finding "disenrolled", "disenrollment", and even "unenrolled" in a dictionary. Are any of these valid words? I'm looking for the noun and verb forms of reversing an enrollment.


title: An "iso-" word for a contour line that connects points of equal elevation

text: A contour line or isoline connects points on a map that are of equal value. Examples of contour lines or isolines are _isobars_ (pressure) and _isotherms_ (temperature). Perhaps the prototypical example of a contour line is that which connects points of equal elevation (that is, height above sea level). These are usually referred to simply as contour lines. Is there however an "iso-" name for such contour lines? Wikipedia suggests _isohypse_. I don't know what exactly this is, but Wiktionary suggests that this is not quite correct--isohypse refers instead to "A line on a map connecting points of both equal height and equal barometric pressure".


title: Generic time range word

text: I am looking for a word that can replace idioms like _daily_ or _monthly_ , but has the same meaning, and it's **generic**. By example, if I want to describe my pocket money, I can say I have a _daily amount_ , or a _monthly amount_ of money. But how I can say I have a "Time span" amount of money, in a way that sounds intuitive? Another example: Daily counter, hourly counter -> replaced by a "generic time- based" counter


title: How many different parts of speech can the f-word be used as?

text: In an "interesting" thread of comments we began to look at the word **fuck** in several different uses. Most of them were interjections and verb uses as would be expected. But, perhaps dialectally, the word can easily be used as a noun, and even an adjective. I would like to see how many different parts of speech can the word **fuck** be used as in its unmodified form. ( _i.e._ no fucking, fucked, etc.). Pluralization of noun or conjugation to fucks is the only acceptable variant. The answer must provide real-world examples ( _i.e._ no mere cramming of the word into a sentence and claiming it's an adverb!) And, I will even accept different verb types, adjectives, nouns, etc. (e.g. If you can find a grammatical way to use it as a helper verb, my hat is off to you.) If you wish to get extra credit, then you can answer with some of the variants above, but only after you have made an answer per the above rules. The winner should have _both_ the most varied and interesting answers! **Just to make it clear, this is a word-game, and as such will be a bit broad or POB.**


title: Does “then before, now once more” mean anything?

text: Does the phrase _then before, now once more_ have any meaning in English? Or does it exist just because it rhymes so nicely? Or does it exist at all? Likewise, what about _that time then, once again_?


title: "Automatic door—push to open."

text: This is the wording on signs I've been seeing quite often recently. It seems to me quite nonsensical; if you have to push the door to open it, it isn't automatic. Is that the case or is there something about _automatic_ I don't understand?


title: "Out-of-this-world experiences" vs. "out of this world experiences"

text: I was wondering if the hyphenated version should be used? The context is: > Introducing the World Cup box from McDonald's: the meal filled with out of > this world experiences.


title: Conditional sentences - which is correct?

text: _If I had bought insurance for the trip, I would have got a refund after I **got sick** and **had to cancel**._ OR _If I had bought insurance for the trip, I would have got a refund after I **had got sick** and **(had) had to cancel**._ ?


title: Are there any English sayings equivalent to the Japanese proverb, “Go to bed early and wait for the good news”?

text: When politicians are waiting for the results in a Primary election, your son is waiting for admission to Harvard, an entrepreneur is waiting the bank’s approval for a financial loan, everyone frets about the outcome over sleepless night. We have a proverb, “人事を尽くして天命を待つ—Do your best, and wait for God’s will (decision)” for such an occasion. We also say “果報は寝て待て— “Go to bed early (have a good sleep) and wait for the good news” to the same effect. I’m curious to know if there are similar English sayings to “Go to bed early and wait for the good news,” meaning “It’s no use to worry about after everything is done. Just leave it to the hands of God.” **P.S.** I happened to find the phrase which I think, is pretty close to “Go to bed early, and wait for good news” in Hillary Rodham Clinton’s remarks in the recent Diane Sawyer’s interview quoted in Maureen Dawd’s article, “When Will Hillary Let It Go?” in today's (June 14) New York Times. It reads: She continued: “I am over it, over it. I think I have changed; not worried so much about what other people are thinking.” She vowed to now “say what I know, what I believe, and **let the chips fall** (where they may).” http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/15/opinion/sunday/maureen-dowd-when-will- hillary-let-it-go.html?hp&rref=opinion


title: Is it appropriate to use question marks in email?

text: I am a student and write to professors frequently. And often, I have to use sentences like this - > Could you give me an appointment to meet you regarding this matter. I am usually confused whether to type a question mark at the end of this sentence or a plainly end it with a full stop. Typing a question mark appears a bit rude to me, so I often end the sentence in a full stop.


title: "Medicine is good when your family gives it to you not when your friend gives you one or when you take it by yourself"

text: I am editing a 5th grade paper. He has autism as well as some learning difficulties. He wrote: > Medicine is good when your family gives it to you not when your friend gives > you one or when you take it by yourself. This is how I think I would edit it: > Medicine is good if your family gives it to you, but not if your friend > gives it to you, or if you take it by yourself. It still sounds kind of strange. Is this sentence correct? If not, how could he rewrite it so that it makes sense (still using similar wording). I know the sentence isn't very sophisticated. I realize that just because someone is a family member, doesn't mean that they are responsible to make such a decision. However, this child understands things in a very basic manner. I don't want to intervene too much as the response is supposed to be in his perspective (What he learned from DARE). I just want to make sure that I edit it correctly.


