title: How to stress any word properly?

text: Personally I think stress is one of the hardest things. There are thousands of words around, so most likely I cannot remember all stress-marks of every word then pronounce them exactly. Is it so important? And how to deal with this problem efficiently?


title: How do hyphens modify the meaning of "n-month-old"?

text: I see three different ways of hyphenating the phrase "six month old". Six-month old: > A **six-month old** poses with a machine gun owned by supporters of the Free > Syrian Army. Six-month-old: > Fraud alert closes account of **six-month-old** baby girl Six month old: > Rebecca Judd, a model, TV personality and a new mother to Oscar (her **six > month old** son with AFL star Chris Judd) is a self-confessed happy snapper. Is there a significance to these differences?


title: How to say that a city is in the side of another city? Is it neighborhood city?

text: I live in Guarulhos city, which is right next to the city of São Paulo. Can I say that Guarulhos is the neighbor of São Paulo?


title: "sufferings" is plural though it is uncountable,but how?

text: We know that there is no plural form of the "uncountable noun," but, for example, we write: > His sufferings force us to retain pity for him. Is it possible to make an uncountable noun plural? If so, please explain it.


title: Does "Can I have lunch with you?" imply I have something to talk about with that person?

text: Last week, I asked one of my coworkers to have lunch with me. I messaged him "Can I have lunch with you?" and he reply "No, I have a meeting until 2pm" Then around 4 pm, he walked to my desk and asked me if I have something to talk, which prompts me to ask: Does “Can I have lunch with you?” imply I have something to talk about with that person?


title: Is there a more formal word for 'ratting'?

text: I'm looking for a more formal term used to describe **_ratting_** : > A verb intransitive identified as slang meaning to betray one's comrade by > giving information on a friend to the authorities. Specifically, I want to know what word would appear in a court document? Should " _ratting_ " be included in criminal proceedings? **Is there any formal word I can use for 'ratting'?**


title: Opposite of "In response to"?

text: I'm looking for the "outward" name for a relationship between two items. One is a request item, the other is the item created in response. Other examples of are: Name - Outward Name - Inward Name   Depend - "is required for" - "depends on"   Duplicate - "is duplicated by" - "duplicates"   Subtask - "parent for" - "subtask of" The one I'm looking for would be:   Response - "????" - "response to" Looking for something a little better than "Request" or "Inquiry".


title: "Opulence is the end": has this a double meaning?

text: This quote in its context means "death caused by the opulence (wealthy life)". Opulence is the end because it can make people do things they wouldn't do otherwise. My question is: can this quote also reference to an achievement I want to goal? Like "the opulence is my objective! (the end)"?


title: What is the origin of "hot" as "good-looking" or "attractive"?

text: I'm not sure if "hot" as "warm" or "heated" existed before "hot" came to mean "good-looking" or "attractive", but if so, how did this new meaning come to be?


title: "same as" vs just "same"

text: Here are two variations of the same sentence: >   * He's not the same as he was yesterday. >   * He's not the same he was yesterday. > Both can be encountered in colloquial speech, but I would like to know if there are any noteworthy differences in usage between the US, the UK, and Australia. Does either one sound more natural or correct, for lack of a better word, in any particular dialect?


title: Is there a word to name being unable to think of "proper terminology" for something?

text: In regards to only being able to say something like "hand ankle" when meaning "wrist", but the person is absolutely unable to remember the word "wrist". (Or "unsweet doughnut", when someone can't remember the word "bagel".) Is there a word to describe this phenomenon of cobbled together phrases meant to bridge a temporary gap in commonly-known vocabulary?


title: Using I hope in professional environment

text: I need to state that my goal is to answer some answers. Starting my e-mail with the "I hope..." does not sound professional. Any alternatives you can provide me with?


title: Demonstrated through?

text: Is this sentence correct? "Excellent communication, organizational, and leadership skills demonstrated through various awards and volunteer activities."


title: Set your journey to the wellness.. "set" used as "begin" , goes right here?

text: Using 'set' as 'begin' or closely similar way. The sentence "Set your journey to the wellness.." is ok? Set goes right here? From definition, I want to use "set" for this purpose.. cause (someone or something) to start doing something. "the incident set me thinking"


title: Spaces and em-dash

text: In using the em-dash, where do you put the spaces? Which of the following is correct? > School is based on the three R’s —reading, writing, and ’rithemtic. or > School is based on the three R’s— reading, writing, and ’rithemtic. or > School is based on the three R’s — reading, writing, and ’rithemtic.


title: to depart from the project?

text: Would it be OK to say: "The Subcontractor `departs` from the certified project" (meaning, that he does not comply with the established work order, stated in the project" and takes his own direction)? Is the word "depart" suitable here?


title: A conditional sentence with present perfect

text: Is it correct to say: > If you have finished it by then, I'll come and take it. thus using the present perfect in the "if" clause to mean the future instead of the present?


title: Are these called synonyms? What grammatical elements are constraining the meaning?

text: Consider the following sentence: > Due to my low reputation on SE, I was tentative (okay, "fearful" is more > _____) in posting to meta.SE. The context of the statement might the top of a post, as a kind of "apology introduction" before moving on to the main topic. I consider this to be in the realm of informal conversational English. I find it interesting that a lot of words can fill in the blank. For example: >   * okay, "fearful" is more apropos >   * okay, "fearful" is more realistic >   * okay, "fearful" is more like it >   * okay, "fearful" is more timely [an "almost but not good enough" fit] >   * okay, "fearful" is more right >   * okay, "fearful" is more descriptive >   * okay, "fearful" is more honest >   * okay, "fearful" is more true >   * okay, "fearful" is more exact >   * okay, "fearful" is more indicative of the situation > These all say "pretty much the same thing". It seems like they are synonymous but not necessarily synonyms. Could it be the idiomatic phrase/style/humor is guiding the meaning: > [Main clause stating some condition with an understated tone] (well, perhaps > [emphatic tone word] is [what goes here is allowed more variation than > normal]) So this is my question: Would these just be called synonyms? Distant synonyms? Synonymous? And also, is the idiomatic construction allowing a wider semantic distance for the blank?


title: Capitalizing a Figure

text: In a report I'm working on, I have lots of drawings. In the caption of each drawing I write "Figure 1." (or whatever the number may be). It appears that it is indeed correct to capitalize it in the caption. However, what about when writing in the actual text "as shown in figure 1". Do I capitalize the word figure there?


title: What do you call someone who isn't doing their calling in life?

text: You have a person who has an incredible talent, whether it be cooking, writing, sports, whatever. This person briefly showed this talent but then is living their life without fulfilling their calling in life. I would like a noun and I would hope it would not only convey that the rest of the population is missing out on that person's talent too. Note: The Will Hunting comment is a good one. 1 out of 5 movies seem to be about this type of person.


title: What does “Wonk gap” mean in brief?

text: I came across the word, “The wonk gap” used as the headline of the article written by Paul Krugman in New York Times’ September 8 issue. The word reappears in the following sentence: > Senator Rand Paul --insisted, “the size of growth of government is enormous > under President Obama” - which was completely untrue but was presumably what > his sources had told him, knowing that it was what he wanted to hear. For > that, surely, is what **the wonk gap** is all about. > http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/09/opinion/krugman-the-wonk-gap.html?hp None of CED, OED, and Merriam-Webster carries “wonk gap,” nor does GoogleNgram. However, there are dozens of descriptions incorporating “wonk gap” on Google Serach. For an example, the article written by Steve Benen in MSnbc Maddow blog ( June 3, 2013) comes under the headline, “Avik Roy and **the wonk gap** ,” and goes on: > “Jon Krugman, and others have detailed reports explaining why Avik Roy's > analysis simply doesn't make sense, and I hope folks will follow the links > to understand the underlying policy dispute. It's not just of a gray area; > Roy is simply wrong. But it's the point about "why we can't have an honest > debate" that resonates with me. Indeed, it reinforces the **"wonk gap" > thesis** I've been kicking around for a while. > http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/06/03/18727925-avik-roy-and-the-wonk- > gap?lite OED defines ‘wonk’ as; (North American informal/derogatory)   1. a studious or hard-working person: any kid with an interest in science was a wonk   2. a person who takes an excessive interest in minor details of political policy:he is a policy wonk in tune with a younger generation of voters.  But it doesn’t give me a clear idea of ‘wonk gap’. What does “wonk gap” mean in essence, in a couple of words? Do most Americans understand and use this phrase, or it’s just a politics, or press jargon, of which currency is limited to a select group of people?


title: English pronunciation by Spanish speakers

text: A typical pronunciation problem for Spanish speakers is that of words that begin with 'S + consonant'. For example, `Spain` may be pronounced `eh-spain`. What are other standard (eh-standar) pronunciation issues for Spanish speakers? (Note: This is a query for specific examples; thus, we do not have here an exact duplicate of this question, which was a little more vague.)


title: Are derived class and deriving class interchangeable terms?

text: Consider the following statement that I quoted from Inheritance and Derived Classes (C# vs Java) > You can extend the functionality of an existing class by creating a new > class that derives from the existing class. The derived class inherits the > properties of the base class, and you can add or override methods and > properties as required. Now, let's compare with the following that I quoted from a book. > Abstract classes are similar to interfaces in many ways. They can both > define member signatures that deriving classes must implement, and neither > one of them can be instantiated. Shortly speaking, are derived class and deriving class interchangeable terms?


title: What are you having?

text: When we are at the restaurant is more correct for the waitress to ask '' what are you having madam?'' or ''what will you have?''


title: Word usage: feeble

text: Is it correct to say > Feeble people are more at risk of flu-related complications. to convey the idea that there are different levels of risk in the population at risk? I could have said _old people_ instead of _feeble people_ , but I would like to stay vague at this point. Is _weak_ a better alternative for _feeble_?


title: The use of negative with indefinite pronouns

text: Is it correct to say: Everything doesn't go easy in life. Or should one say : Not everything goes easy in life.


title: What is a verb for "illusion"?

text: What is a verb for _illusion_? I want to use it in a sentence like the following: > The optical effect [illudes] my perception of its real shape. ~~But **illude** does not exist.~~ But I cannot find _illude_ in my Dictionary (OS X Dictionary.app). I want to find a verb that is somewhere between _deceive_ and _confuse_.


