title: Meaning of "all-new" in advertising-speak

text: Sometimes hyphenated, sometimes not. Most commonly heard in car commercials, eg "Introducing the all-new 2010 Cadillac SRX Crossover". I've only heard it since moving to the US so perhaps it is a North American thing. Does the "all" actually convey any specific meaning? Am I losing anything by interpreting "the all-new 2010 model" as "the 2010 model"?


title: Word for feeling in the mood to experiment

text: I am looking for a word for being in a mood to experiment or try something you would not normally do for a situation. A person might say: "I am feeling .... today, and will go another way". I knew this word but for some reason I am totally blanking on it at the moment. I think the word starts with the letter t.


title: What does "something 101" mean?

text: Many times I saw the phrase _something 101_ , such as _Microsoft Excel 101_. What exactly does it mean?


title: Where does "pull it off" come from?

text: "to pull it off" was at one time used meaning "to win." And in sentences such as, > I don't think you can pull it off. , it often implies the idea of "success." But how did this expression originate?


title: Mike brought cake VS mike brought cake with him

text: What's the difference between these two expressions:   1. Mike brought his guitar.   2. Mike brought his guitar with him. How does "with him" change the meaning of the sentence?


title: What does "a-building" modify?

text: "The city was a thousand years a-building." What does "a-building" (in building) modify in that sentence?


title: "Jesus is a coming" - what's the exact grammatical role of the "a" before the gerund?

text: I've noticed that in the common use of English, namely in songs, there is also an extra redundant(?) " _a_ " before a _gerund_ , such as in a gospel song I heard > Jesus is _a_ coming (this particular phrase looks like quoted here). What's the _exact grammatical role_ of this extra inserted _a_? Is it the _indefinite article_? Why is it there? Is there any specific reason for it, or is it just bad language, slang or what? Has it developed from a pause in the speech when the speaker needed an extra time to find the word? Something like this: > Jesus is a... what the hell is he.. well, coming! ADDED: Based on a comment I am supposed to spell it as > Jesus is _a_ -coming so maybe you may comment on this, too.


title: Etymology of circumfix present continuous (a-fly-ing)

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the story behind "a-" prefix / suffix? I'm writing an introductory lecture on morphology and as a familiar example of circumfixes I found (on Wikipedia, but it's since been removed it seems) the _a-fly-ing_ form of the present continuous from older English, which is nice and familiar. But I got to thinking: Where does that _a_ come from? My other familiar example, the German perfect participle ( _ge-spiel-t_ ), I know (a derivational prefix in common Germanic). But the _a-_ in the present continuous, I have no clue. Does anyone know where this comes from?


title: Why is there an "al" in algebra?

text: Words like "algebra", "alchemy" and "alcohol" were introduced to English via Arabic. The "al-" prefix is the Arabic definite article. Why was the definite article retained when the words were incorporated into English? BTW: I am aware that Arabic was not the origin of some of these words but it did add the "al-" prefix.


title: Short, Politically Correct word for Native Americans

text: No more than four syllables, more PC than Indians. **EDIT:** I arbitrarily chose four syllables because any more seemed like a mouthful. I like to be PC and not have to stumble over 6+ syllables.


title: What did "google" mean in the 1900s?

text: I know that Google got its name from the word googol (10100), and that Google/google referring the search engine/using the search engine are recent additions to the dictionary. Their definitions are easily found for such meaning (example). However, just for kicks, I did a Google Ngram search for the word "google" and "Google" and got some interesting results: ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/3Wsqt.png) There is a drastic spike in the use of the word "google" around 1900, well before the website, or even the internet, existed. There is then some use throughout the next hundred years, where it starts to climb (because we now have Google). Clearly this word had some meaning in the past - does anyone know what it was?


title: "Is someone covering/going to cover this event?"

text: Which one of the following is better or more correct? > Is someone **covering** this event? > Is someone **going to cover** this event?


title: What, exactly, is the point of beginning a sentence with "Well..."?

text: Sample conversation: > Person 1: What did you think of the movie?   >  Person 2: Well, the acting was great, but the plot was terrible. What does "well" actually add to the body of the sentence? I have never heard any sentence spoken or written whose meaning was absolutely dependent on beginning with "well". It seems akin to an "um" or "uh", serving as a vocal void filler while the speaker collects their thoughts and puts their words together before actually speaking them. If that's the case, why do people actually type it? People clearly have time to think about what they're going to say before posting a comment on a blog or replying to an email. Has it become a sort of accepted language anomaly much in the same way Midwesterners like to say things like "Where did you put it at?"


title: What does ‘shines’ mean in “Bears defense shines in 24-17 loss to Panthers”?

text: There was the headline “Bears defense shines in 24-17 loss to Panthers" in today's New York Times Sport section. Cambridge English Dictionary defines “shine” as;   1. to send out or reflect light.   2. to point a light in a particular direction.   3. to make something bright by rubbing it. Oxford English Dictionary defines it as;   1. give out a bright light.   2. make (an object made of leather, metal, or wood) bright by rubbing it.    3. be very talented or perform very well. Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary defines it as;   1. produce or reflect or point the light of lamp in a particular direction.   2. polish stg.   3. to be very good at stg. Though it seems to me that only the definition 3. of both OED and OALD is relevant to the ‘shine’ in the quoted headline, I cannot make out why Bears defense is described as “shines (performed very well)” in a lost game, not winning game. What does “shines” here mean? Is it a prevailing usage of ‘shine’ as a verb? Is the word ‘shine’ used very often in this way?


title: Words with a leading silent w

text: My eldest is a beginning reader. Yesterday we read one of my favorite books, _The Wreck of the Zephyr_. He pointed at _wreck_ and asked me why that one looked like it said "wuh-reck." I explained that spelling is funny like that sometimes. This didn't satisfy my curiosity though. Silent w is not uncommon—we see it in the question word 'who' for instance—but it often appears in the combination wr-, and this is what I am curious about. Was the w ever pronounced in these words (and if so, how)? Do these kind of words all share a common lineage that has some unique sound represented by this combination? (I am thinking of, for instance, that someone told me once that most words with _ph_ come from Greek.)


title: "Out of the" versus "off"

text: Is it correct to use _out of the_ or _off_ , in the following sentences? > The spacecraft flies out of the planet. > There is a bear out of the house.


title: What does "sit in the back of the bus" mean?