title: How does using a semicolon or a full stop change meaning?

text: > Federal agencies and Wal-Mart are investigating the charges; C. J.’s Seafood > did not respond to The Times’s request for comment. In this statement, what is the effect of semicolon in the meaning and what would the change in meaning be if we used full-stop (period) instead of a semi-colon? I would like to know a general rule for how the meaning changes, how it would affect similar sentences, etc. If you know of tutorials on this subject, I'd be most grateful.


title: Some battles take long to win - correct?

text: I was speaking with my friend (neither of us is English native speaker) and regarding his relationships, I used the following: > Some battles take long to win I have never heard that or been able to google it so I doubt it is correct. What would be the correct sentence to express this meaning?


title: How to analyze lightly varying senses of adjective *very*

text: Use of _very_ as an adjective is (in my experience) most frequently attested in phrases like > ...the very person I was looking for. To use adjective _very_ with the indefinite article sounds quite bizarre in this case: > ?...a very person I was looking for. But consider this sentence, where indefinite _a_ is used: > Visualizing a very transformation of the master-slave relation, Thomas > presses further: the slave is brother to the master, even doubly a brother. OED treats the two uses as separate senses of the word, with the following definitions: > (first use):      With limitation (usually expressed by the or a possessive) > to particular instances   >  (second use): Really or truly entitled to the name or designation Here are two respective examples quoted in OED: > What would you say to me now, and I were your verie, verie Rosalind? (1616)   >   >  Thence we went into Queen Mary's room, and saw that beautiful portrait—that > very queen and very woman. (1857) Clearly, the difference in meaning between the two senses is quite light, and it seems to me like a kind of difference which is recurrent enough to have its own term. What is the proper term? Are there other English words having similarly related pairs of senses? And lastly, is OED jumping the gun in treating these as two senses? Could the difference in meaning instead be due to the choice of determiner?


title: finding proper article for a sentence

text: I want to write the introduction of a story It goes like this , A guy... some bitterness, some talks, some love ... and `a break up` or `the break up` what should I write here ?


title: "Neither . . . nor" vs. "nor . . . neither"

text: In my native language we have a _neither-nor_ -like structure which can be used either as: > I neither like thing A and nor thing B. or as: > I nor like thing A and neither thing B. Is it possible to do that in English?


title: Expression for the way of dressing to avoid attention

text: What is a word or phrase to describe the way you're dressing or dressing in a way to avoid/not attract attention to yourself? For example, a celebrity going out in public would want to dress in a way(dull-colored, non-attractive clothes, clothes/accessories that doesn't attract attention, etc. etc.) so that she doesn't draw as much attention to herself so she could do whatever she likes free from disturbance. In other words, she dresses [?] in order to avoid attention, or she tries to dress more [?] in order to avoid attention. I guess the example I gave is an adjective, but other than the adjective I'm looking for I guess it could be a verb as well such as, she [?] to avoid attention. Now this doesn't limit to only celebrities as I'm just using it as an example, but could be anybody in general that dresses to avoid attention.


title: "Decided to do X the next time she went for a walk" vs. "...the next time she goes for a walk"

text: I came across this sentence in the book _Grammar Essentials for Dummies_ which confused me. > The lion with a thorn in her paw decided to wear sneakers the next time she > **went** for a walk in the jungle. Why is it _went_ instead of _goes_? I always thought _the next time_ indicated something in the future.


title: Why are "indemnify" and "condemn" spelled differently?

text: Comparing the words _indemnify_ and _condemn_ :   * Both contain _demn_ as a root   * Both are transitive verbs Why is one spelled differently from the other – why not _indemn_ , or _condemnify_?


title: Is there a word for the act of dimming an oil lamp?

text: A friend of mine had this request: > Alright so I was sitting at this table with a kerosene lamp, and it was a > little too bright. Watch out! So I turned a little knobbly thing to lower > the flame, and then had the vaguest recollection that there was some verb > for this precise action, the dimming of an oil lamp, but a week of pondering > and now some searches for "list of lamp actions" have not flushed out any > foxes. Can anyone toss me some helps on this one? I think it may be an > archaic word that one would find in Charlotte Bronte or Laura Ingalls > Wilder, also maybe the kind of word that the Decemberists or Joanna Newsom > would bandy about to show they mean nineteenth-century business. I briefly checked the OED online and some other sources (well, Google) but didn't find anything sufficiently specific. Does anyone know if this word actually exists?


title: Correct usage of "of which"

text: > I have two books, _of which_ one is borrowed. Is this correct? Is there such a phrase?


title: What manual of style should I use for technical writing for US Federal Government documents?