title: How should "Northern Europe" be capitalized?

text: **Europe** should obviously be capitalized, since it is a proper noun. Should the **northern** part of the example sentence _"I was traveling through **northern Europe**."_ be capitalized? In country names such as **North Holland** , **north** is actually part of the name and not an adjective, and should therefore be capitalized. However, in this case, there is no part of Europe officially named "Northern Europe", but is instead just used as a general (and varied, depending on you count them) list of countries roughly situated towards the north. What are the rules for capitalization in such a case?


title: Non positively connoted synonym for "highlights"

text: I'm producing a monthly report that put forward a selection of ten particular cases out of 70 individual entries. I filter for the 5 best and 5 worst cases according to various indicators. The idea is to bring forward whatever is out of ordinary, bad or good. So far, the report is called "highlights", but in all dictionnaries I've consulted the word has a positive connotation. > Webster: something (such as an event or a detail) that is very interesting, > exciting, or important : the best part of something > > Collins: the most exciting or memorable part of an event or period of time > > Oxford: An outstanding part of an event or period of time It does not seem right to use it with "five worst sellers" of the month, for example, although it's fine with "five more profitable". Ideally, I'm looking for a synonym of _highlights_ but that could be also used for negative stuff. A synonym devoid of connotation –if it can be still called a synonym ? For native speakers, in the following list of synonyms I found (from Collins+Oxford), what would be the word that sound to you the less connotated in a positive or negative manner, what sounds the most neutral ? > emphasize, stress, accent, feature, set off, show up, underline, spotlight, > play up, accentuate, flag, foreground, focus attention on, call attention > to, give prominence to, bring to the fore,high point, peak, climax, feature, > focus,high point, high spot, best part, climax, culmination, peak, pinnacle, > height, top, acme, zenith, apex, summit, apogee, apotheosis, crowning > moment, high water mark, most memorable part, most outstanding feature; > Latin ne plus ultra Or , would you have another proposition ?


title: What is a word for the length of sky between directly overhead and horizon?

text: What is a word that is closely defined to "the vertical length of sky between directly overhead and the horizon"? **Example for definition:** "The sun shown through the fog in the |between- zenith-horizon|" It may also be defined as "the range of directions between directly overhead and the horizon." **Example for definition:** "The sun shown through the fog in the |between- overhead-horizon| sky" I would prefer one word.


title: word meaning 'the day before'

text: I am looking for a word meaning 'the day before' that fits within the following sentence: 'day before the day the conference started' Alternatively a neater way of saying the same thing would be great....


title: Sixty-nine callback

text: In the movie 'Fight Club' I heard the phrase 'Sixty-nined you' for calling back. Is that common in American English or special for New York where you can press the 6 and 9 to call the last incoming number?


title: down the hall to the left

text: Why do people say like "down the hall, road, alley, etc" when it is not down in any way. Why can't we say like "it's straight this corridor, road, etc"?. Why do say "it's straight **down** this corridor, road, etc"? Please elaborate it.


title: Non-finite clause complementation of complex transitive verbs

text: This question has been bothering me for a while. It came up when I was reading Chapter 16 of "A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language." How to explain the grammatical structure of the following four sentences? "We knew him **to be a spy**."   "I saw her **leave the room**."   "I heard someone **shouting**."   "I got the watch **repaired**." What category do the four non-finite clauses in boldface fall into? They do not seem to fall into any of relative, nominal, comparative and adverbial clauses.


title: How to describe different levels of maturity?

text: The dictionary describes _mature_ as _fully developed, completed, or perfected_. I assume by this meaning that it is already absolute. My question is, is there such thing as degrees of maturity? If yes, what are those adverbs to describe the degrees of maturity?


title: What's the meaning of the phrase "where appropriate"?

text: Could you explain how to understand the phrase "where appropriate"? I know each word 'where' and 'appropriate,' but I cannot understand the meaning of the phrase combined with two word in this context. "Evaluation by competent supervisors and peers, employing such approaches, should form the foundation of teacher evaluation systems, with a supplemental role played by multiple measures of student learning gains that, **where appropriate** , could include test scores."


title: Can I bother someone "for" something?

text: If I want someone (in this case, a Professor) to do something for me that they don't _need_ to do (in this case, a second opinion on another Professor's paper), can I ask whether I can "bother them **for** a second opinion"? The "for" would emphasize that I _want_ the second opinion from the other person, more than "about". But is it proper English? Google gives a number of results for "bother for", but as always in these kinds of questions, that's not proof of anything except that 94,000 other people may be doing it wrong.


title: What is the meaning of “in that parents’ basement sort of way”?

text: What is the meaning of _parents’ basement_? > In that parents’ basement sort of way > > He’s kind of cute, in that parents’ basement sort of way


title: what does "falling into the pit of success" mean?

text: I can see its literal meaning, but I don't know its extended meaning. I saw this in the introduction of stackoverflow: > We believe finding the right answer to your programming questions should be > as easy as falling into the pit of success. Could anyone help me understand?


title: Is there a better way to say "able to be calculated"?

text: I was doing some proofreading and ran across the word " _calculate-able_." I'm tempted to write this out as the question suggests ("able to be calculated") but was wondering if there was a more terse alternative.


title: Polish your mug idiom

text: Recently I've heard couple of interesting idioms one of which was "Make yourself scarce or I'll polish your mug". So, I was wondering is it really used like that? I've heard of "Make yourself scarce" before, but "I'll polish your mug" is the first time I heard it. Does it sounds natural? Can I actually use it? Or will it be just funny if I say it?


title: "Teaching assistant" referring to a student

text: Can I use "teaching assistants" to refer to students teaching peers in lower grade levels as their extra activities? What is the best word in this case?


title: What is the most professional name for "squiggly bracket"?

text: I am creating a software training video and need to refer to these brackets: > { } I usually call them "squiggly brackets" or "curly brackets". Is there a more professional name?


title: What does the phrase "Begging the question" mean?

text: What does the phrase "begging the question" _really_ mean? And does it even matter if I use it correctly? Almost everyone just uses it as a synonym for "posing the question" these days.


title: What is the origin & meaning of "It used to drive me spare"?

text: While watching the eponymous documentary on Stephen Hawking, his wife described her husband's behaviour when he was deep in thought. She said he could be surrounded by children and not even notice what was going on. She then said, " _It used to drive me spare_." I got the gist that she meant it drove her perhaps crazy or to despair. Is this a British idiom? If so, how did it originate? Was there an omission in the phrase? How does one get to **spare** from **annoyed/upset**? I think that while the previous post is somewhat plausible, it is rather tenuous. To go spare (becoming unemployed) and being driven spare (getting angry) seems quite a leap to me. To me, even extreme anger and being distraught are two entirely different emotions. The link to loss of employment appears speculative in my mind.


title: "Holding her finger" vs "holding on her finger" vs "holding onto her finger."

text: > Mary peered down at the beach, and **holding her** index finger, she sank > back to her seat with a sigh. > > Mary peered down at the beach, and **holding on her** index finger, she sank > back to her seat with a sigh. > > Mary peered down at the beach, and **holding onto her** index finger, she > sank back to her seat with a sigh. (Mary is travelling to have a surgery on her finger. So, as she becomes aware that she is reaching the airport, she starts unconsciously holding her finger.) Do the sentences above mean the same? If not, how do they differ?


title: Why `night` with gh?

text: I am not native speaker. And me very interesting why **night** writting with **gh**? Thanks


title: To talk angrily and provoked in a low voice

text: I'm looking for a word that can describe a person continuously talking angrily as if fighting with someone, for example over a phone, but in a low and whispering manner.


title: to name a business model which behave like chicken pecks

text: I am describing a business model of doing a lot of buying and selling in very small quantity. Retailing is not the right word. In my case the small buying and purchasing is not due to demand being small, like retail, but that demand is unknown. It's like if you supply a hungry man who cannot speak (or an animal), you can only supply bit by bit, until he refuses to eat more. It is not retailing, it is the only way to satisfy unkown demand without oversupplying, especially if the over-supplied part is expensive to return to storage, and repeated supply is, seeming onerous, actually cheap to achieve -- seemingly impossible but it works in the Internet era when the supplier is a software program. How can I name this market behaviour or business model? A phrase less than 4 words should be idea. The concept is only debated a dozen times in the project, so it doesn't have to be squeezed down to a single word. I thought of "food-pecking", like a chicken pecks food little by little. Any more ideas?


title: Is "I, too, did it" correct

text: I've heard sentences such as "I, too, did something," in which I would have used "I also did it," or "I did it as well," or "I did it, too." In school I've been taught I have to put 'as well' and 'too' at the end of a sentence and 'also' after the subject. Was I taught correctly or do those rules apply only on a case-by-case basis? (I don't mean 'me too,' which isn't wrong, but informal).


title: Is /e/ a new trend for /æ/ in America?

text: > paranoid /ˈperəˌnoɪd/ Is there a trend that /æ/ makes a transition to /e/ in America? When I first came across the pronunciation in Merriam-Webster’s Advanced Learner’s (2008 version), I thought there might be a typo. But merriam- webster.com has /e/ sound followed by /a/-- \ˈper-ə-ˌnoid, ˌpa-rə-\ Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (1986 version) has /a/ followed by /e/. So I guess /e/ is a new trend. Is it really a new trend? On what cases does the sound be used? - none has /ket/ for cat.


title: Question regarding usage of "but"

text: I have a question regarding the usage of "but". Suppose a person plays cricket. He does not play football. Which of the following is correct? >   * He plays cricket but football. >   * He plays cricket but not football. > I think the first one to be true. But it seems weird. Most of the time, I've seen the second statement to be used.


title: Is this a correct English sentence: "I'm not quite well enough ready yet."