text: What does "sit in the back of the bus" in the following sentence mean? It has been taken from Harvey Milk's "The Hope Speech." > The first gay people we elect must be strong. They must not be content to > **sit in the back of the bus**. They must not be content to accept pablum.


title: "Suffer from a headache" vs. "suffer from the headache"

text: I am not sure which article to use in the following context: >   * She has been suffering from **a** headache. >   * She has been suffering from **the** headache. > Please clear up my doubt.


title: Does one top up or top off rechargeable batteries?

text: While writing a forum post on proper lithium-ion battery care, I started wondering whether the proper term for recharging them while still fairly full is called _topping up_ or _topping off_.   Perhaps both are accepted?


title: Skill-set is not common in or on

text: I've written the following sentence but after reading it, it sounds to me like it's wrong. > The skill-set for iOS and Android development is not common in the current > team. Is it correct to say "common **in** the current team"? Or should I use "common **on** "?


title: Word that describes a response to an approach

text: Here's a situation: We have a list of companies that we want to talk to. So we approached them. And some of these companies have gotten back to us. This act of getting back to us:   1. Are they approaching us? (would this be correct?)   2. Are they getting back to us? (Obviously)   3. Are they [fancy word] to us? This [fancy word] is what I am looking for. And not something like respond. Any suggestions?


title: To give a talk?

text: What is the most appropriate verb to use with "talk" in the sense of "an informal address or lecture":   * "To **give** a talk"?   * "To **present** a talk"?   * "To **deliver** a talk"?   * Another completely different verb or phrase?


title: Perfect Continuous tense with the verb "be"

text: "I have been working on a project recently" is clearly a perfectly grammatical sentence using the Perfect Continuous tense. It is not clear whether "I have been being sick recently" is grammatically correct though. Of course, most English speakers would simply say "I have been sick lately", but does this necessarily have the same connotations as the other sentence? Perhaps "been" entails the continuous aspect, but I'm not certain. Similarly, can I say "Starting tomorrow, I will have been being sick for two months now"? By the way, these sentences read less awkward if you put the emphasis on the word "being", since this implicitly groups "being sick" together. Edit: In lieu of Ham and Bacon's answer, one can replace every instance of "sick" with "confused" or some other adjective and the question remains the same.


title: Something is "yay" big

text: I have heard expressions like "It was _yay_ big" or "It was _yay_ by _yay_." a couple of times now, always accompanied by a gesture indicating the size of something. Does anybody know where this word comes from? Can it be used in other situations? Is it older or newer than the word _that_? If it's of any help it is frequent in the UK. **Edit:** I obviously tried searching for it myself but my results seem to be dominated by the word _yay_ as an expression of joy. I assume the two are completely unrelated.


title: Are there cases when the word "best" as an adjective could be used without "the"?

text: That is an advertisement of one company, a banner. They write the name of the company and the second line goes like this "best ad designs". Is this line correct? or should there be a "the"? Is there a general rule to put "the" before the adjective "best" or are there cases when "the" is not needed?


title: Which sentence is most acceptable when describing the current time period?

text: I would like to know which of these two sentences have the most acceptable form when describing the current time period.               Why do so many people **today** have no values          Why do so many people have no values **these days**      Thanks in advance for any help in sharing knowledge.


title: Is this sentence correct? Present Perfect for finished past

text: Is this sentence correct? **"Post-Soviet Russia has long hesitated before definitively recognizing the frontiers with its new neighbors"** The recognition comes after the hesitation; therefore, the time period for the latter is finished. Plus Russia has NOT been hesitating for some time now. Isn't it better to say: **"Post-Soviet Russia had long hesitated before definitively recognizing the frontiers with its new neighbors"**? OR **"Post-Soviet Russia hesitated for a long time before definitively recognizing the frontiers with its new neighbors"**


title: Aeronautical equivalents of the nautical terms "port" and "starboard"

text: Are there any aeronautical terms for _left_ and _right_ sides of a plane, essentially equivalent to their nautical counterpart terms of **_port_** and **_starboard_** for the respective _left_ and _right_ sides of a seaworthy vessel?


title: 'market survey' OR 'marketing survey'

text: _Market survey_ or _marketing survey?_ When you ask somebody to answer your questions, which term is correct?


title: Help + Noun + Gerund or Infinitive

text: 1. Help my sister peel oranges.   2. Help my sister to peel oranges.   3. Help my sister peeling oranges.    4. Help my sister with peeling oranges. Which of the above is/are correct, and why are the others incorrect?


title: Using a question mark mid-sentence

text: May I use a question mark in the middle of a sentence? Examples: > Would you like the drapes to be white? or perhaps something off-white? > > Would you like the logo to be centered? at the bottom? left off entirely?


title: Difference between "remainder of the text" and "remaining text"

text: While reading one of the technical books I encountered "the remainder of the text will explore how the .NET framework...". From the context I understood it means "the remaining text of the book will explore ...". Is there any difference between them or why is one used over the other?


title: Difference between "constitution" and " structure"

text: The main kind of problem which I always face in English language is my inability to find out the difference between two similar words . Now I can't really understand the difference between "constitution" and "structure". I'd be more than happy if someone guides me to get the difference.


title: Differences between e.g., viz. and i.e.

text: What are the differences between viz. and eg. and in which situations each is used? Please also compare the usage with i.e. if appropriate. **Edit** : In response to a comment below: I'm asking this as I was framing a sentence   1. "Mobile device manufacturers e.g. Nokia, Samsung, ...."   2. "Mobile device manufacturers viz. Nokia, Samsung, ...."  Which of the above is better usage?


title: How to pronounce "thon"?

text: Charles Crozat Converse proposed "thon" as a gender-neutral pronoun for English in the 19th century, and it's often been cited since. But…how do I pronounce it? Rhyming it with "on" and "done" doesn't come naturally, but they seem the best candidates. **Edit to add** "won" as an alternative that makes sense considering that the "etymology" is "that one". Also, my perspective is from the Los Angeles dialect—some of these sound better if I imagine them in other accents. **Note** : Comments on the uselessness of "thon" or gender-neutral pronouns in general are boring.


title: Is integratable a word?

text: I hear the word integratable a lot, but do not know if it actually it is a word or how to spell it correctly. So,is integratable a word and how to spell it?


title: What does sharp means when it comes to being physical?

text: Someone told me "you are very sharp, though I will leave it to you, if I mean mentally or physically" What does sharpness mean in the context of being physical? Thanks.


title: Is there an umbrella word for cancer treatment?