text: For a lot of the questions I'm seeing on ELaU, it seems the answer is ultimately arbitrary and unlikely to be resolved by poll. Since style guides exist to settle the question for people who care not what sounds better, but just want to get with the program and follow a uniform convention, what manual of style should I use for technical writing for US Federal Government documents?


title: Rule for using "for" vs. "to"

text: A Brazilian friend speaks English very well, but has a very unique habit: it seems often that she needs to use "for" but she instead uses "to", and vice- versa. For instance: > The present is **to** Thomas. _(should be "for")_ > > Say hello **for** your wife. _(should be "to")_ I have tried looking in the dictionary to specifically determine which definitions she's confusing, and it seems that she's mixing up using "to" as a consequence and "for" to indicate a purpose. How can I help her find a way of remembering to use them correctly? Edit: We recently ran into a better example: > You started working on a fix **to** that problem. _(should be "for")_


title: When to use "to" and when "for"?

text: Examples: >   * It is important **to** me. >   * It will be good **for** you. >   * This sounds stupid **to** me. >   * I'll make it comfortable **for** you. >   * I'll make it available **to** you. > Any rules here, dear native speakers, or do we, non-native speakers, just have to memorize all individual cases?


title: Favourite untranslatables

text: What are your favourite words and idioms in other languages that don't have good, succinct equivalents in English? (The issue of whether there is, or could be, a sentence on one language whose meaning could not be made known in another is a different, albeit interesting, philosophical question.) * * * > This question exists because it has historical significance, but it is not > considered a good, on-topic question for this site, so please do not use it > as evidence that you can ask similar questions here. > > More info: http://english.stackexchange.com/faq


title: Is the usage of "speaks to" new? Is it American?

text: Two examples from Google: > Doris McCarthy exhibit speaks to the artist as lover of life and > A scribble that speaks to wild nature of art Is this use of 'speaks to' new? I seem to have only started to hear it about a year ago, and now I hear it everywhere. Is it American?


title: Talking about a student who has been in exams

text: If a student has been appearing in exams for the last three days, what do we have to say? > He has been taking exams for the last three days. Or something else?


title: What is perfect in present perfect continous tense?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Why is 'present perfect' present if it happened in the past? And why is it > 'perfect'? This is a mystery for me. Why do we say perfect in tenses, for example present perfect continuous. present and continuous is very obvious but what is perfect?


title: What does "perfect" in say past perfect imply?

text: Many verb tenses such as "past perfect", "present perfect", and "future perfect" exist. I understand what these tenses mean and when they should be used, but what does the word perfect imply? Are other tenses somehow not perfect?


title: Extend or go beyond a promise

text: Can one fulfill “beyond” a promise? Is it possible to say “extending the fulfillment of a promise”? I am trying to express that I hope I fulfilled a promise and then some. This is for the acknowledgements of my thesis. I have written: “Many years ago I made a promise to my late maternal grandmother that I would do my best in getting admitted to a university. I hope this effort contributes to fulfilling that promise and beyond just a little bit more.”


title: How long has the f-word been in use as an abusive term?

text: When was the f-word 'invented'? Who invented it? Has it always had the derogatory meaning that it does today. Is it a recent invention?


title: What makes a word offensive?

text: Whilst I was sat on the bus yesterday, I overheard a group of teenagers discussing various things. As per the usual social requirement at that age, every 5th word was an expletive. Not exactly the best _ambiance_ for my journey home, but it got me thinking. What specifically about the words "fuck", "shit", "cunt", etc. makes them so vulgar? Clearly they represent negative things in society, but what makes those particular words so important? Also, what makes words with similar pronunciation characteristics (e.g. "crap" and "damn") so much milder? I'm aware that there will be some complex etymology of each, but what I'm really interested in is the structure and formation of the word itself. Why aren't "dotard" or "popinjay" considered to be curses, when "fuck" is? At certain times they held similar sentiments. Is there something specific about how we pronounce them that makes them superior in situations where cursing is required? I'd also be interested to know how this works in other languages, too.


title: How did “fʌck” become taboo?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How long has the f-word been in use as an abusive term?   >  What makes a word offensive? I recognize that this is similar to Etymology of the term "curse words" and "swear words" and What makes a word offensive?, but it’s not exactly the same: the former question is asking about the origin of the **term** _curse words_ , not the origin of the curse words themselves, while the latter question is asking about what fundamentally makes a word taboo in society. I’m only interested in the history of a certain word in reference to its **meaning** , not its **usage**. * * * With that out of the way, my question is, how did the word _fuck_ come to be? I looked up its etymology and found this: > **ORIGIN** early 16th cent.: of Germanic origin (compare Swedish dialect > _focka_ and Dutch dialect _fokkelen_ ); possibly from an Indo-European root > meaning ‘strike,’ shared by Latin _pugnus_ ‘fist.’ But I don’t understand how a word being _strike_ came to mean _have sexual intercourse with (someone)_.


title: When to use (" " , : ; ' ! . ) in sentence. What is exactly significance?

text: Kindly enlighten on query to understand following terms. I will be really thankful.


title: "at the age of" vs "at age"

text: Which sentence sounds better/more natural? > She first became aware of it at the age of five. or > She first became aware of it at age five.