text: I was talking to someone recently and blurted out as I had to move on to another task " _I am not quite well enough ready yet_ " which sparked a discussion about if that was correct English. Although I'll grant it is fairly uncommon, I believe it is correct, but am having trouble proving my position. As I see it, the meaning intended was "I'm not comfortable with how unprepared I am" and that is conveyed. Taking the sentence apart, the subject (I) verb (am) with its adverb modifier (yet) and subject compliment adjective (ready) with it's adverb modifier (not) are obvious to me; the remaining phrase (quite well enough) seems to be an adverbial phrase (modifying ready) but I'm not as confident. Bonus: I learned grammar by sentence diagramming and if you could help me with the correct sentence diagram, it would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!


title: What is the usage of "in it fat" in this sentence?

text: I found this sentence: > It has in it fat, which gives energy. I can't figure out the usage of the part " _in it fat_ ". Can anyone kindly explain it or maybe give some examples please?


title: What's the meaning of the word "brand" in the expression "brand new"?

text: What meanings might be conveyed by something being called _brand new_ , as opposed to it simply being called _new_? What's behind the word _brand_ here?


title: Language proficiency

text: Sometimes, a native speaker of a given language receives their higher education through another language; say, a native English speaker whose higher education takes place in France, through French. This will often mean that that person has somewhat limited vocabulary in their native language within certain more technical fields. Is there **a word** in English that describes this kind of proficiency with ‘technical gaps’ in the vocabulary?


title: Addressing Professors: Between Dr. and a hard place

text: Early in my (academic) life, I was told that it is appropriate to address a faculty as Professor only when he/she possesses the full Professorial rank and I would be better off addressing Assistant and Associate Professors as Dr.X, especially in written communication. However, recently I have been corrected that it is appropriate to address as Professor, faculty of all three ranks irrespective of them possessing a doctorate. So, my first question is, whether it is okay to address an assistant (or associate) Professor as Prof.X with regard to American universities. Second, I have been told that these professorial ranks are often a source of ego and resentment. In previous letters, I have unfortunately written something along the lines of "I am interested in the research work of Prof. X and Dr.Y". I wish to know whether addressing them as such, with the obvious distinction would lead to ego issues, or any problems in general. Perhaps the second question does not belong on this forum. Still, I would appreciate if someone from academia or otherwise could clear them for me.


title: What do you call people who use their iphones excessively to the point of distraction?

text: I'm thinking of the type of person who would text while walking and end up smacking into a telephone pole. What would you call them?


title: What is the difference between fog, mist and haze?

text: So, as the question says by itself: what's the context when I should use the word _mist_ and the right context for _fog_? And _haze_?


title: Is there a connection between *miser* and *misery*?

text: From OALD: > **miser:** a person who loves money and hates spending it   >  **misery:** . [U] great suffering of the mind or body Synonym: DISTRESS   >  _Fame brought her nothing but misery_. > > . [U] very poor living conditions Synonym: POVERTY   >  _The vast majority of the country live in utter misery._ > > . [C] something that causes great suffering of mind or body: _the miseries > of unemployment_ > > . [C] (BrE, informal) a person who is always unhappy and complaining: _Don't > be such an old misery! ◆ Old misery guts here doesn't want to go out._ Is there a philological relation between these two? They are very similar(like noun and adj) but I can't form a relation berween them...


title: Is there any other way to say 'Sent Successfully'?

text: The actual message is 'Message was sent successfully'. But, we are not sure that the message was delivered to the person or the person has read the message. Is the use of 'sent successfully' correct?


title: "x and y are what drive them" vs "x and y are what driveS them"

text: Which of the following is correct? > It seems evident that self-confidence and a desire for power are what > **drive** them to enter this competition. > > It seems evident that self-confidence and a desire for power are what > **drives** them to enter this competition.


title: Tense to use when describing a written work

text: I'm writing a book report and I'm mot sure which tense should I use to describe the story in it. The story in the book is set in the past time. So I wonder whether I might use the simple past tense or just the simple present tense?


title: Does "the motor speed" mean the speed of the motor?

text: I'm an engineer and I often hear others say "the motor speed" when they are talking about the speed of the motor. For example, one might ask "What was the motor speed?" when he or she wants to know what the speed of the motor was. I've seen similar phrases in scientific journals too. Why is it OK to say "the motor speed" when you are talking about the speed of the motor?


title: "These are my children who want me to..." or "It's my children who want me to..."? And why?

text: Which of the following two lines is correct?   * These are my children who want me to learn cooking.   * It's my children who want me to learn cooking. I am not very familiar with the codified rules of grammar, but based on my reading experience, I am pretty sure the second line is correct. But then, I don't know why it is so. Isn't "children" plural?


title: Improper expressions of the future progressive

text: A thread on ELL makes me reconsider how I might naturally misuse other tenses when the future progressive is intended. For example, I might pass out work assignments in the following ways:   1. "John, you will be running the tests tomorrow." _(future progressive)_   2. "John, you will run the tests tomorrow." _(simple future)_   3. "John, you are going to run the tests tomorrow." _(simple future)_   4. "John, you run the tests tomorrow." _(improper expression)_   5. "John, you are running the tests tomorrow." _(improper expression)_ With the ELL example, the intent might be similarly stated by:   1. "We will be discussing X at the meeting tomorrow." _(future progressive)_   2. "We will discuss X at the meeting tomorrow." _(simple future)_   3. "We are going to discuss X at the meeting tomorrow." _(simple future)_   4. "We discuss X at the meeting tomorrow." _(improper expression)_   5. "We are discussing X at the meeting tomorrow." _(improper expression)_ I think the fourth and fifth cases in both examples are probably improper, but I believe they would sound natural among the business leaders I associate with. Are they improper? If so, are these forms of expressing future progressive common or at least acceptable in casual conversation (in either AE or BE)? If not improper, is there a formal description for these forms?


title: Short name for rearranging verb and adjective places in a sentence

text: The usual "Working Hard?" greeting can be rearranged to "Hardly Working!" reply. Is there a name for this process?   In the above statement instead of using "rearranging" can one use "permuting" instead?


title: How to cite an author who does not capltalize her name if you are beginning a sentence with her name

text: If you are writing a paper and citing works by an author/researcher who does not capitalize her name, how do you begin a sentence using the author's name?


title: SAT Writing ambiguous pronoun error?

text: Can anyone please explain why this sentence is incorrect? > When Russell Wallace and Darwin _independently_ proposed similar theories, > Darwin _had_ already accumulated extensive evidence _with which_ to support > _his_ ideas. I thought the error was at _with which_ because it seems wordy; to me, **evidence to support an idea** sounds better and less wordy than **evidence with which to support an idea**. But the error occurs at _his_ , and it's an ambiguous pronoun error. Thank you!


title: "Facility for speaking" vs. "facility to speak"

text: Which one would you use: >   * I lost my facility to speak. >   * I lost my facility for speaking. > Or does either work?


title: Is it right to use "both" in negative sentences?

text: I've just come across a film review by an American author where he says: "I can assure you that both are not typical in any part of this state". In negative sentences like that, my inclination would be to use "neither one of them is..." instead (or, depending, none of them is/are...). Is it right to say "both are not..." ?


title: "Bar none (the most/the best...)" for "without exceptions or by far (the most/the best...)"

text: I once came across the idiom "bar none" for "by far/with no exceptions" as in "He's bar none the best player on the team", after what (for some reason unbeknownst to my forty three year old self) it was forgotten and fell into oblivion...until just recently, as I came to rediscover it sometime earlier today searching the Net for some other expression I previously posted about. And so, I wish someone would tell me whether this idiom is acceptable for all English registers, or definitely belongs to informal, colloquial usage and, as such, should be best avoided in formal style. e.g. _Bill is **bar none** the most talented photographer_... http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=703015


title: Pronunciation of the prefix "tri"

text: I know that English pronunciation is rather arbitrary. There are still some "rules" that even with many exceptions are useful for non-natives like me. I'm puzzled about the pronunciation of the very common prefix "tri", meaning "three". "Tri" is often pronounced /traɪ/. For example: triangle, trilateral, tripartite, trioxide, triode, triad, trilobites, triglyceride, triennium, tridimensional, trigeminal, tricycle, tricuspid, triceps, triathlon. But sometimes "tri" is pronounced /trɪ/. For example: trigamous, triplicate, trio, trinity, trilogy, trillion, trigonometry, triplet, triple, triphthong, triploid, triptych. Finally, it seems that a few words can be pronounced both ways. For example: trimester, tricolor. I can find no pattern at all. Is there any "rule"? Or can you help me in any way to guess the right pronunciation of a new word with the prefix "tri"?


title: Single-word replacement for "To be replaced"

text: I'm looking for a word to describe an old item that is soon to be replaced. Temporary was the first thing that came to mind, but it didn't seem to fit in context as the old object has been there for a long time already so is hardly an interim substitute.


title: Looking forward to " see" or "seeing"?

text: Which of the 2 sentences is correct? Sam is looking forward to see the Rocky mountains. Sam is looking forward to seeing the Rocky mountains.


title: What did Steve Jobs mean by “Technology married with Liberal Arts” in his last speech?

text: The Asahi, Japan’s leading newspaper quoted the following famous closing words of Steve Jobs’ in his last speech at the iPad 2 event in March 2011 in its popular editorial column, “Vox populi, vox Dei” on its April 22 issue. It deplored in the column that today’s Japanese management lacks great vision and big dream as Jobs had: > "It's in Apple's DNA that technology alone is not enough. That it's > _technology married with liberal arts_ , married with the humanities, that > yields us the result that makes our hearts sing." In the column, the Asahi translated the phrase, “ _technology married with liberal arts_ ” as “technology married with kyoyo (教養:culture, refinement, education)” in Japanese. I’m not sure whether the Asahi’s choice of word, kyoyo- meaning culture and education exactly fits the notion Steve Job meant by “liberal arts” in his speech. Oxford Dictionary Online defines “liberal arts” as: >   1. chiefly North American arts subjects such as literature and history, as > distinct from science and technology. >   2. (historical ) the medieval trivium and quadrivium. > Cambridge Dictionary Online defines it as: > mainly U.S. College or university subjects such as history, languages and > literature. What does “liberal arts” mean in general? And what did Steve Jobs mean by “liberal arts” married with technology in his speech? Are there difference between general perception of the word, “liberal arts” among public and specific usage of “liberal arts” by Steve Jobs in his speech?