text: I know that there is a noun for cancer as an area of medicine; oncology. But is there a word for the umbrella art/science of cancer treatment? I was thinking of something other than "cancer therapy." Something like "oncologics" although that's not actually a word.


title: Pluralizing the noun support

text: Is it ever okay to pluralize the noun "support"? When talking about several support systems, for example, is it okay to say that people "need supports"? If not, why not? Thank you!


title: Is 'artwork' a mass noun?

text: I have seen artwork used as a mass noun, as in: > Look at all of the artwork, it's beautiful! As well as: > Look at all of the artworks, they're beautiful! Per my understanding, there's no need to pluralize a mass noun, so I'm unclear as to which sentence is correct.


title: Is it "end quote" or "unquote"?

text: When reading something that has a quote in the middle of it, is it proper to say "end quote" or "unquote" to signal the end of the quote? I've heard both ways.


title: Can I put the question word "where" at the end of a question?

text: I got this sentence from a Primary 5 student's worksheet. > According to this passage, this creature can be found where? Some of the parents think that the sentence should be "..., where can this creature be found?" One of the teachers said that "where" can be put at the end of the sentence, too. All of us, the parents and the teacher, are non-native English speakers. Please enlighten us.


title: Define "He's like"

text: Is he's like different from he said? Does "like" mean the same thing as saying that someone said something or is there more implied maybe like a subtle difference in attitude?


title: Need a quick translation

text: What is the meaning of this sentence: > What is the Need you are going after? >   >   >     **Edit** here is the context >   > > 1) PowerPoint presentation > > Intro (4 – 5 slides) > > a) What is the Need you are going after? > > b) What is the problem we are trying to solve? > > c) Your Solution to problem


title: Is the correct usage of “Diagnose (verb)” losing its ground?

text: In spite of many references on the correct usage of _”Diagnose”_ , usage of passive construction followed by a with-phrase – e.g. “ _The patient was diagnosed with cancer_ ” — and usage of patient as object of this verb –e.g. “ _She helped with his story to raise awareness about Chiari, especially so doctor could diagnoses its victims earlier”_ are what I find in today’s media. So, I am start to wonder : Is the correct usage of _”Diagnose”_ losing its ground ? **Correct usage (as being sescribed )** From Bryan A. Garner's **Garner's Modern American Usage 2nd Ed.** > _to identify, esp. a disease or problem. Strictly speaking, it is the > disease or problem that is diagnosed, e.g.: "Eichelman went to the doctor, > who didn't diagnose the broken bone and told the swimmer he would be back in > the pool in a few days." Jason L. Young, "Senior Is Eager to Make Up for > Lost Season," Indianapolis Star, 7 Dec. 2002, at S4._ From R.W Burchfield's **The New Fowler's Modern English Usage 3rd Ed.** > _Properly used to mean 'to make a diagnosis of (a disease, a mechanical > fault, etc.)' (he was able to diagnose the fault at once), but now often > used with a person as object (a baby who was incorrectly diagnosed as having > died before birth, only to be delivered alive, but paralysed, 17 hours > later-T. Stuttaford, 1990)._ **Defination from dictionaries :** Oxford English Dictionary 2nd Ed.   > _To make a diagnosis of (a disease), to distinguish and determine its nature > from its symptoms; to recognize and identify by careful observation._ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary 6th Ed. > _1.Make a diagnosis of, infer the presence of (a particular disease etc.) > from symptoms. 2.Ascertain the condition of (a person etc.) by diagnosis. > E20._ Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary 3rd Ed.   > to recognize and name the exact character of a disease or a problem, by > examining it_ Concise Oxford English Dictionary 11th Ed.   > make a diagnosis of (an illness or other problem). identify the medical > condition of (someone)_


title: What are alternative terms/words for "cognitive dissonance?"

text: I grasp the meaning completely, I'm just looking for alternatives ways to express it.


title: is pollution singular or plural?

text: is the word **pollution** singular or plural ? The confusion delivered when making these statement `"pollution makes money, disease makes opportunity"`


title: A little brain fart

text: What is a nicer, less _immature_ saying? I love using 'A Freudian slip', but that is only applicable in certain situations.


title: What does "Subject to" + verb mean?

text: I know it looks so naive but I don't really quite understand "subject to" + verb pattern. Such as : > These computers are subject to change. What exactly does it mean?


title: What is the English word for a 'spaghetti harvest'?

text: Spaghetti, traditionally, an Italian crop is now being widely grown in Britain. Can anyone say what the harvest should be called, perhaps based on the Italian.


title: Word for "people with write-access"

text: Say you have a forum only a select group of people have access to contribute to - what would you call those people? Or, more accurately to my domain, say you have a file on a shared computer drive that any user can read but only certain users can write to - what would you call those certain users?


title: What's the origin and popularity of the word "boss" in the context of refering to the person you're talking with?

text: In a video game called "Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines", a character called "Gorgeous Gary Golden", always refers to the player as "boss". Here are some examples from that first dialog: > "We're having a wrap up party for The Misfits about forty years late. Cast > and crew only, boss." > > "How do you know I'm even here, boss?" > > "I'm over here, boss! Wait, maybe I'm over here! Or maybe I'm behind you, > with a hatchet in my hand..." > > "I don't know, boss. You tell me. After all, I didn't crash your party." > > "You don't say. Wake up, boss! Who do you think you're dealing with?" > > "Because I like the sound of my own voice... It's not everyday we get > visitors, boss!" Not living in a country where English is the native language, this sounded odd to me. The player is just meeting him for the first time, and he doesn't have any relationship with Gary that would justify him being treated as a boss. It's also not a compliment either, since Gary doesn't really care for him. I'm guessing it's just his way of talking with people. Maybe this expression is popular somewhere, or maybe it's a throwback to an expression that was popular before. I also checked some online dictionaries, but they don't mention anything about this usage of the word boss. My question is this: Is this an expression related with a certain place and/or time, or do you think this is a only a random quirk of this character that isn't a reflection of anything historical?


title: Is "cry" an intransitive verb, or can it be transitive? - as in "Cry me a river"

text: When I look up the word, it should be an intransitive verb (no object). However, I'm still curious about the title "Cry me a river". Can I say that "I cried a bucket"?


title: What do you call the child who doesn’t resemble his / her parents in English?