title: "Assume that A = B" subjunctive?

text: Over on Math.SE, a question exists regarding the usage of the word "that" in the following sentences:   1. Assume that A = B.   2. Assume A = B. A well-known author suggests that users elect Option 1 in mathematical writing. A discussion arose whether or not Option 1 is perfectly acceptable usage of the subjunctive, with a caveat: that the glyph "=" be read "equal" and not "equals." The author of the book in question also further suggested that the word "that" be used only if it helps parse a sentence, "Assume **that** A is a group" vs. "Assume A is a group." This point was less contended, but in the subjunctive discussion, contrary concerns also arose whether the usage "Assume A be a group" is correct archaically, is correct presently, or has never been correct at all. **First question:** given that "Assume..." is functionally equivalent to necessity in mathematical writing, is the sentence "Assume that A equal B" a proper use of the subjunctive? **Second question:** Is, or has ever been, the usage "Assume that A be a group" been proper conjugation of "is" in a properly-used subjunctive? **Third question:** Is there anything structurally unsavory about the use of the conjunction "that" in the form "Assume that A equals B" (note the s)?


title: Is saying "I had a fever" correct?

text: I'm sure this might have been asked, but couldn't find it, so forgive me if it is a duplicate. > Is saying _"I had a fever"_ correct ? > > I've also heard people saying "I had fever", but don't have any proof of either being correct. My guess is, they're both right.


title: What is the difference between "onetime" and "one time"?

text: I was reading a book that had a sentence containing this: > ... **onetime** commissioner of New York...


title: Usage of "nonviable person"

text: I was reading a document about disabilities recently, and came across a term that confused me: > Myth: People with disabilities are handicapped. > > Fact: The terms "disabled" and "handicapped" are often used interchangeably. > In fact, the latter term carries negative connotations, indicating that a > disability prevents someone from being a full functioning member of society. > A disability does not always present a handicap; rather it often means that > a person with a disability may do something a little differently from a > **nonviable person** , but with the same result and with equal > participation. Source The context seems to suggest that **nonviable person** is the opposite of **person with a disability**. While I'm familiar with the concept of viability, I've never heard the term _nonviable person_ before. The intended meaning seems counterintuitive, and my Etymology Online/Ngram searches turned up nothing. Is this usage common, or perhaps a recently coined term with a known meaning in the context of disabilities?


title: What exactly does this "play a country song backwards" joke mean?

text: So I come across this joke,which rather confuses me. > — What do you get when you play a country song backwards?   >  — You get your house back, your wife back, your dog back, your truck > back... I just wonder what the relationship is between _a country song_ and all the others. Can someone show me any background knowledge about this joke?


title: Verb agreement with two nouns

text: 'Decades of research _has/have_ shown' -decades is plural -research is murky I'd be inclined to write 'has' Thanks in advance Drew


title: What does "kerbside appeal" mean?

text: I've found it in an article promoting a new car: > In terms of kerbside appeal, it’s in the similar territory to... [another > car] I've googled it and in most results the context is houses, gardens, etc. but I can't find any definition. Does it mean that something attracts people's attention in a good way? That people want it when they see it? What's the origin? It makes me think about passers-by who are attracted to something they pass by.


title: Is it commonly accepted using the slash to mean "as well as", rather than "or"?

text: > I hope this is the end of blind _US/UK_ support for a state with a shocking > record of human rights. (BBC) As is well known, the most common use of the _slash_ is to link words which are alternative, as in, as an instance, "Everyone must submit his/her name." But, is the above a general convention? Or, is there a regional difference between the U.S., Britain, Australia and New Zealand usage? I know, as John Lawler says, that there is neither standard English nor international English, but wouldn't be better to replace the slash with an hyphen in the above BBC's sentence in order to avoid confusion among readers, at least in an international context? > I hope this is the end of blind _US-UK_ support for a state with a shocking > record of human rights.


title: How should an English speaker pronounce "vice versa"?

text: When using _vice versa_ in spoken English, I tend to just completely Anglicise it and pronounce it _vise VER-ser_ , with only one syllable in _vice_. The original would be something like _VEE-cay VER-sa_ , but I often hear people use a hybrid pronunciation more like _VY-ser VER-ser_ , with two syllables in each word. Which is the "correct" way to say it? French loan phrases seem to stay fairly true to the original pronunciation, e.g. _déjà vu_ doesn't become _dedger-view_ and _je ne sais quoi_ isn't _juh nee sayz kwoy_.   So should _vice versa_ be pronounced true to the original?


title: objective/subjective pronouns following a verb and before another verb

text: A grammar exercise says that this is correct: "The final choice made Heather and I change our decision." Why is the pronoun "I" correct when, if you dropped "Heather and" and changed "our" to "my" you would use the objective pronoun me (The final choice made me change my decision.)


title: How do you handle singular/plural for mathematical expressions that evaluate to 1?