title: Is it correct to say "No users have configured this setting"?

text: Is it acceptable to say "No users have configured this setting"? It is an error message. It sounds odd to me. "None of the users have configured this setting" seems OK. Please provide your advice.


title: What does "no worse than ..." mean?

text: What does the writer mean by saying "no worse than stealing?" > It is thought the scam, which stores say is _no worse than stealing_ , is a > product of our ‘fast-fashion culture’, where trends are popular for a short > time then become outdated and therefore worthless. (Mail Online, 2014.11.4.)


title: Sentence for an advertisement

text: I am designing an advertisement and I've this question now. Can we say, > We are now here in New Zealand? or > IBM is here in New Zealand? Which is grammatically correct?


title: Why “daily” and not “dayly”?

text: Checking how adjectives related to time are created, I see:   * year → year **ly**   * month → month **ly**   * week → week **ly**   * day → da **ily** Why has “day” derivated into “daily” with an ‘i’ instead of “dayly” with a ‘y’? In the Online Etymology Dictionary I don't see information related to this ‘loss’ of the ‘y’ in favour of the ‘i’: > **daily (adj.)** > > Old English _dæglic_ (see _**day_** ). This form is known from compounds: > _twadæglic_ “happening once in two days,” _þreodæglic_ “happening once in > three days;” the more usual Old English word was _dæghwamlic,_ also > _dægehwelc._ Cognate with German _täglich._


title: Synonym for "do you mean" without negative connotations

text: Whenever I use the phrase "do you mean to say", I notice that the word "mean" has a variety of negative connotations (cruelty, harshness, etc.) Is there any alternative for this phrase that doesn't have such unpleasant connotations? ("Do you mean to say this" sounds very similar to "what you said was mean", despite having a completely different meaning - that's why I'm concerned about the connotation.)


title: What modal verbs do natives use nowadays?

text: We are being taught English by a native speaker from Alaska. He states that many of modal verbs we were taught are outdated and have been replaced. E.g.: >   * We must ➙ We have to >   * May I come in? ➙ Do you mind if I come in? >   * We don't have to leave yet. ➙ We don't gotta go yet. > Totally outdated: "ought to" and "shall". Is it true, and if so, to what extent? Which modal verbs do you regularly use in your spoken English and which in written language?


title: "To take in" and "to catch" in the sense "to attend and visit (or see) [the sights of (a city, etc.)] in AmE

text: Do these terms share the same degree of informality in the sense "to attend and visit (or see)" as of someone taking in/catching the sights of a place, or taking in/catching a show or a movie? E.g. > When was the last time you caught [or **_take in_** ] a movie at the drive > in? > > How's that, you spent three weeks in Paris and you didn't even catch [or > **_take in_** ] the night sights of that glittering city? You surely must > have been off your head! Also, can "to take in" in the sense [to attend and visit (or see)] encompass other things than sights [=anything **worth** seeing (the sights of London)] and shows (movies, plays, etc.)?


title: Do Thomas and his friends do anything besides start the rusted wheel of things?

text: The melody of the theme song of the cartoon series “Thomas and his friends” matches the scansion of poem X (“March”) of A.E. Housman’s “A Shropshire Lad”. There are five verses to Housman’s poem, but the second one seems especially apt semantically/satirically: > So braver notes the storm-cock sings > > To start the rusted wheel of things, > > And brutes in field and brutes in pen > > Leap that the world goes round again. Are there any other poems whose scansion matches this one?


title: Are "gossip" and "rumour" perfect synonyms?

text: Are the words _gossip_ and _rumour_ perfect synonyms or is there a fine distinction between them? The only difference I'm aware of is that the second one is spelled differently in British and American English.


title: What is the meaning of the pejorative form of “gay”?

text: Dictionaries don’t define the pejorative use of _gay_ , but the term is used in common parlance. For example: > That’s so gay. or > You’re gay. Is there a way of establishing what _gay_ means when used pejoratively?


title: How to shorten If SVO+prep. A, then SVO+prep. B.?

text: How to shorten the following sentence? > If the teacher brings a gift for Adam, then the teacher brings a gift for > Barbara. This sentence does not make much sense. My question is if there is a formula (like ·so does it·) to shorten "If SVO+prep. A, then SVO+prep. B."


title: Are there any words in English meaning "goodbye forever"?

text: I'm not a native speaker. I want to know if there is any word that you use to express that yourself and the listener will not have a chance to see each other again, or that it is incredibly unlikely you ever will. Such as when they are going abroad or dying.


title: Meaning of "bearing"

text: > Knowledge having a **bearing** on human life was placed highest > > Knowledge **about** human life was placed highest


title: "The" before person name and context indication

text: I'm a native French speaker and the following is translated from French: > A production still in which the beauty of the natural elements and colours > evoke **the Renoir of** _A Day in the Country_ (1936) and _Picnic on the > Grass_ (1959). This is indeed something you can say in French: a person's name is preceded by the definite article and followed by an indication of "context" (here: two films directed by Jean Renoir), meaning Renoir's style as can be appreciated in those works, or the way Renoir would do things at the time. The English translation (not mine) is literal and doesn't sound correct to me. Could you give me your opinion (and ideas to improve it)?


title: 'Complete a confusion' -- expression or confusion?

text: Is _complete someone's confusion_ a popular expression that makes sense? This expression pops up so often I wonder I am missing something here. Does **complete** here mean to ' **resolve** '/ ' **clarify** '? Blaise Pascal, et al., _The provincial letters of Pascal_ , p314 > And is it necessary, in order to complete your confusion, to bring forward > the words of M. de St. Cyran, in the same letter, in which he speaks of the > sacrifice of the Mass as the most excellent of all, … Sergey Fomin, _Symmetric Functions 2001:_ , p.30 > To complete your confusion, we define another morphism a: #n_i,n ->F (15) > sending (/n_i, /n) to (/n, P)- Brown University: _Man's contracting world in an expanding universe:_ , p165 > Then I shall make a summary statement to complete your confusion. Although, I was imagining the expression should, if at all, mean **further confounding** , as in: Jane Aiken Hodge, _Runaway bride_ , p191 > "… And now, to complete your confusion, she too, is run off. It is not an > edifying story, Mr. Gurning."


title: Etymology of "half-assed"

text: The term "half-assed" is used to refer to something being sloppy or partially completed. For example, "You really did a half-assed job on those TPS reports, Bob." What is the etymology of this phrase? If half-assed means partial or incomplete, can something be "full assed" or "fully assed"?


title: Can all transitive verbs take to-infinitive clauses?

text: > Yet it would be your duty to bear it, if you could not avoid it: it is weak > and silly to say you cannot bear what it is **your fate to be required to > bear**. — _Jane Eyre_ It seems ‘your fate to be required to bear’ is a to-infinitive clause (or non- finite-clause by Bas Aarts: “They would hate [Jim to sell his boat].”) and the object of _cannot bear_ ; _what it is_ means ‘whatever it is’ and can be put in brackets. Can all transitive verbs take the clauses as their objects? If you see the object of _cannot bear_ as what-clause, would you let me know just the last question?


title: Is "I have Asperger syndrome" grammatically correct?

text: I'm trying to write my first book. In it, the protagonist has Asperger syndrome. It was going well until I encountered this sentence (the boy is confessing to another person) and became confused. Is it a coherent sentence? Are there any other appropriate ways to say this?


title: Why is it "yours faithfully" and not "your faithfully"?

text: I've been taught to write "Yours" ever since I started writing letters. But today I realised that "your" is an adjective qualifying the person who is writing the letter. Now, since the adjective for _you_ is _your_ , why is _yours_ always used?


title: "I'm sorry for" vs. "I'm sorry about"

text: Can I use _about_ and _for_ interchangeably? If not, when should I use either? Which is more common? >   * I'm sorry for/about yesterday. >   * I'm sorry for/about my bad English. >   * I'm sorry for/about that. >


title: How to identify the sound of an "A" without altering the spelling of the word?

text: I have the word "Carr" (short for the name Carrie). Is there a way to write the 'a' so that a person reading the word 'Carr' would pronounce it like _care_ ('kær), opposed to pronouncing it like _car_ (kɑr)? Something like Càrr, Cárr, Cãrr, etc...?


title: Adjective association

text: Is there a rule that states what word adjectives in a sentence will link to? If I say > I have a big cookie jar it's still a correct sentence. The word "cookie" isn't an adjective, but "cookie jar" is a common term that represents a jar explicitly used to contain cookies. In the phrases "dark green box" and "dark, green box" I know that with the comma, the box is dark _and_ green, while without it, the box is dark green. In the cookie jar sentence, is the jar explicitly used to contain "big cookies" or is the "cookie jar" big?


title: A conditional with present tense vs. the subjunctive?

text: I may just be in my own head, but I'm trying to figure out how these two sentences differ: >   1. If you walk down the street, you'll see an oak tree. >   2. If you were to walk down the street, you'd see an oak tree. > Is it that the first one describes something hypothetical that you could do now, while the second one describes something hypothetical that you could do in the future? (What I'm trying to say is, "If you hypothetically do X, whether now or sometime the future, then Y happens.")