text: There are sons and daughters who don’t look like their parents at all. We call them “Onikko 鬼っ子” in Japanese, which literally means the child born or brought by an ogre, not by his / her biological parents. Onikko doesn't necessarily mean derogatory. For instance, when we have a brilliant child brought up by mediocre parents, we describe the child 鳶が鷹を産んだ子 - tobi ga taka wo unda ko - a hawk born by a kite. The hawk (child) can be a kind of Onikko. What is the expression in English for the son or daughter who doesn't resemble his / her parent in face, figure and temper though they are their parents' real child?


title: What is the correct way to interpret the sentence "You can't have too many"?

text: > It's like chef's in a kitchen for that part of a game's engine. You can't > have too many.   >  \- Quoted from a conversation with a friend. When said in this context, my friend interpreted as "You can always have more chefs." When I said it, I meant "You can't realistically have many more chefs." Given only this context, what is the correct way to interpret the sentence as written? We're both arguing semantics over this now, and it would be nice for a third party to just settle this so we can move on. This is my first time on this StackExchange, so I have no idea which tags to use or if this is even the proper question etiquette here. My apologies.


title: "As per" and "in the case being"?

text: Take the following text into account: > These airstrikes would not only be punishment for Assad's use of chemical > weapons against civilians amid the three-year-long Syrian Uprising ( > **according to** the Obama administration), but would also serve another > purpose - to protect U.S. personnel **in the case being** where the ISIS, > otherwise known as the Islamic State, were to be involved. I was wondering, does the phrase "in the case being" make sense here in the context it is being used in? If not, what would be a better alternative? Also, is the phrase "as per" more professional than simply using "according to"? If that's the case, would I use: (as per the Obama administration)... or (per the Obama administration)... **EDIT:** I think instead of "in the case being," "in the case" would be good enough. However, I would still appreciate some feedback on this. Also, would "in the case being" make sense?


title: Why do eleven and twelve get unique words and not end in "-teen"?

text: In short, why is it not _oneteen_ and _twoteen_ , and we start at _thirteen_ in English? In another thread, I supposed that despite that fact that people have ten fingers, amounts of items leading up to and including twelve were more common because twelve is more easily divisible evenly by two, three, four, and six. Both English and German (which are related) switch to a _-teen_ ( _-zehn_ auf Deutsch) ending after twelve. Based on that thread, so does Norwegian. Could this be the explanation? Looking at other languages (Arabic, Japanese, even a related romance language of French), this doesn't seem to apply, and you'd think that if something so fundamental as divisibility were the explanation, we'd see a more universal distribution across them.


title: How compound words "eighteen" and "roommate" are built

text: Why does eighteen not have two tees like roommate has two ems?


title: Why eleven is not called onety one

text: I want to know why _eleven_ is not called "onety one"? Since eleven comes after ten, why is not "onety one"? and why ten is not called onety ?


title: Onety-one or Elebenty-Leben

text: Why is 11 (eleven) not pronounced onety-one or elebenty-leben, and why is it considered the ghetto way of saying eleven?


title: Oneteen, Twoteen, Threeteen, Fiveteen

text: I was wondering why we say eleven, twelve, thirteen and fifteen instead of oneteen, twoteen, threeteen and fiveteen? And where does "teen" come from? I would assume it derives from ten making me think they were originally said three-ten four-ten and so on. The same applies with numbers such as thirty and fifty why not threety and fivety?


title: Single word for 'and thus', 'as such' or 'in other words'

text: I'm writing a list to describe a subject, like: > He's handsome, articulate, immensely intelligent, physically fit, but spends > most of his time tinkering in his garage … **_in other words_** , Tony > Stark! What single word can I substitute for the expression _in other words,_ or _to summarize,_ in sentences such as the above?


title: "I've been waiting" Vs "I waited"

text: Let's say for example this sentence : Finally, you're here! Where were you ? What took you so long ? **_______**!   1- I've been waiting here for hours.   2- I waited here for hours. which one is correct to say ?


title: Should I fix typos/grammatical errors in quotation?

text: When writing papers, I meet typos/grammatical errors in references now and then. Should I correct them, or leave them as they are?


title: Is it correct to use "punctuation outside of the quotations", or "inside?"

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How should I punctuate around quotes?   >  When should end punctuation go inside quotes? Or is it region specific? I was always taught that when ending a quotation, that punctuation remains inside of the quote. > I think he said, "we should go to the store." Are you sure he said, "we > should go to the store?" As opposed to: > I think he said, "we should go to the store". Are you sure he said, "we > should go to the store"? This is just an arbitrary example off of the top of my head, and it's hard for me to come up with an example for the second usage because it looks completely wrong to me. I actually got into a small argument with my girlfriend earlier this year because she uses something similar to the second example, and said that's how she was taught (which is why I ask if it's region-specific.) Anyway, is there a correct usage for ending a quotation with punctuation?


title: Exclamation mark at the end of a quote and end of a sentence

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  When should end punctuation go inside quotes? Is the grammar at the end of the following sentence correct? If not, what should it be? > I was told in no uncertain terms "this is our decision to make!".


title: Why is the period placed inside the double quote, at the end of a sentence?

text: My mother tongue is Chinese, and as I read English articles, I find a convention in written English that I can't explain. If a quoted word appears at end of a sentence, the period is written _inside_ the quote instead of being written _outside_ , which is quite counter- intuitive to me. For example, a paragraph from Samsung SSD White Paper. ![period inside quotes, sample sentence](http://i.stack.imgur.com/Zg9Kl.png) Notice it is written as: > ... called a "strobe." instead of > ... called a "strobe". Can someone help explain this?


title: Why is the comma inside quotation marks when people are quoted?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  When should end punctuation go inside quotes? From a AMS blog post: > Some organizations have temporarily suspended their polling, and with the > news media tabbing Sandy as the new “it girl,” the presidential candidates > were sent to the fourth estate’s back burner, at least for a few days, as > notedby media reporter Howard Kurtz Why is the comma inside the quotation marks in _“it girl,”_? This occurs not only in this example, but is a general rule, not even limited to English. But I find it strange: the comma clearly not part of the name; nor is it part of the quotation in e.g. _“wait a second,” said my friend_ as opposed to _“wait a second”, said my friend_. What is the grammatical word for the comma being placed inside the quotation marks, and why is it like this?


title: Punctuation outside of quotes

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How should I punctuate around quotes?   >  When should end punctuation go inside quotes? Here is what I have written: Is it too late to say, "Don't go. I'm sorry"? Here is my question: If I add a period after sorry, within the quotes, is it absolutely incorrect. I don't know why, but the above looks wrong.


title: Where should I put the comma? Inside or outside the quotation marks?