text: I know that it is correct to say > There is 1 composition of _n_. but what if instead of "1", I use an expression that evaluates to 1? For example, what is the grammatical number in these sentences? > There is/are **2 0** composition(s) of _n_. _(two to the zero)_ > > There is/are **3 - 2** composition(s) of _n_. _(three minus two)_ > > There is/are **2 0=1** composition(s) of _n_. _(two to the zero, which > equals one)_ > > There is/are **1=2 0** composition(s) of _n_. _(one, which equals two to the > zero)_ This problem comes up somewhat frequently for me when describing the base case in a proof by induction.


title: "Distinction" or "difference"?

text: I don't really know whether I should use "distinction" or "difference" or something else! My sentence goes like this: > For a better distinction among them, people were given nicknames, which > reflected their character traits, or people assigned to themselves some, > often, prominent lineage. Also — what about the rest of the sentence? Does it look fine to you (i.e. is it clear that the meaning is that people assigned themselves names from famous families)? Any help is appreciated.


title: Subjunctive mood, progressive and perfect progressive tense

text: Are the following usages of subjunctive mood, progressive tense correct? >   * If I be being your wife a shrew, you have the option of divorcing me. > >   * If I were being crowned May queen, I would wear a better dress. > >   * If I shall be being manager impossible, bla, bla, bla. > > Am I on the right track?


title: Visit of, to, or at a research department?

text: A non-native speaker needs help with the following phrase to be used in the acknowledgments section of a research paper: > "Parts of the this research were conducted during a visit of the > International Law Group of Kalamazoo Law School." All authors of the paper visited that place. I'm especially not sure whether it should be "visit of", "visit to" or "visit at". The length of the visit in question was six months. Maybe I haven't even listed the correct option.


title: "I'm not understand" — help regarding sentence structure

text: 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"?


title: Cooperation, how to use it in a question?

text: Is it correct to say: `Would you like to start a cooperation (with us)?` Or should it be: `Would you like to cooperate (with us)?` I feel like the first sentence is wrong, as it sounds to much like saying `would you like to start a corporation (with us)?` (with a dutch accent) but the second sentence suggests more aggressive style of asking for someone to cooperate with you. Maybe there is a better way to ask this question? **edit** I should also state I am referring to a international business venture / collaboration. Where for example we would like to sell electronics on our website from his/her company for a small commission or put your vacation house up for rent on our website for a small commission. You would eventually sign a contact to do this(of course). So what I'm asking is: is it correct to ask the above stated questions? or is there a better way? Note: It should not sound like you would want to 'hook up' with the person your talking to e.g. partnering relationship


title: "I'll keep you company while you wait" or "I'll keep you company while you're waiting"

text: I know that _while_ , like _after_ , _before_ , _when_ , _as soon as_ introduce time clauses, which require the present simple: > I'll keep you company while you wait. But so many of the students have used the present continuous on the quiz I gave them because this is taking place at the moment of speaking. > I'll keep you company while you're waiting. I've checked online and have seen both used. I'm certain that the present simple is the correct answer according to standard grammar rules. And that's what I would say and write. But the present continuous doesn't sound so bad to me, now that I see it written. I'd appreciate other opinions on this.


title: "be about to" and "soon", "immediately"

text: I am wondering whether I can use "be about to" and "soon" or "immediately" in one sentence? I found online that the following two sentences "The medical team is about to start immediately" and "He is about to leave soon" are wrong.


title: What does "in spades" mean?

text: What does "in spades" mean, for example in the following sentence: > demand and love are both there in spades ... I guess "in spades" means "on cards" or "on the table" or exist?


title: Word for when someone gets into a job/role due to being related to someone

text: It's a word that suggests that educated or talented people who aren't related don't stand a chance. The word is why Peaches Geldof is famous today. It is a real word, I just forgot the word.


title: Is there any semantic difference between "absolutely no x, except y" and "except y, absolutely no x"?

text: Bit of a quibble on a discussion elsewhere. I made the following statement: > They had absolutely no debt, except for their mortgage. Someone (with whom I disagree vehemently) has accused this of being a self- contradicting statement. I argue that the meaning is identical to: > Except for their mortgage, they had absolutely no debt. Am I missing something, or am I right in thinking that the meaning of these two statements is exactly the same, and that the inclusion of _except_ in an absolute statement does not render the statement self-contradictory but simply makes the single exception clear?


title: What is the term that means "how a noun and verb match"?

text: What is the word (I believe it starts with a "C") which means that a noun and a verb go together, e.g.: you can:   * hold a meeting   * start a meeting   * end a meeting but it would be odd to say that you:   * make a meeting   * create a meeting   * do a meeting etc. I learned the word a long time ago in a linguistics class I took, it's something like "correlate" or "conjugate" but I can't remember it.


title: Are there rules governing pre- and/or post-modification of noun groups by participial adjectives?

text: Which of the expressions "supplies needed" and "needed supplies" is / are correct? >   1. Have we now received all the needed supplies? >   2. Have we now received all the supplies needed? > Is there a pattern one can use to predict whether a participial adjective is used prenominally, postnominally, or both? And if both, may there be differences in meaning?


title: What does "I'd be the luckiest guy alive if that did it for me" mean?