When two titles are separated by “and” how do you show “and” isn’t part of the titles? For example, if I'm on a swimming team named _Jaguars_ and a rowing team named _Cheetahs_ how would I remove the ambiguity from sentences like “The Jaguars and the Cheetahs always win”? It could be incorrectly interpreted as one team name.


title: Good dictionary software

text: What is good dictionary software? I am asking about the ones that can be downloaded and used on Windows machines, and not online websites. I thought Word Web is a good one, but are there any advanced and good dictionaries?


title: Is the adjective “nothing loath” still in common usage?

text: Google Ngram Viewer shows a decline in the use of “nothing loath” since the 1970s unlike its antonym “loath” which is still widely used. Would it be appropriate for me to use it or has it become obsolete?


title: Where do you put the suffix when listing the last name first?

text: When listing names with the last name first, where should you put the suffix if there is one present? For example, if given the name `John Doe Jr.`, which of the following would be correct?   * `Doe, John Jr.`   * `Doe, John, Jr.` _< \- My guess is this one_   * `Doe Jr., John`   * `Jr., Doe, John`


title: How does "so to speak" mean "in a manner of speaking"?

text: I understand the phrase's meaning and its usage, but I don't know how it could have come to mean what it does. Similar phrases like "in a manner of speaking" and "in a sense" make more sense. A sentence like "he's a parrot, in a sense" would mean "there exists an interpretation of the statement that he's a parrot such that the statement holds true". "He's a parrot, in a manner of speaking," would mean that one might speak in a particular colloquial in which "he's a parrot" has an appropriate meaning. On the other hand, I don't even know how to parse the phrase "so to speak": "so, [if I were] to speak, [I would say ...]"? Or is "so-to speak" a kind of speak? Or does the "so" mean "true", as in "make it so"?


title: What does 'Not to order' mean?

text: I came across this line in one of Nina Bawden's works: > I have only once written a book, not to order, exactly, but to please a > particular audience; a girl of seven who was, as she put it, 'a little bit > blind'. I'm trying to figure out what the writer means by 'not to order' in this context. I'd appreciate any help! EDIT: Here's a bit of context: The author mentions in the same extract that the girl suggested an idea for a book to be based on jewel thieves and a blind girl who does something brave. Also, the author writes that she's impressed by her ability to navigate through dark corridors even with limited eyesight. Both these factors formed the inspiration for the book.


title: How to describe word with many syllables

text: How do we describe a word that has many _syllables_? For example, what's the correct way to rewrite the sentence below? > However these names end up being very long both visually and > pronunciationally.


title: Origin of the expression 'hard by'?

text: There's an expression "hard by", which I understand to mean "nearby", "close by". I don't know if it could be called an idiom, but it baffled me when I first encountered it in the translation of Historia Calamitatum ( _“the castle of Corbeil, which is hard by the city of Paris”_ ). Back then I thought it an archaism, but since then I've encountered it in modern contexts, e.g. _“In a bar hard by P.P. Layouts, Richard Hnatt sat sipping a Tequila Sour”_ (Philip Dick). What's the origin of this expression? Etymonline mentions: > O.H.G. harto "extremely, very," in the etymology of 'hard', and I can see some connection, but it's vague. Also, aside its rarity, can it be used interchangeably with "close by", or is there a small semantic difference I can't percieve?


title: /u/ and /uː/ in pronunciation

text: What is the regularity of appearance of /uː/ and /u/ (or /ʊ/ in RP)? How can I be most sure deducing from spelling alone, that, say, "ooze" is pronounced /uːz/ and "wool" as /wul/? I know that English vowels are peculiar, but I don't want to look up the pronunciation of words in the dictionary that often.


title: Are “Pick up your socks” and “Have your socks bronzed” popular expressions as the antithesis?

text: I found the phrase “Pick up your socks” and “Have your socks bronzed” in the following sentence of Maureen Dawd’s article in today’s New York Times: > “When Barack is cocky and looks at Michelle, he might see her thinking: > “You’re no messiah. Pick up your socks.” But when Newt is cocky and looks at > Callista, he sees her thinking: “You are the messiah. We’ll have your socks > bronzed.” As the sentence is followed by the line, “Where Michelle sees herself as the puncturer of delusions, ‘the Department of ‘Let’s Get Real,’ as an aide called her,” I can guess “pick up your socks” means “know yourself, be realistic” and “have your socks bronzed,” means “make you glorious/ grandeur” Is my understanding right or off the mark? Are both of the phrases popular expressions as the antithesis?


title: Is word "homological" homologous?

text: Homological mean the word describing itself (like "word" or "written"). Is word "homological" homological? Thank you very much and sorry for my ignorance.


title: Microsoft Word Complains me this phrase is wrong - Is it right?

text: > A programming craftsman having hands on knowledge in Web development > (Including user interaction), Software Development Life cycle, and database > programming How should the sentence be formed so that it is correct( I am not sure this is wrong).


title: Engineering from or Engineering in

text: Should i write > Bachelor of Engineering from [Place] or > Bachelor of Engineering in [Place] Seems both sound right to me, or might be i am not good in my English language usage.


title: Is there any general rule of thumb that can be followed for where and when to add commas and full stops?

text: I always mess up with my writing by adding commas and full stops (periods) in the wrong places. Is there any rule of thumb or some other way that I can follow to avoid this problem?


title: Word/phrase for nationally owned company

text: Is there a word/phrase for a company whose owners are all from the U.S.? When I search for "nationally owned company", Google returns "Government-owned corporation", which is not what I am after. Would it be "fully U.S.-owned"? ("Fully" for emphasis.)


title: What does 'arra' mean?

text: I read it in a book but can't remember what topic now. Google just brings up a list of place names, but I'm sure it's not that. It's not in my Oxford dictionary either and I'm fairly sure it's not an abbreviation.


title: what's the meaning of “Fpfit. ”

text: what's the meaning of “Fpfit. ” in following pic ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/h7hSB.jpg)


title: Quis? Ego! (Child's phrase)

text: In British private schools children shout "Quis?" and the person to shout "Ego!" in reply first gets whatever was on offer. The Latin derivation is clear but I have two questions. First, when did this practice start? Second, there is an extension where the respondent shouts something that sounds similar to "ego de to my liking". This means that the child will accept the gift if they like it. This is to prevent the first child from giving a rotten egg or black eye or similar. When did this first appear?


title: These vs those before nouns

text: I have been tutuoring a Chinese boy in English, and I am having trouble explaining to the kid why he shouldn't be using the word, "those", as much as he is. **The kid:** _Those two strategies help Churchill to get to his goal: to express the anger towards those terrorists._ Personally, if I was going to write this sentence, I would probably write: "These two strategies help Churchill get to his goal: to express anger towards terrorists". I've changed "those" to "these" and dropped "those" completely in the second clause. **The kid:** _However, those people who watched the hanging were like a dog, which means they had less humanity but more brutal. Those human beings, compared with dogs, seemed to be much more cruel and cold-blooded._ Again, if I were writing this sentence, I wouldn't really be using "those" in any of the two cases here. I would have written "the people who watched..." and "These human beings, compared with dogs..." The kid is trigger-happy with "those" -- I feel like he's wrong, but I can't say why, if he indeed is. Any insight would surely be appreciated.


title: what does it mean: "Lowess smooth"

text: what does it mean: "Lowess smooth" in following picture ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/KpyJa.jpg)


title: What's the adjective form of "sauce" as "salty" is to "salt"?

text: _Saucy_ has a totally different meaning. When I describe food having too much sauce, I would like to use an adjective, however _salty_ is not really applicable here.


title: Meaning of 'constantly' in 'everything is fluid, is constantly changing...'

text: > Heraclitus: everything is and is not, for everything is fluid, is constantly > changing, constantly coming into being and passing away. If 'constantly' means 'no stop in every little seconds' then this is of course wrong, for example, our name may change but not change in every seconds. If it means 'may stop in some times, but in a long-term view, never stop', then it's acceptable. I ask what exactly CONSTANTLY means in English. IF it means like a river flows and not stop in every seconds or it means like heartbeat, you heart beat in a lifelong time, but surely it stop beat in a little time and beat again in another seconds. **there are one state in river and two states in heartbeat**


title: Give permission without authority

text: How can I give someone permission to do something, go along with their plan even if I do not have the authority to tell them to do so or stop them from doing so anyway. "You have my permission ..." sounds like the other person needs to ask me first.


title: What part of speech would "color" be in, "Mercury is the color red"?

text: > Mercury is red. > > Mercury is the color red. _Red_ is describing Mercury. What part of speech would _color_ be?


title: "Move slower" vs. "move less"

text: What is the proper word to fill the blank? > The more cars there are on a given road, the ___ _ the traffic will move. The answer is _slower_. But I wonder whether _less_ is incorrect.


title: Why/When need some kind of short spelling or pronunciation?

text: In regular usage, nowadays we use short spellings of words in speaking or writing. For example:   * They are in the cinema. => They're in the cinema.   * We have been waiting for me. => We've been waiting for me.   * etc... I know it makes our vocabulary and understanding easier than the real spelling of words, but my question is: why do we need that type of change and how should it be applied to our regular usage? Most importantly **when should we use this kind of short word when writing or speaking?**


title: In which accent does Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) speak?

text: I don't know if Stack Exchange is the right place to ask this question but I am very keen to find out: Which accent has Brad Pitt adopted in the movie _Inglourious Basterds_ for the role of Lieutenant Aldo Raine?


title: Can the em dash replace both the semicolon and comma in these?

text: Can the em dash replace the comma and semicolon in these sentences? For example, instead of "The original sign did not have terminal punctuation; thus, the full stop goes outside the quotes to end the sentence", can we do this? (See below.)   * The original sign did not have terminal punctuation – _thus_ the full stop goes outside the quotes to end the sentence.   * The original sign did not have terminal punctuation – _hence_ the full stop goes outside the quotes to end the sentence.   * The original sign did not have terminal punctuation – _therefore_ the full stop goes outside the quotes to end the sentence.   * The original sign did not have terminal punctuation – _as a result_ the full stop goes outside the quotes to end the sentence.   * The original sign did not have terminal punctuation – _consequently_ the full stop goes outside the quotes to end the sentence.


title: Expression for "someone who's clueless of their surroundings"?

text: What is an expression or saying you could use to describe someone that is totally clueless of their surroundings?


title: "It worths it", "it worth it" or "it is worth it"?

text: Which one is correct and why? I think "worth it" is an adjective phrase. So what is "worth" then? Example: > You should try spending money on her. **It worths it**. > > You should try spending money on her. **It worth it**. > > You should try spending money on her. **It is worth it**. Which one is right? The last 2 are not condemned by grammar checker.


title: How can I re-word this sentence?

text: "With computers integrating people’s life increasingly these days in the era of information processing and computerization, more and more people need to read online information." Should mentioning the result first be better or mentioning the 'digital era' to introduce the topic first?