text: I need to put a quote in my research paper. My friends give me different answers so I'm confused now... Would it be > According to "Title", "blah blah blah." or > According to "Title," "blah blah blah."


title: Quotation Marks

text: I'm an American living in the USA. Is it permissible to punctuate thusly, i.e., insert the commas and periods outside the quote marks? • When Joe called me a "schlep", I was offended. • The terms "prevaricate", "tergiversate", and "masticate" rhyme. • Make sure to enter the log-in password "geeksquad 4". • Nancy said, "I heard Lou say, 'Be careful what you wish for'." (Is the '." ending correct here?) • Joe said, "Respect your elders". (Thinking it should be: Joe said, "Respect your elders.") Thanks.


title: How much punctuation is appropriate when ending a sentence with a full-sentence quotation?

text: When you end a sentence with a quotation that is itself a full sentence, do you use the quotation's punctuation? The containing sentence's? Both? Something else? I think this might be best illustrated with an example. Which of the following is correct? > John asked her "Do you have the time?" She said yes. or > John asked her "Do you have the time." She said yes. or > John asked her "Do you have the time?." She said yes. Related, but not a dupe: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/23/is-it- ever-acceptable-for-a-period-to-come-after-a-quote-at-the-end-of-a-sentence


title: Punctuation immediately after a question mark in a quote?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How should I punctuate around quotes?   >  Comma placement when using quotes that end with a question mark Say you're quoting someone with a requirement for a punctuation, how do you follow with your own punctuation? e.g.,               "Are you crazy?," she asked incredulously.     "Wow!," said the cat.      Both of these example seem awkward. Do I just leave out the comma?


title: Punctuating Quoted Questions in a Parenthetical Clause

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How should I punctuate around quotes?   >  What do you do when you end the first part of a compound sentence with a > quote?   >  Comma placement when using quotes that end with a question mark Someone asked What is the difference between saying: > Are you still working there? > > Do you still work there? I started my answer with: > For your specific example, "Are you still working there?" versus "Do you > still work there?", when referring to having a job at a company both are > commonly used. That punctuation feels wrong, but I don't know what would be preferable in American English. I am referring in particular about ending the parenthetical phrase with `"Do you still work there?",`. (Wow, how about the punctuation of _that_ sentence.) I need the question mark because of the question, I need the quotes to end the quotation, I need the comma to end the parenthetical, but the rules for punctuation around quotation marks are so odd to my way of thinking that I feel like I must be doing something wrong. What do you think? Is this the best way (without rewriting the sentence) to punctuate it? If not, what would be better? EDIT: So far we have :   * The Chicago Manual of Style not specifically addressing this case but generally saying _**"Do you still work there?"**_   * The Gregg Reference Manual saying _**"Do you still work there?"**_ **BUT** "if the omission of a comma at this point could lead to confusion, reword the sentence to avoid the problem."   * and most everyone else agreeing with me on _**"Do you still work there?",**_ So yeah, go ahead and close it, as we are not going to settle the question here?


Where do I put a comma when I have quotes around a short story, and the sentence structure needs a comma? I know that, generally, commas go inside of quotes, but what if the quotes are marking a short story. Here is the part of the sentence I'm having trouble with: > Gertrude Stein’s _The Gentle Lena_ is vastly different from Edith Wharton’s > “The Other Two,” yet the two female leads ... Should it look like that, or should it look like this: > Gertrude Stein’s _The Gentle Lena_ is vastly different from Edith Wharton’s > “The Other Two”, yet the two female leads ...


title: Where does the period go?

text: Which of these is correct? > Our company has a philosophy that "People Matter". > > Our company has a philosophy that "People Matter." Does the period go inside the quotes here or outside?


title: In text Citation

text: If your quote is at the end of a sentence and is the end of its own sentence as well does the period go inside the parentheses or outside of it? Also what would you do with the in text citation (page number)?


title: where to put the comma between two distinct quote?

text: Where should I put the comma and the quotes in such a sentence? > The comments were significantly focused on my being “engaging, patient and > extremely helpful,” “very coherent and easy-to-understand,” or "clear and > straight to the point". My question is whether I can do something like this "bla," "bla" - meaning, a simple space between two quotes and the comma before the first one. Thanks!


title: Is it ever acceptable for a period to come after a quote at the end of a sentence?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Is it correct to use “punctuation outside of the quotations”, or “inside?” I've heard that you should always place ending punctuation inside of quotes, no matter what. Are there any cases where it is appropriate for a sentence to end with `".`?


title: How to correctly use double quotation marks at the end of a sentence?

text: Group A: >   1. This is so-called "Moon Cake." // The period is inside the double > quatation marks > >   2. This is so-called "Moon Cake". // The period is outside the double > quatation marks > > I know the former is more standard-conforming in most publications; however, I think the latter is more intuitive and meaningful. Because the period is used to stop the whole sentence, rather than stop the phrase itself. I think the former is counter-intuitive, although the usage is standard-conforming. Please consider another two sentences: Group B: >   1. She said: "I don't know." > >   2. She said: "I don't know". > > It is obvious that the former is more meaningful than the latter, because the period is used to stop the whole sentence, and the double quatation marks are used as a quatation. This time, it is standard-conforming and intuitive. What's your opinion?


title: Where do the commas and full stops go?

text: Do you agree with the punctuation in these examples? I'm using BrE style here.   1. I like his sentence 'Be good to yourself and respect your elders.' (I say that the full stop goes inside the quote mark.)   2. The email stated 'The meeting scheduled for June 12 has been cancelled.' (I say that the full stop goes inside the quote mark.)   3. I love the adage 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.' (I say that the full stop goes inside the quote mark.)   4. Lou said, 'I heard Jonas say "Martha and Frank are getting a divorce." ' (I think the ending punctuation ." ' is good.)   5. Ernie said, 'I didn't like it when Nancy called me a "schlepp".' (I think the ending punctuation ".' is good.)   6. When Nancy screamed 'Shut the hell up and get out of my house!' she scared her children. (I think no commas are needed in this sentence.)   7. When Bob said 'Be careful what you ask for', Nicholas began to weep. (I think only one comma here, yes or no?)   8. When Rufus asked 'Where are the liquid refreshments?' his wife pointed to the fridge. (I think no commas are needed in this sentence.)   9. The sign said 'Shoplifters will be prosecuted.' (I say that the full stop goes inside the quote mark.)   10. The sentences 'Be careful what you ask for', 'Life is way too short', 'Always respect your elders', and 'No good deed goes unpunished' provided sound guidance to Nicholas. (I say commas go outside the quote marks.)   11. Mike said, 'Don't be disrespectful to your parents.' (Full stop inside, I say.)   12. 'I will,' Joe said, 'provide an explanation when the time is right.' (I say the comma and period go inside the quote marks.)   13. 'I will provide an explanation when the time is right,' Joe said. (Again, comma inside.) Thank you.