text: In the movie As Good As It Gets, there is this dialogue: > Simon Bishop: Thank you, Melvin. You... overwhelm me.   >  [pauses]   >  Simon Bishop: I love you.   >  Melvin Udall: I tell you, buddy... I'd be the luckiest guy alive if that > did it for me. What does _I'd be the luckiest guy alive if that did it for me_ mean ?


title: The differences among: deliver, ship, and transmit

text: Are these definitions correct? > **Delivered** : The package has arrived at your place.   >  **Shipped** : The package was just sent. Which word can be used to describe that the package is on its way? Can I use the word _transmit_? Or is _transmit_ only used for signals and diseases? One other related question: What's the difference between _package_ and _shipment_ in an internet business? Is a _shipment_ bigger than a _package_?


title: "Blinds us to" or "blinds us from"?

text: I see these phrases sometimes: "blinds us from" and "blinds us to". Which form is correct? The whole sentence would be something like "blinds us from the truth".


title: Does "ditto driver" mean a specific driver name?

text: I got an email today that contained the following sentence: > a proprietary dongle with ditto driver What does _ditto_ mean in this case? Some kind of specific standard? Or does it mean "proprietary"? I tried to find some information about _ditto_ but I couldn't.


title: How acceptable is "fully fledged" as opposed to "full-fledged"?

text: As a native speaker of English, I had never heard the "fully" version until recently. Now I seem to hear it a lot, but only from non-native speakers. Are the two equally acceptable in semi-formal writing?


title: Is "read roughly" a natural response?

text: As a non-native English speaker, I sometimes feel my speech/texts sound or look weird. I am experiencing such a situation now. I am trying to tell someone else I just read their document in a very quick way, got the main idea, and feel that it is not the document I exactly want. I tried "I just read it roughly, just a thought, it does not look like what I want." This sounds unnatural to me. Can it be fixed to sound more natural?


title: What's a word that can mean both "good" and "bad"?

text: I've recently read about a word that was defined both as "shockingly good" and "shockingly bad", but I can't seem to recall the word. Does anyone know what it is? As far as I can recall, it was a slang word. **Edit:** I hate to answer my own question, but I just found the word again, it's _egregious_ , defined here.


title: "Nuke the fridge"

text: I don't get what this phrase means. I tried googling it, but the answers weren't satisfactory. Could someone please tell me its meaning? I'm guessing it has something to do with TV shows (I first saw it here: in the Urban Dictionary.)


title: Use of "cynicism" in this sentence

text: The following is from the NYTimes. > "What has been especially galling to me has been the _cynicism_ surrounding > the efforts to get the toll increases. First, the Port Authority said that > unless it could increase the tolls, it would have to “slow or stop” the > construction of 1 World Trade Center. Though this scenario was highly > unlikely, it got the construction unions duly aroused, as it was intended to > do. They began calling in favors among the politicians." I've looked up the definition of _cynicism_ , but could someone explain the definition in this context?


title: How to express "to look at more or all sides" and "consider more or all views" for a thing?

text: One commonly looks at something from his own viewpoint. Sometimes, we suggest somebody look at something from another view or in an overall view. I hope this could make it clearly. I want some opposites of 'one-sided'. or something like this. one side -> on the other hand -> all sides one view -> multiple view -> all views


title: Is there a shorter way of saying 'people who live or are planning to live in (this country)'?

text: I'm building a forum for people who live or are planning to live in Taiwan. It is mainly for foreigners to ask questions or start topics. I was wondering is there is a shorter way of saying that (or it is just OK as it is right now?)


title: Any reason why the collocation "the wound healed" is more common than "the injury healed"?

text: "The wound healed" gets 890,000 hits when googled, whereas "the injury healed" only gets 525,000. Is there any reason for the difference? Whether the damage to someone's body is deliberate – _wound_ – or accidental – _injury_ – does not make any difference to the healing process, does it?


title: Are there nouns that are always plural — have no plural counterpart?

text: Are there words that have no plural counterpart, because they are, in fact plural? Words like _rice_ or _scissors_ come to mind.


title: Is there a word for somebody who cares for his/her child too much?

text: I have just finished watching the 3rd season of _Lie to Me_. I am wonder whether there is a word for somebody who cares for his/her son/daughter/child too much, like _Dr. Cal Lightman_?


title: Step in/on/into the job market?

text: I am an international student. I wish to know which of the following I should use. >   1. Step _into_ the job market >   2. Step _in_ the job market >   3. Step _on_ the job market >


title: Do people from India consider English their primary language?

text: I was watching an rerun episode of the Big Bang Theory the other night. And, a character who is from India (Rajesh) is losing an argument, and says: You know if this argument were in my native language, I wouldn't be losing. (Note: Paraphrased from memory.) His opponent in the argument (Sheldon) retorts: English is your native language! I was wondering about the truth of this statement. Do many/most Indian English speakers consider it to be their primary language? Or is it a heavily spoken second language because of its official status and commonality compared to the linguistic diversity within the sub-continent? Are people in India largely true bi-linguals in the sense of having two native languages which occupy separate compartments within their consciousness. (Not to begin another topic of conversation, but people of this sort often make bad translators due to this compartmentalization.) This question was brought to my consciousness again by the discussion section of another question I've posted.