title: Signs, signs, everywhere there's signs

text: I am very much hoping that I have punctuated all of the following examples correctly per BrE punctuation. And I'm hoping that my bracketed explanations adequately and logically explain my reasoning to punctuate them as I have done. That being said, are all correct per BrE?   1. _The sign said 'Handle with care.'_ [The original sign had terminal punctuation – thus the full stop goes inside the quotes, correct?]   2. _The sign said 'Handle with care'._ [The original sign did not have terminal punctuation – thus the full stop goes outside the quotes to end the sentence, correct?]   3. _Pete said, 'The sign said "Handle with care." '_ [The sign contained terminal punctuation – hence the full stop goes inside as exampled here, correct?]   4. _Pete said, 'The sign said "Handle with care".'_ [The sign did not have terminal punctuation – hence the full stop goes outside the double ending quote marks as exampled here, correct?]   5. _"The sign said 'Handle with care'," Mike said._ [The ending punctuation to this one is '," regardless of whether or not there was terminal punctuation on the sign.]


title: How to say you did two things, but separately?

text: When describing an experiment (inside a thesis paper), I want to explain that we took a sample and did two things to it, but not together, rather as two separate experiments. One way to write it is : > We took the sample and either did X to it, or did Y to it. Another way is: > We took the sample and did X to it, and separately did Y to it. Frankly I'm not happy with either forms. What's a good way to write this?


title: Is it clear in the following sentence the distinction between the "individual" and the "whole"?

text: Is it clear in the following sentence the distinction between the "individual" (a single person), and the "whole" (nature, universe...everything around, etc)? "People want to be eternal as an individual because they forgot how to be eternal as a whole." I wrote that as an indirect way of saying: People created the soul to be eternal because they forgot that they were already eternal with nature, the universe.


title: "Southernmost point in" vs. "southernmost point of"

text: Which of the following is correct? Or are they both wrong? >   * The southernmost point **in** Ohio. >   * The southernmost point **of** Ohio. >


title: word request: antonym of try-hard, who does not try to impress

text: What is a good word to use as an antonym of 'try-hard'? Somebody who does not try to appear highly in another's eyes. A word close to indifferent,aloof, detached...


title: Agreement of articles and prepositions

text: Which of the following sentences would you consider most acceptable, and why? Please assume knowledge of the difference between the definite and indefinite articles here and that they are used intentionally. The question specifically relates to the choice of article with respect to the preposition which follows - in these cases, of/about. A - I want to tell you **a** story **about** Mark.   B - I want to tell you **the** story **about** Mark. C - I want to tell you **a** story **of** Mark.   D - I want to tell you **the** story **of** Mark. My instinct, as a native speaker, is that A and D are more acceptable than B and C, but I can't explain why.


title: "Intent" vs. "intention"

text: How are _intent_ and _intention_ distinguished in terms of usage? My guess after checking my pocket dictionary is _Intent_ is used to mean a bad purpose. > Their intent to kill the boy is crystal clear! _Intention_ is used in other cases. > Their intention is to enjoy seeing the cashflow.


title: Phrases to describe different conditions

text: For example, I measure test scores for different groups of students. When I present the results, should I say: > Here are test scores with respect to different student groups. Or: > Here are test scores differentiated by student groups. In fact, neither seems natural to me. Is there any better way of saying this?


title: "Difference to" or "difference with" or "difference from"

text: When we use word difference to compare two things, we say for example, 'Difference between Intel and AMD'. However, how can I use word difference with only one thing, for example, what will be correct:   1. Difference with AMD   2. Difference to AMD   3. Difference from AMD


title: What does this quote mean

text: What does this quote mean? > I haven't a particle of confidence in a man who has no redeeming petty vices > whatsoever.


title: what's the meaning of "stations in life"

text: What is the meaning of ' _stations in life_ '? Does it mean religion? ' _stations in life_ ' as in: Nonetheless, seams can make borders “semi- permeable membranes,” relatively more or less porous to people, depending upon their nationalities and **stations in life** , to economic exchange, to the passage of ideas …


title: How is 'transparent' used in this context?

text: > ERP system has become important because it uses IT to integrate information > of all operations of an entire company. Ketikidis et al. (2008) conclude > that ERP system improves the competitive advantage of a company. The major > operations are combined in a single software module (Kalakota and Robinson, > 1999; Bingi et al., 1999). Matolcsy et al. (2005) **show that it is > important to follow and control logistics to reduce unnecessary costs when > the process is transparent enough.** Davenport (1998) recommends ERP system > can help the management control operations to raise the competitive > advantage of a company. The operational performance of a company using ERP > system outshines that of a company without it (Hunton et al., 2003). I can't really seem to understand how the word 'transparent' is used in the above context. How can a process be transparent?


title: What does "a drifty car" mean?

text: What does "a drifty car" mean? Does it refer to capability of instant change in the speed of car?


title: 31th or 31st is correct?

text: I just realized that I’ve never needed to use 31th or 31st in my four years English study. So which one is correct, and what about other alternatives? > 31 _th_ or 31 _st_   >  101 _th_ or 101 _st_   >  1001 _th_ or 1001 _st_ Can I also use that way everywhere in the same way (for example, ordinal numbers in math)?


title: English phrases created or popularized through Seinfeld

text: _Seinfeld_ has been very influential in transforming how Americans (and possibly other English speakers) speak, see: What does "yadda yadda" mean? What sayings or phrases in common parlance can be traced back to their use on _Seinfeld_? _NB_ I am not looking for a list of all the funny phrases that people have compiled elsewhere. I am looking for a list of words that don't have to be referential to the show to be useful. The "yadda yadda" link from above is a good example.


title: 'Whereas' as conjunction between main clause and subordinate clause?

text: I am wondering if I can use 'whereas' as a conjunction between a main and a subordinate clause, with the subordinate clause following and giving a reason supporting the statement in the main clause. For example: > As a model system we consider a mutant zombie hoard, whereas the vast > majority of zombie hoards fall into this category. I realize that there is another use of 'whereas' to contrast two things; it's the third entry in the OED Online: > 3\. Introducing a statement of fact in contrast or opposition to that > expressed by the principal clause: While on the contrary; the fact on the > other hand being that. (The principal clause usually precedes, but sometimes > follows as in 2.) That's not what I mean. What I want is the second entry in the OED: > 2\. In view or consideration of the fact that; seeing that, considering > that, forasmuch as, inasmuch as. (Chiefly, now only, introducing a preamble > or recital in a legal or other formal document.) However, in the OED, all of the examples for case '2' have 'whereas' at the beginning of the sentence, not in the middle. So, is it valid English to write "As a model system..." as above, or not?


title: Do I capitalize or write out 'first' if I write: "Her birthday was May First."?

text: I'm writing a story in which a character's birthday (May 1st) is significant. A characters notes in conversation that, "Her birthday is May first." Should I write out 'first' or refer to it as '1st'? If I write out 'first', is it capitalized or not?


title: What is the word for "to go back (of time)"?

text: What’s the word for “to go back” of time? I’m trying to say that time cannot _go back_. For example: > I wish I were a child again, but time does not “go back”.


title: What do you call a person who is regionally biased?

text: What do you call a person who is regionally biased and has an unreasonable hatred/dislike for people from other regions of the country/world? Something like a racist, but the point of discrimination here is the geographical region and not race.


title: Does the noun 'hand in' exist?

text: I know that there is a verb "to hand in" (see Merriam Webster). Is there a noun which means the action of "handing something in"? Is this also called the "hand in"? Does a sentence like "When is the hand in of your thesis?" make sense? Or what other noun would you propose?


title: Is there a word to describe the state of being the only one of something?

text: I need a word to describe the state of being the only one of something. For context, it's for the UI of a scientific device that detects and analyzes cells. In this particular case, we are talking about a particular cell that the device has judged to be the only one there. The phrase needs to be short, so I want to use "Judgment of _*_ ". "Singularity" would appear to be the perfect word for what I am looking for -- if it hadn't already been taken for a very different meaning. Any other suggestions? I really think there must be a word for this; it seems a pretty basic concept. I have a feeling that maybe I am simply not seeing an obvious choice...


title: What does "as in any number of other endeavors" mean?

text: Below is the context. > All the information in this book comes with a fair warning: **As in any > number of other endeavors** , the solutions we discuss can be done in more > than one way. You should also be aware that the software world could have > changed slightly or quite a bit since the book was printed. I know what **endeavors** mean but I don't know what does "as in any number of other endeavors" mean. Anyone can help to explain?


title: How do you use ellipses in conjunction with semicolons in MLA quoting?

text: Here is a line of text from Willa Cather’s _My Ántonia_. > There was only—spring itself; the throb of it, the light restlessness... I wish to end the quote at the semicolon. Eg: > "There was only—spring itself;..." Jim says (Ln 5). Is this correct?


title: Is this past participle to be changed to present participle?

text: In this sentence, is the past participle of ‘clasped’ in ‘with his hands clasped over his fat bottom’ to be changed to ‘clasping’? > He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley — > there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp > squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands > clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on > them, Harry saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers.


title: Using "?:" after a question

text: I find myself using the dual punctuation marks "?:" when I want to say "I have a question about the thing that follows". For example: > Is it possible for the following sentence to be translated into French?:   >  "Hello, nice to see you." Is using "?:" incorrect? If so, what would be the correct way to do this? Which would take precedence: the colon, or the question mark?


title: Is the ACA nickname capitalized “Obamacare” or “ObamaCare” or “Obama Care”?

text: I’m writing a term paper and need to know the appropriate acceptable case for “Obamacare”; preferably, I’d refer to it as “The Affordable Care Act”, but the subject of the paper warrants the nickname. I’ve seen articles referring to it as “Obamacare”, “ObamaCare”, “Obama Care” and “Obama care”. For now, I'm going with “Obamacare”. Had there been a _Legal Questions Stack Exchange_ , I’d have asked this there instead.


title: What does “new to the beat” mean?

text: “Today’s Quote” of Washington Times (February 1) picked up the answer of White House Press Secretary, Jay Carney to a reporter when he was asked by the reporter whether the White House was planning a concerted effort on job creation just as it has on immigration reform and gun control. : Carney replied: > "I know you're kind of **_new to the beat_** , but this president has been > focused on this issue more than any other, and that will not change." What does “the beat” here mean? Is it situation, place, trend, or movement? Apparently the questioner seems to be a cub reporter to Press Secretary. Doesn't Carney's answer carry a derogatory tone? I can’t find the usage of ‘beat’ in this form in English dictionaries at hand.