title: Including unrelated punctuation in the quotes

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How should I punctuate around quotes? I have seen in many places, in many articles on the web as well as in print, the practice of including punctuation inside the quotes, when the punctuation is not related to the quoted content, as follows: > "We have begun development," the spokesperson told the media. > > Although his response was, "We have begun development," he could not share > any further details at this time. The comma at the end quote is not related to the quoted content but it is included in the quotes. Why is that? Shouldn't the following be correct, with the comma outside the end quote? > "We have begun development", the spokesperson told the media. > > Although his response was, "We have begun development", he could not share > any further details at this time. The next example is about the full stop at the end. This is included inside the quotes. > "We have begun development, " the spokesperson said, "but I cannot give you > any further details at this time." Here there are two functions to accomplish, marking the end of the quoted content as well as the end of the sentence, but only one full stop is used. Does the full stop, in this case, mark the end of the quoted content, the end of the sentence or both of them? Is the following correct, marking both with different full stops? > "We have begun development, " the spokesperson said, "but I cannot give you > any further details at this time.".


title: Comma placement when using quotes that end with a question mark

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How should I punctuate around quotes? I've been writing a letter to an editor, and one line of my response reads: > In your article "What Makes Free Will Free?" you mention... My question is: where should I place a comma to transition from the quoted article title to words _you mention..._ after it? Should I place the comma in the quotes, or outside the quotes? Traditionally, I would place it in the quotes, but I wasn't too sure if I could place a comma right after a question mark like that.


title: Handling quotes ending in exclamation or question marks

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Is it correct to use "punctuation outside of the quotations", or "inside?" I've always had trouble dealing with quotes ending in question marks. Any solution has been awkward. What's the best way to use it? Examples (which are probably wrong):   * Did you know how he asked me "how do you do?"?   * After he said "Do I know you?", we hit him with some bricks.   * "Fool!" he exclaimed.


title: Punctuation placement in speech

text: > **Possible Duplicates:**   >  Is it ever acceptable for a period to come after a quote at the end of a > sentence?   >  How much punctuation is appropriate when ending a sentence with a full- > sentence quotation? If I have a sentence where I double quote what someone says, i.e. > The man said "How are you?" If that was the end of the sentence, does it need a full stop at the end as follows? > The man said "How are you?" **.**


title: How should I punctuate around quotes?

text: The American convention in quotations is (typically) to place punctuation inside quoted text. But I always run into situations where the punctuation of the quote interferes with the punctuation of the sentence. How would you punctuate this (American, non technical)? > When my friends ask, "What do you want for your birthday?", I never know how > to respond. It seems odd to place the last comma _outside_ the quote simply because of the question mark. Is _that_ the preferred (i.e. most often accepted) standard?


title: Quotes and Punctuation

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Is it ever acceptable for a period to come after a quote at the end of a > sentence?   >  How should I punctuate around quotes? I graduated with an English Major from Radford University back in 1991, but over the years I've done a lot of technical writing as a web developer, and it does not make sense to me to put punctuation inside quoted terms. For instance... > When you find the item marked 'Lever A', please move it near 'Lever B'. ...rather than... > When you find the item marked 'Lever A,' please move it near 'Lever B.' The reason is because I'm not quoting what someone said. Of course, when we use double quotes or single quotes for these terms, that's just a problem with typography where we might not have italics available to us. The best way to compose this, then, would be: > When you find the item marked _Lever A_ , please move it near _Lever B_. However, sometimes when composing an email or other form of communication where italics may not necessarily be available to us, it appears that double quotes or single quotes are used and therefore we get stuck in this problem. Is it appropriate to put common sentence structure punctuation outside quoted terms in cases where italics is not available?


title: Proper punctuation of “John’s last words were ‘———’ ”

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How should I punctuate around quotes? When attributing a quote to someone, you put a comma before the quote: > John said, "———" But is the comma still used in the following sentence? > John's last words were, "———." Or should there be something else instead? A colon maybe?


title: What is the correct way to punctuate this?

text: > There were forty-nine messages, the first of which was “Is it true that you > moved to Florida?” sent to my cell phone. It seems like there should be another comma after _Florida_ , but you've already got the question mark and quotation mark there. Is it okay like this?


title: Quotation in sentence

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How should I punctuate around quotes? How does one punctuate a sentence that contains a quotation in the middle? For example, is it: > 1) Those who say, "My system is foolproof," are underestimating the > ingenuity of fools. or > 2) Those who say, "My system is foolproof" are underestimating the ingenuity > of fools. or > 3) Those who say "My system is foolproof" are underestimating the ingenuity > of fools. ?


title: In the book "Charlotte's Web," or In the book "Charlotte's Web",?

text: When stating a book title, is the comma before or after the quotations?


title: "What happens to the comma after an inquiring/exclaiming quotation?", he wondered, as he posted to StackExchange

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How should I punctuate around quotes? Forgive me for the creative title, because I'm not sure how else to ask this. If you have a sentence like this... "What's wrong?", he asked sympathetically, hoping for an honest answer. or like this... "Hey! Give me my keys!", he shouted, as he shook his fist. Is the comma to the right of the quotation mark correct? It seems odd to me, as the !/? already counts as 'punctuation'.


title: What do you do when you end the first part of a compound sentence with a quote?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How should I punctuate around quotes? For example, if I want to show someone's response in the same sentence, what would I do? Would the comma from the end of the quote be enough? > He said, "Get me a drink," but I didn't want to. Because this looks weird: > He said, "Get me a drink,", but I didn't want to. What if the quote end with a question? > He said, "Will you get me a drink?" but I didn't want to. I think that I would need a comma somewhere. > He said, "Will you get me a drink?," but I didn't want to. > > He said, "Will you get me a drink?", but I didn't want to. The `?,"` looks better to me, but I don't know. How do you do it?