title: "This paper, combined with some glue" — singular or plural?

text: If I have an item, combined with another item, is it still a singular subject in the sentence? For example: >   * This paper, combined with some glue, makes for an afternoon of art > projects. >   * This paper, combined with some glue, make for an afternoon of art > projects. > All of my experience tells me that it should be the first, but I have multiple people arguing for the second.


title: Concord of "scholarly enquiry combined with introspection"

text: What is correct: >   * Scholarly enquiry combined with introspection reveals >   * Scholarly enquiry combined with introspection reveal >


title: Is there a word for something that gets "acted upon"?

text: For instance, say I have two individuals and one is active, the other passive. I know I can call the active person the "actor"—he "acts upon" the passive person. But what do I call the "acted upon"? Is there a single word to describe this?


title: Kiwi Power Green - is that more Kiwi "Power Green" or more "Kiwi Power" Green?

text: Recently my wife bought a piece of toddler swimwear for our little ones. A crisp, flashy neon green cute little piece of garment that had a label on which the color name was written: "KIWI POWER GREEN". Having worked in the fashion/apparel retail industry for almost a decade, I know color names can often be as colorful as the actual colors they stand for; kiwi power green actually feels quite appropriate for that specific one. Then I wondered, did they mean to describe "green" as "kiwi power", or was it a "kiwi" color in a "power green" variant? Both make total sense in my French- native ears. What would be the proper English interpretation? Is there one?


title: Why is "ass" considered obscene?

text: Spam filters replace obscene "Ass" for "butt" Meanwhile, in literature, newspaper articles, forum posts, sayings, proverbs, etc. I am encountering many more expressions with _ass_ but not with _butt_. Why is _ass_ considered obscene? What is the difference between _ass_ and _butt_?


title: front up or show up?

text: In article ‘How To Use the “Seven Deadly Sins” to Turn Visitors into Customers’ in the Smashing Magazine the autor used the word ‘front up’: > Showing off your customers. People want to use tools that big brands use. > SEOmoz does a great job of **fronting up** the logos of famous companies > that pay for their tools, with a simple call to action prompting you to be > as successful as these top brands. This entices users to try this tool: “I > want to use something big brands use.” I don't know he is a native but I have not found the proper definition. Did he use it right or simply made a mistake?


title: What does "tell us know what you think" mean?

text: Is it even grammatical? A little bit of Googling returns quite a number of searches which lead me to think it is a grammatical sentence.


title: About catch the bus, train etc

text: I found the two meanings of the verb 'to catch the train, bus etc' in British English: 1) we are getting the stop/station, waiting and boarding 2) we are getting the stop/station, waiting and boarding and do all these things IN TIME. There is the example from the related topic (BrE): How shall we get to London next week?" "I've looked at the timetable, and I think we should catch the 10:49" and I can't undestarnd how this example reffers with my two meanings of the verb 'to catch the train, bus etc'? I think it is more natural to use 'to take' or 'to get' instead of 'to catch'.


title: took the 12.15 train OR caught the 12.15 train

text: Please help me to understand these complicated verbs 'to take' an 'to catch'. I know the difference from the related topics, google e.g. "If you want to go over to Sixth Ave., you'd better take the crosstown bus. You can catch it at Broadway...." BUT I can't see the difference between 'they caught the 12.15 train from Oxford' 'they took the 12.15 train from Oxford' which one is more idiomatic in terms of BrE or AmE? p.s. please do not write that it is duplicate because it's impossible to find answer to my question. They are very useful, I've read them for many times, but I can't see clearly the difference in my examples above.


title: Take the car (underground) and get the car (underground)

text: I know than we can say > _let's go by car_ OR > _let's take the car_ (because it is too far to walk - and I already have the > car nearby.) But, can we say: > _Let's get the car_ And the same with the underground. We can say: > _Let's go by underground._   >  _Let's take the underground._ But, can we say: > _Let's get the underground_ I know about that 'take' is more AE and 'get' is more BE, but I'm not sure that it is correct to use 'get' with 'underground' and 'car' in BE in the meaning 'go by'.


title: "Available from" versus "available on"

text: What is the difference between _available from_ and _available on_? Do the following sentences have a different meaning? > Check the information available from [URL of a web page].   >  Check the information available on [URL of a web page]. My interpretation is that they mean, respectively:   * Check the information you find in that page, and in any page with a link in that page.   * Check the information you find in that page. Is that a correct interpretation? Is it the current meaning?


title: When and how did "momentarily" come to mean "in a moment", rather than "for a moment"?

text: "Momentarily" used to mean "for a moment" only, and not "in a moment". Thus, newscasters could be divided into two clear groups: those who would say "we'll be back momentarily," and those who would not. This restriction made sense to me, because having both definitions would promote ambiguity if a unique interpretation could not always be derived from the context. But in recent years it seems "momentarily" is regularly, maybe even more often, used to mean "in a moment" by newscasters of every caliber, and in fact this is even shown to be the definition when looked up in most dictionaries. When did this word's meaning change? How did it come about?