title: Meaning of "self-patronage"

text: Someone said he was not a fan of self-patronage. I was wondering, what does that mean? I have looked up the meaning of patronage.


title: What is a word for assigning a number to a value?

text: I am undergoing world building for a story I am writing. In this story, the school system is level based, where there are no grades(as in grades 1-12), just accomplishments in terms of level. \--Example Clarification; Mary is nearly ending her first year of schooling:   \- She has taken and passed Basic Arithmetic( +,-,*,/ ) exams, granting a 4th year Math level   \- She has taken and passed Algebraic Arithmetic exams, granting 7th year Math level   \- she has also passed Precalculus exams, granting 10th year Math level   \- so by her second year of schooling, she's allowed to take 11th year Calculus classes \-- however, because her parents insisted on a mathematics focus, she has yet to pass all other class's examinations:   \- she has passed and taken Elementary Science granting 2nd year Science level, and so she can take 2nd year science in her 2nd year   \- not enough time was invested in Social Studies and she must take 1st year Social Studies in her 2nd year So what would that system be called? It is a system where each student's accomplishments are accumulated throughout their life as a student; and ability/competence is based on the amount of knowledge a student has at any point in time. It prevents students who already know their stuff from getting held back and it allows students who struggle to catch up when they are more mature. If it isn't clear, think in terms of an RPG: instead of ATK, DEF, SPD having different values; MATH, SCIENCE, and GYM are the names of the stats, and their values increase when a student completes a class. "Meritocracy" is what I'm leaning towards, but perhaps there is a different term? If so, **what is the term for this system?**


title: Is there an expression that means something bad as a precursor to something good?

text: If someone is the bearer of bad news you might say, _Don't shoot the messenger_. If you have something that seems unfortunate at first but ends out wonderful you might say it's a _blessing in disguise_. I'm looking for a word or phrase that is a combination of the two - a bad experience that _is_ actually bad, but ultimately heralds something good. For example - if a couple is trying to get pregnant, and the wife gets morning sickness. There is nothing fun about vomiting and nausea, but it potentially heralds wonderful news for the soon-to-be-parents. Is there an expression to describe the morning sickness?


title: Does ‘Yo’ in ‘yo mama joke’ actually refer to “Your” mother? Why couldn't it simply be (stupid / fat / ugly) "mama joke"?

text: I find “Top 10 Yo Mama So Fat Stupid Joke List” including ‘Yo mama so stupid that she got hit by a parked car’, “Top 10 Yo Mama So Fat List” including ‘Yo mama so fat she put on her lipstick with a paint-roller,' and “Top 10 Yo Mama So Ugly List” including Yo mama so ugly when she died she went to Heaven and God said I didn't creat you,' on an website. Based on Google Ngram, the word, ‘yo mama’ and its counterpart, ‘yo papa’ came into use in circ 1935 and their currency started to show a sharp rise from around 2000. Although none of Cambridge, Oxford, and Merriam-Webster English dictionary registers the word, either ‘yo mama,’ or ‘yo momma,’ Wikipedia defines it as the alternative form of ‘ ** _your_** mother.’ However, when ‘Yo mama’ is used as in ‘yo mama jokes,’ it appears to me that the meaning of ‘ ** _your_** mom’ drops off,’ and turns into a generic, any (fat, stupid, ugly, ---) woman-related jokes. Am I right? Is it possible to extend ‘yo mama (papa) ’ to other subjects such as ‘yo mama (papa) episodes,’ ‘ yo mama (papa) lessons,’’ yo mama (papa) saying,’’ yo mama (papa) blunders / guffes’ than ‘yo mama’ jokes?


title: Is there a word to describe the state of believing you know something that is false?

text: When you do not know a fact you are ignorant. My question is what would you call the state of believing you know something that is false. For instance suppose I see a black box and having opened it earlier, I know there is a rabbit in it. Some time later unbeknownst to me someone removes the rabbit. I still 'know' there is a rabbit in the box. What do you call this state?


title: Is it common to use "Amen" to show agreement?

text: Instead of using "Amen" as Christians finish their prayer, is it also common in English-speaking churches (I'm from a Chinese-speaking church) to say "Amen" whenever believers feel strongly like to agree with others as they pray? I'm talking about this use as a response to other's prayer, and after a person's own spiritually encouraging sharing, as in:"We finally got a chance to talk about God there. _Amen!_ " Thanks for the answer.


title: How are Japanese words spelt in English?

text: When they are writing material in English, I sometimes see native speakers of Japanese misspell English words that were derived from Japanese. For example, I've seen "tunami" written instead of "tsunami", and "ninjya" instead of "ninja". I've also seen "geisya" instead of "geisha", and "Kyusyu" instead of "Kyushu". My suspicion is that they know how these words are spelt and pronounced in Japanese, and that they convert it into the latin alphabet in a way that is different to how the word is spelt in English. For example, with "tsunami", they've taken the first syllable, つ, and rather than converting it to "tsu", they converted it to "tu". Possibly because in certain ways of writing Japanese using the latin alphabet (romaji), the way that つ would be written is "tu". Are there general rules about how English words that are derived from Japanese words are spelt? For example, are they generally spelt in a way similar to Hepburn romanization, except often without the macrons? Even if the rules don't apply 100% of the time, rules that apply 90% of the time, with just a few exceptions may be preferable to some than memorizing all such words by rote. An exception here is for wasei-eigo words such as "salaryman". When converting made up English into English, the English words that were used in the wasei- eigo are used ("salary" + "man", rather than "sararyman") **Any possible answers that a person who is not a linguist can easily understand**? _Meta:_ I previously asked this on English Language Learners, but it was closed there (currently with one re-open vote), and in this comment on Japanese Language & Usage (not my fault!), it was suggested I ask on English Language & Usage.


title: Should one say "for forever" or "forever"?

text: I've always wondered about this. When describing an exaggerated amount of time should one say "for forever" or "forever"? As in: > I have been waiting for forever. or > I have been waiting forever. The argument being that the word "forever" is in itself a period of time, or it isn't.


title: Is "things such as this" singular or plural?

text: Which of the following is correct? > Things such as this make me happy. > > Things such as this makes me happy. Is the subject "things" or "this"?


title: Does the word "units" have a valid abbreviation?

text: Is there any precedent for abbreviating the word _Units_ , and if more than one, is there any standardized prescription (no pun intended on my example) for which abbreviation to use in which context? The question came up because I'm making a user input form with a field for units and the framework optionally specifies an abbreviation for the input field's label. So, in a medical context, this               Prescription: [Hydrocodone]      is as valid is this               Rx: [Hydrocodone]      But can this               Units: [Milligrams]      be correctly substituted with something like this?               U: [Milligrams]      (NB, I'm not asking specifically about a medical context or about the accuracy of `U`, it's merely an example) Note that the meaning of _units_ as a synonym for _pieces_ (pcs.) may be a different answer. In this case, I'm asking about _units_ as a category including _kilograms_ and _miles_. (Bonus points for also providing the answer for that other meaning.)


title: What is the difference between disseminate and distribute

text: The original confusion arose when I read the following sentence. \--> you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication, or any of its contents, is strictly prohibited. In this context, how do meanings of dissemination and distribution differ from each other? I look them up in dictionary, they both seem to mean "to scatter", so I am confused. From dictionary: Disseminate To scatter widely, as in sowing seed. ;To spread abroad; promulgate: disseminate information. ;To sow and scatter principles, ideas, opinions, and errors for growth and propagation, such as seed Distribute To deliver or pass out; To spread or diffuse over an area; scatter


title: When to use the plural of "nature"?

text: Someone told me that the word _nature_ should not be plural in my sentence. I would argue, however, that it is obvious that it requires an "s". The problematic sentence is as follow: > We must exploit constraints of different natures (temporal, logical, etc.) > [...] If I replace the word nature by _type_ , type would be plural. However, if I am correct, the word _nature_ is a case similar to the word _information_. In French, I would put an _s_ to the word information in this sentence: > There is a lot of information to process Can someone help me clarify this? Is there a simple and general rule for the words like _information_ and _nature_? When must they be plural?


title: What's the word for the condition where you need to defecate?

text: "hungry" describes the condition where one craves intake of more food. what is the English name for the condition where one needs to expel the end result?


title: Using a possessive apostrophe with an initialism

text: Should you write "some of the UK's longest tunnels..." or "some of the UKs longest tunnels..."?


title: "cheaper price" or "lower price" / "cheaper rate" or "lower rate"

text: English is not my first language, but I strive to speak it at its best. Somehow it really grates me when people say that something is at a "cheaper/more expensive price" or "cheaper/more expensive rate". My understanding is that prices and rates can be _lower_ or _higher_ , whilst products/services can be _cheaper/more expensive_. I lived by this rule for a while, however today I spot a phrase "cheaper rate" even in an article on BBC website. Look it up if you fancy, search for " _Sony is set to sell the PlayStation 4 for a **cheaper price** than Microsoft's rival Xbox One._" Argh! Please correct me or affirm my understanding. Thank you.


title: When to capitalize words such as "lake", and when can the whole word be omitted?

text: Which of the following sentences are correct? > "He gave two examples of large lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior." > > "He gave two examples of large lakes, Michigan and Superior." > > "He gave two examples of large Lakes, Michigan and Superior." > > "He gave two examples of large lakes, Lakes Michigan and Superior." This question is primarily about what variants are formally correct, not which one sounds the best. I think that the question should be valid for several words of the same kind, such as mountain (Mount), figure (Figure), table (Table) and so on.


title: One argument, multiple paragraphs?

text: How do I structurally split up an argument into multiple paragraphs? Let's say I'm using two texts as evidence for one argument, and I want to devote one paragraph to each text. What would the introductory and concluding sentences of my body paragraphs look like? How would I connect the first paragraph to the second? Note: I need to follow MLA 7 format, if that makes a difference.


title: When did we start talking about "going viral"?