title: Periods in quotes and how to end the sentence the quote lies in

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How should I punctuate around quotes? If I am quoting someone in my writing, and I end their quote with a period, and the end of the quote is also the end of my sentence. How do I properly end the sentence? An example of this is in my last question: > For example, "The file is not updat(e)able.". Here is another example: > The boss said, "If you don't get your work in by tomorrow, you're fired.". Is that how you properly end the sentence, or should I leave one of the periods out? If the latter, could you explain why?


title: How to punctuate an embedded quoted question within a declarative sentence?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How should I punctuate around quotes? I'm having a devil of a time trying to determine how to punctuate an embedded quoted question within a declarative sentence. A comma is used to introduce the quote, but things get hairy at the end of the quote. > When Ms. Peremptory asked, "Are you ever going to be ready?" I was unable to > respond. Is this situation best handled with no closing comma? Placement in any of the possible spaces between the closing "y" in "ready" and the subject of the sentence produces visually confounding -- though possibly grammatically correct -- results.


title: Should the article that comes after ‘There is” always be “a” or “an”?

text: I found the following sentence in a reference book of English grammar, titled “These are the weak points of Japanese on English grammar - 日本人は英文法のここを間違える” edited by Japan IR and published by DHC Publishing in 2006: > “Example: There is _a_ first time for everything. > > Though you may be tempted to use “the” for “first time,” here you must use > “a,” because it is a grand rule to use “a” after “There is.” The > composition, “There is” always demands “a,” and “first time” just follows > its demand.- P.52 I didn’t know such a grand rule – A noun after “There is” should be accompanied with an infinite article exhists. Is it true? I used to write “There was the following article in the New York Times.” Was I wrong?


title: How did “equivocal” come to mean what it means?

text: The word _unanimous_ is reasonably easy to trace: it comes from Latin _unum_ (one) + _anima_ (mind). If several people are of the same unanimous opinion, they could be said to be speaking “of one mind”. The word _equivocal_ looks very similar. It comes from _aequi_ (same) + _vocal_ (from _vox_ , voice). It would seem that it should mean “speaking with the same voice” and thus have a meaning similar to _unanimous_. Yet, it means the opposite, and it is _unequivocal_ that is a synonym of _unanimous_. **How did _equivocal_ manage to reverse its meaning?**


title: What does "head the bill" mean?

text: What does this phrase in the song Wow - Kate Bush mean? > We're all alone on the stage tonight.   >  We've been told we're not afraid of you.   >  We know all our lines so well, uh-huh.   >  We've said them so many times:   >  Time and time again,   >  Line and line again. > > Ooh, yeah, you're amazing!   >  We think you're incredible.   >  You say we're fantastic,   >  **But still we don't** **_head the bill._** > > Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Unbelievable!


title: Single word meaning "pregnant woman"

text: Does such a word exist? It has occurred to me that the "woman" part is redundant, since only women can be pregnant (except for Arnold Schwarzanegger in Junior)


title: "Begs the question" or "Raises the question"?

text: From Super User: > I just installed Win7 on my non-PC (ahem) and was struck by how many times > the Windows installer reboots during installation. It even tells you on the > screen during installation that the computer will reboot multiple times. > > I know MS must have a good reason for this, but I'm completely baffled why > this is necessary? Installation simply writes to the disk, and because the > system has booted off the DVD, it already has full write access to the > target hard drive partition. Is Windows in fact installing a preliminary > disk image and then booting off of that instead of the DVD in order to speed > up installation? ( **Though that then begs the question, why 2 reboots?** ) > > Edit: Changed "3+ reboots" to "2 reboots". It probably seemed like more than > that because I had to do an extra reboot initially (back to my host OS) to > fix the format of my partition, and then there were the subsequent reboots > for windows updates. ( _Emphasis added by me_ ) It seems to me like "raises the question" would fit better than "begs the question" in this case. What is correct?


title: "In a frail voice" versus "with a frail voice"

text: Which of these are correct? > In a frail voice, he said goodbye.   >  With a frail voice, he said goodbye.


title: Does this logical fallacy have a name?

text: A phrase being used by the "news" media regarding the recent arrest of people in Columbus, NM is "firearms favored by the Mexican cartels", referring to their purchase of AK47s and other semiautomatics; weapons that are in fact favored by many people who want a good weapon for a reasonable price. I'm trying to name the fallacy, and "guilt by association" and "red herring" come to mind but aren't really a good fit. I've read this thread, but can't really match it to the situation. I've also looked through many of the fallacies at the Nizkor Project and logicalfallacies.info and can't see a good match. Any ideas? * * * It could be rewritten for clarity: Person P bought weapons A and B.   A and B are favored by the Mexican drug cartels.   Therefore, P bought the weapons with intent to distribute them to the Mexican drug cartels.


title: When did "fag" become an offensive word?

text: I'm from Pennsylvania. With the recent threat by the Westboro Baptist Church to protest the funeral of seven children who perished in a fire, I've been thinking a lot about their infamous catchphrase: "God Hates Fags." Religious debates aside, when did "fag" become an offensive word?


title: Past simple with today

text: For example, I want to say that I found a ball today. But "today" means action in present, am I right? I've already searched the Internet and it seems the right way is this: > I found a ball today But it seems wrong when I say "today" and "found" (I'm not using words like "earlier"). Maybe it's right to say: > I have found a ball today And why can't I say > I find a ball today Which way is right and why?


title: Should "Ms." be used in a document meant to be translated?

text: The honorific 'Ms.' is very useful in US English, but I can't find any authority on what the equivalent might be in other cultures and languages. Has this reached (say) Indian English? If I use it in something that will be translated to other languages, am I just frustrating the translator because it doesn't cross?


title: Word for pulling and releasing in kite flying

text: When flying a kite, there are moments when you need to quickly pull on the string and let it go so that the kite can catch the wind and go up. Is there a word for this action?


title: Does the long form of an abbreviation go in quotes?

text: I am trying to use and introduce an abbreviation in a sentence. Example: > I worked with technologies such as Syntactically Awesome Stylesheets (Sass) > while working on my project. Does the "Syntactically Awesome Stylesheets" part need to be in quotes? It seems a bit out-of-place to me while using an acronym with such a peculiar long form. Thanks


title: What does "tearing your résumé apart in a way" mean?

text: I asked a résumé checker to check my résumé and she gave me the following answer: > When you look at the below list of issues, you'll probably think I'm tearing > your resume apart. I guess I am, in a way. But, I swear, your resume is > pretty good. What does she mean by _tearing my résumé apart_?