title: Is there such thing as an online preposition dictionary?

text: Is there such a thing as an online preposition dictionary? For example, I want to use the word "interpretation" but I am not sure of its preposition. I don't know if the correct preposition should be... > Our interpretation _with_ the text. or > Our interpretation _on_ the text. or > Our interpretation _of_ the text. In this case, I think " _of_ " is the correct one but I am not sure because they all sound quite okay to me. I know some dictionaries give sentence examples, which show the prepositions. But the problem is not every word in the dictionary has sentence examples. So, I am wondering if there is a specific dictionary that I can look up for the preposition of a word.


title: What does 'two-bit paper pusher' mean?

text: I often find a joke titled, ‘When a grandma goes to court’ followed by the line, ‘Lawyers should never ask a question if they aren’t prepared for the answer.’ I don’t know if it’s a popular joke or not. It deals with an elderly woman called to the stand as the first witness. She knows everything about the background and secrets of both prosecuting and defense attorneys. Realizing that she knows too much, the judge asks both attorneys to come to the bench and tells, “If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me, I’ll send you both to the electric chair.” In this joke, the old woman says to the prosecuting attorney, "You think you are some big shot on the rise, but you don't have the brains to realize you are nothing more than a ' **two-bit paper pusher**.' Yes sir, I know you!" What does “two-bit paper pusher” mean?


title: Article word referencing problem

text: I often have problem with hanging modifiers. In the sentence: > This project's vision follows from **_its_** predecessor's. Is the reference " _its_ " referring to the project or the vision? My intention is to refer the word " _its_ " to the project. But I am not sure if the referent has gotten across clearly. If this is correct, then what should I use if I want to refer to the vision instead?


title: Why use "constitutionality" instead of "constitutional"?

text: This morning I heard the word "constitutionality" being used by a journalist with regard to the debate over the legality of health care reforms here in the US. This grates on my British ears as I would simply use 'constitutional' in this context. Does 'constitutionality' have a different meaning? Is this a recent Americanism?


title: What does pinboard mean?

text: I couldn't find anything in Longman dictionary about this word, but I heard it somewhere which by now I don't remember where and when. What does it mean?


title: Is there a word for the extreme opposite of "irony"

text: My understanding of irony comes from the movie "Reality Bites": > It's when the actual meaning is the complete opposite from the literal > meaning Frequently people use the term incorrectly, applying it where the actual meaning and the literal meaning are surprisingly similar in unintended ways. A perfect example of the incorrect usage is the picture below. It's definitely not irony, so what word _can_ we use? ![A picture of a building with a plaque denoting that George Orwell once lived in the building. Beside the plaque is a CCTV camera. Beneath the photo is the caption "Irony knows no bounds"](http://i.stack.imgur.com/qnTG7.jpg) (Just in case the link has broken, it's a picture of a building with a plaque saying "George Orwell Lived Here". Pointing out in front of the building is a security camera.)


title: Term for a powerful personal computer?

text: What term would an enthusiast use to describe a powerful, tripped-out personal computer, the kind he might custom-build in his garage and overclock to the max? The usual reference sources are failing me here, as I'm looking for a slang/jargon term. The closest I've found is _rig_ (as in "gaming rig").


title: Can an “s”-form plural follow an “s”-form possessive?

text: This is best described via an example. I believe this might be technically correct, but sounds clumsy: > You need to look through all the chemicals shelves There are multiple shelves, of type chemical. There is a _chemicals shelf_ times many/plural. On the other hand you could have: > You need to look through all the chemical shelves This sounds better, but to me implies that the shelves themselves are chemicals. Obviously context factors in, in that most people would know that the shelves are not chemicals.


title: One word noun for "rule-follower"

text: I'm looking for a single word noun that would perfectly summarize the stereotypical nerdy uptight virgin student council president. Basically, a more proper version of the slang word "square": a person who always does what they're supposed to even if it means sacrificing things like fun and happiness and who casts a judgemental gaze on anyone who does otherwise. I'm trying to describe a certain person, and so far I've got "an OCD, judgemental, paranoid, uptight", but I need a noun to finish it off.


title: Is there a word that means "to hate beauty"?

text: For example, to love beauty is called "philocaly". Does this have an opposite?


title: How to tell if an adjective is attributive or predicative [EFL context]?

text: I've been reviewing my grammar lately and I feel a bit stuck in adjectives. Yeah, I know it's not a big deal of a topic, but I think I need some help here because I'm in the language teacher role. I do understand how attributive and predicative adjectives work, yet I can't find _an easier_ way for learners to differentiate between both types - especially if such differentiation doesn't exist in their mother tongues. And yeah, I know I can just explain the whole thing to them, but what if they come across other adjectives they don't know how to use? I just feel a good dictionary might do the trick, that is, with a tagging system that tells adjectives apart according to that syntactic feature: pointing out if they're attributive, predicative or both. The Oxford Learner's Dictionary online sometimes does this -click here and here for examples-, but it seems to me that a more specialised source might be the answer to this dilemma. Well, I'd like to know what your take on this issue is. Suggestions are welcome. Thanks!