text: I am trying to determine when the phrase "going viral" was first used. Similarly, when did the phrases "viral video" and "viral marketing" get their start? I have looked online at various sites, but none really address this question (other than saying "recently").


title: What do you call bags for sorting travel stuff?

text: What do you call those small bags that are used for sorting things inside a travel bag? Usually used for toiletries, socks, underwear etc.


title: Word to mean 'seek through, one element at a time'

text: I'm looking for a word to describe the process that a computer program performs when **searching through a dataset bit by bit**. I had believed the word _parse_ ('to parse through the data') was correct. However, it seems that the word _parse_ actually means 'to split into pieces'. I'm thinking of something along the lines of _trawl_ , _seek_ , _step through_ etc. I just wonder if there is a more elegant word/phrase that I could use.


title: "Two substances with plasticizer contents of B and Z, and C and Z respectively"

text: I have a problem with the word "content". I wish to describe two mixtures of substances:   * M1:A with plasticizer B, and   * M2:A with plasticizer C. Both mixtures contain a common third component, plasticizer Z. Can I say "two substances with plasticizer contents of B and Z, and C and Z respectively" to underline that the plasticizers are different?


title: What is the English equivalent to the Japanese word 学者バカ, "Scholar’s fool"?

text: I’m interested in the words “instant omniscience,” which Calvin Trillin, a former editor for Time magazine, used in a New Yorker magazine article (March 20) entitled "Time Edit": > “There were some enjoyable aspects of being a floater. When I settled into > the desk chair of, say, the Education writer, someone who presumably pored > through the education quarterlies and lunched with school reformers and kept > abreast of the latest disagreements about how best to teach reading, I could > feel myself imbued with the authoritative tone favored in those days at > Time; I called that ‘ **instant omniscience** '." The expression “instant omniscience” made me think of the Japanese word, “学者バカ- -Gakushabaka," the literal translation of which is “scholar’s fool” or “expert’s ignorance.” A "scholar's fool" is ignorant of everything but his area of specialty (e.g., quantum physics, aeronautics, neurology--you name it). The expression "instant omniscience" also triggered this question: What is the English equivalent of “学者バカ- scholar’s fool”? In other words, how do you characterize in two or three words the person who is an expert in one area but seemingly ignorant in all other areas?


title: Should I replace "It would be possible that" and if so, why?

text: At the end of the Wikipedia article on Jerusalem Colophon, it reads (regarding whether a text was written in Jerusalem vs. Greece), > According to Caspar René Gregory it would be possible that the manuscript > Tischendorfianus III was written and corrected in Jerusalem. This is probably because on page 360 in the cited reference, Gregory wrote, > It would be possible that this manuscript itself was thus written and > corrected in Jerusalem. Gregory should have written > Thus, it might be true that the manuscript was written and corrected in > Jerusalem. (He could have been mixed up. Although born in the U.S., he was the German army's oldest WWI volunteer.) Two questions arise:   1. Should the article's last sentence be revised to a more-direct form?   2. If I make this change, what is the justification? It seems weak to say it sounds bad, and vague or perhaps wrong to say it misuses tense, case, or subjunctive mood. Is there a proper grammar-based explanation for changing it?


title: What is a "travel validation"?

text: I'm currently trying to understand the DS-2019 form that I need to fill for a J1 visa. One thing I don't understand is this: ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/KFagQ.jpg) What is a "travel validation"? What does it (in this context) mean to be "in good standing"?


title: Is a single-word sentence like "No" an independent clause? And semicolons

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Comma or semicolon after "No" when responding to a question It started because of this: "No; I found the behavior off-putting."   1. I believe "no", as an answer, can stand alone.   2. I believe a semicolon is more appropriate than a comma, because of my intent. Therefore, I ask:   1. Is the semicolon okay?   2. What is "no" called here? It expresses a complete thought, but doesn't fit the textbook definition of an independent clause. Is it clausey?   3. If the semicolon is okay, how would its usage here be described (in grammatical terms)?


title: Which is proper usage: "What I've Learned" or "What I learned"?

text: I'm having argument with a colleague of mine over which statement is more correct. I figured the English language gurus of StackExchange would be able to set us straight.


title: What's a gay transsexual woman?

text: I know how it sounds but it's a serious question. I saw an article title about it on the Guardian today. If someone tells you that a person is a "gay transsexual woman", is it possible, logically, to know who exactly this person is?   * Is it a man who became a woman, then turned gay and started liking other women?   * Or is it a woman who likes other women (thus is gay), and then turned into a man?   * Or conversely? This confuses me and I wonder if the English language can tell us, logically, what the answer is? Or is it completely meaningless?


title: Is there a word for positive distraction?

text: The word "distraction" has generally negative or frivolous connotations, but shifting your mental focus can often be positive (you go on a walk and solve the hard problem, you spend a few days away from the office and you gain a new perspective, etc.). > You should get away from it all, that will [insert the word] you.


title: Origin of 'fairer sex'

text: I've seen the term 'the fairer sex' being used in a number of areas to refer to females. How did they get that title? What does 'fairer' refer to in this case?


title: The solution to all problems

text: I used to use _deus ex machina_ but recently found out that it's an unexpected solution to a problem (used in movie plots when someone swoops in and saves the day when all was supposedly lost). I'm looking for a phrase which embodies the following concept. " _XXX_ is a theory which has been abused as a _YYY_ ", meaning that due to the nature of _XXX_ , it can be used to explain away several hypotheses without real justification.


title: "Awoken" vs. "awaked"

text: I understand that the verb _awake_ has two different past participle forms, _awoken_ and _awaked_. Checking Google Ngram I saw that the former has become more popular than the latter in the last century. I want to know two things:   1. Which one would be more used in a casual conversation?   2. Why did this change take place?


title: Answering past simple question with past continuous

text: For example, > — What did you do yesterday?   >  — I was working. I presume this is not grammatically correct; however, I often reply in this way (I'm English). Also vice versa: "What were you doing yesterday?" — "I worked." Does it matter?


title: Is this typical for the Present Simple?

text: I have noticed that there are some phrases which are typically found used with the Present Simple while it is not impossible to use them with the Present Continuous. And I am talking about such instances when the action is occurring at the moment of speaking _only_. For example, >   * Mom, what are you doing _while I sit here_ watching waves? >   * _While I sit here_ eating a sour piece of candy, I think to myself, how > I have allowed my world to change from sweet to sour? > My question is: Do you find it idiomatic to use Past Simple in my example or would you use Present Continuous? I would also like to know whether this usage comes down to the word _while_ or the specific verb used. I've heard that for the three verbs _sit, lie, grow_ it is typical to be used with Past Simple even when the action is temporary. Is that right? Would the following be grammatical? > Mom, what are you doing _while I lie here_ watching waves? And would it be okay to use other verbs too? > Mom, what are you doing _while I talk here_ watching waves? Don’t know a good example with _grow_ though.


title: Another word for man-of-all-work

text: I am looking for another word for the phrase in a crossword puzzle " man-of- all-work. 8 letters to include these blank A blank T blank T blank M. Can you help?


title: Awkwardness around 'go live' phrase

text: Context: software company training documents. We commonly use the phrase "go live" when talking about making a system operational. I'm fine with using it as two separate words, but it becomes awkward when it's an adjective. E.g. _Preparing for your go live transition._ Am I focusing on this too much, or is that potentially confusing? I've seen this phrase written as go live, go-live, Go Live, and Go-Live (all in one Microsoft article, actually). I'd appreciate some opinions.


Do I use a forward slash or comma for my title and designations? I see both uses throughout my industry but which one is the correct usage, or could both be correct? Broker/REALTOR®, CRS®, ABR® Broker, REALTOR®, CRS®, ABR® Thank you, EM


title: He had not understood vs He did not understand

text: I'm a native Portuguese speaker and some time ago I heard someone say that it is **grammatically** wrong, in despite of everyday speaking, to construct sentences like "He had not understood" or "She does not made that", once in those cases it would be more correct to spell, respectively, "He did not understand" and "She did not make that". This confused me a lot because I read those first constructions everywhere I see English, as well as the second ones, therefore I would like to know the sight of English native speakers about the correctness or wrongness of those sentences.


title: Are sentences starting with "that" (conjunction) standard English

text: In Dutch one could say things such as Dat hij dat durft!   _That_ he that dares! (An exclamation of astonishment) Which would be roughly translated as: **_that** he dares to do that_. Is that initial _that_ standard English? If not, how would a native English speaker translate that sentence?


title: What is a word for a question that has no answer because it is seemingly invalid?

text: A friend of mine posted a riddle on Facebook involving adding money and then subtracting money. It ended with a question asking where $1 went, but the trick was that there was no discrepancy, so the $1 didn't exist. > The question: Three guys walk into a hotel, and they're going to split the > cost of a room. The room is $30. They each kick in $10 and head up to their > room. The manager gets wind of it and tells the clerk the room is only $25. > He hands five $1 bills to the bell hop and tells him to go refund the guys' > money. On the way up to the room, the bell hop gets to thinking, as bell > hops are wont to do, and says to himself, "No way can three guys split $5, > I'm going to help out." He stuffs $2 in his pocket, knocks on the door, > gives each guy back a buck and heads back downstairs to the desk, glowing in > the warmth of a job well done. So now each guy has paid $9. $9 times 3 is > $27 plus $2 the bell hop stole--only $29! **Where is the other buck?** (I bolded the question) I said the question was invalid, but my friend pointed out that every question is valid to ask. What would I call this question that has no answer? (If I understand correctly rhetorical is when you can answer the question, but it is not meant to be answered, so by that definition "rhetorical" would be invalid here.)


title: Why do we use a French term for a currency-exchange office?

text: In British English and across Europe, the term **_Bureau(x) de change_** is used to describe what US English speakers would call a Currency Exchange or Foreign Exchange (office). Why do we use a French term - or 'loan word' - for something which doesn't appear to be intrinsically French in nature or origin and is a relatively new concept, so has no historical significance or tradition? I find it hard to believe that English speakers in Europe struggled to succinctly describe the concept of an office where you can exchange currencies and had to adopt the French term instead?


title: Question about "how many"

text: Why don't we use the auxiliary _do_ in the following question: > How many people study there?