title: Word or phrase for someone who annoys you as soon as they walk in and start talking

text: Looking for both a journalistic and perhaps playful term. In a journalistic sense, how would I describe a CEO figure who holds a company meeting and the employees are either annoyed, bored, or rolling their eyes the entire time he talks. In a playful sense, a similar personality walks into my office, but is the context is such that I can make the comment aloud, such as, " _oh god, there goes my chance to get any work done_ ", but in a declarative sense: " _here comes the ...._ "


title: Do phonetic symbols have names in English?

text: I know diacritical marks have names in English: cedilla, umlaut, etc. Are there names for phonetic symbols too? How does one call the "sh" sound which is referred to by the integral sign /∫/? Or the /ch/ represented as /t∫/? This may be unikely, but if the answer is a no, why are there no words for sounds, given we even have onomatopoeic words for alphabets (aitch, tee, ell, etc)?


title: why use "are down" instead of "doesn't work"

text: I got an e-mail in my work where men wrote that something application are down but I`m not advanced in English and could you help me why is use this form? In my opinion I would have written: application dosen't work. Thanks in advance.


title: What is the name of the behavior that makes you believe more in something when it contradicts your beliefs?

text: What is the name of a common human behavior that makes you believe more in one thing when you are contradicted? I read an article a while ago about this behavior saying that people naturally (or instinctively) tend to pay more attention to details that are the opposite beliefs of the ones with which he agrees. A good example for that is a fanatic religious person, that the more you try to convince someone that his beliefs are wrong, the more he gets convinced that you are talking bullshit. I am pretty sure there is a name for that, does anybody know?


title: "Don't know of" vs. "Don't know"

text: What is the difference between the following? > I don't know of any other place. > > I don't know any other place.


title: "log in to" or "log into" or "login to"

text: When writing an instruction about connecting to a computer using ssh, telnet, etc., I'm not sure what spacing to use in this familiar spoken phrase:   * " **Log in to** host.com"   * " **Log into** host.com"   * " **Login to** host.com" Maybe this is entirely subjective or the realm of industry jargon, but I couldn't think of anywhere else to ask. Any insight?


title: Logging in or on?

text: There are a plethora of words for user accounts, like _logon_ , _login_ , _signon_ , and also the action of _logging in_ (or _logging on_ ) or _signing in_. Are there any usage guidelines here?


title: Which is standard: "log on/off" or "log in/out"?

text: > **Possible Duplicates:**   >  Logging in or on?   >  UI Terminology: Logon vs Login on Stack Overflow On Windows computers, the terminology _log on/off_ is used. In SE and on many sites, _log in/out_ is used. Are they both correct and equally appropriate for any situation, or are there differences? If they are exactly synonymous, which is standard?


title: Login vs Logon?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Logging in or on?   >  “log in to” or “log into” or “login to” In computers, it seems like both login and logon are used. When I was taking some networking courses at the college, we were told to "Login to Windows", and "Logon to Novell". Is there really a difference?


title: Is there a difference between "bitter" and "better" in pronunciation?

text: I was wondering if there was any difference between _"bitter"_ and _"better"_ in pronunciation? My assumption is that one is pronounced with a soft "d" as in "better" and the other one with a hard "t" as in "bitter". What do you guys think?


title: Usage of "|" in English sentences

text: I have a book about punctuation marks, but it doesn't report when to use _|_ in a English sentence. I notice that the _New Oxford American Dictionary_ uses that character to separate the examples it reports. Are there other uses of _|_ in a sentence written outside specific contexts?


title: What is the difference between "solidus" and "slash"?

text: I was reading a text, and I found the word _solidus_. What is a solidus? Is the word normally used in everyday language, or is there another word that replaces _solidus_ even if it's not the completely correct word?


title: Using the word "quota" in plural and singular

text: If I need to use the word "quota" in both the plural and the singular, what is the correct form? Is it "several quota" and "one quotum" or "several quotas" and "one quota"?


title: "Dob the pill" (Child's phrase)

text: In some British private schools the phrase "dob the pill" is a request that someone should throw the ball to you. The Internet is almost completely silent on this phrase with the only use I can find in the first comment at http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl/pieces-of-the-power-puzzle/story- fn83zjlm-1226049635520 where it says "With his build Ebert would be a better back pocket where he could dob the pill deep over centre.". What is the origin of this phrase?


title: Meaning of "a few lost beams of latent light"

text: What does _a few lost beams of latent light_ mean? > I think it's summer still outside   >  **A few lost beams of latent light**   >  – moi Caprice


title: Using "so" and "very" for ungradable adjectives

text: We generally use modifiers such as "so" and "very" for gradable/normal adjectives (water can be quite/so/very HOT, but not quite/so/very BOILING (an ungradable/extreme adjective). Yet would you say the following sentences-- which, I'd say, are quite commonplace in colloquial speech--are grammatically incorrect?   1. You told the teacher I'd been cheating? You're SO dead! ("Dead", obviously, is ungradable.)   2. Simon Cowell was seen with his VERY pregnant girlfriend. (A woman is either pregnant or not--it can't be graded.)


title: Usage of dwell/hail

text: When I describe myself, I normally have to say where I'm from. If I were actually born and raised in Chicago, could I use dwell and/or hail? >   * I _dwell_ in Chicago. >   * I _hail_ in Chicago. >


title: Is there a short term for "without a date of expiry"?

text: Is there a short term for _lack of a date of expiry_ when talking about documents? I'm specifically interested in identification document (ID).


title: I've been betrayed by the Jedi Order, but I don't wish "for" them to all die

text: Does the presumably nonstandard construction "(verb) for someone/something to (verb)" instead of "(verb) (someone/something) to (verb)" have any currency in modern day colloquial AE speech and "not so formal" writing? The reason to this question is that I occasionally stumble across this type of construction in paperbacks, movies, comics, etc., and wish you could tell what the story is to it, plus if it's acceptable to use it for casual to "not too formal" correspondence like emails and memos. Consider these examples: > We **_want for you to_** become a part of this family. source > > But I didn't **_mean for you to_** behave like this. source) > > We **_ask for you to_** show respect to our elected officials. source > > May we **_suggest for you to_** contact your shipper to make necessary > arrangements. source > > May I **_recommend for you to_** read the citations a little more closely. > source > > May I **_advise for you to_** spend more time reading. source > > I should **_expect for you to_** drop the child off tonight. source > > We **_anticipate for you to_** serve as interim CEO. source > > I **_would like for you to_** act that way less often. source>/ > > I **_would love for you to_** act that way in our One-Act Play festival. > source>/ > > I **_would hate for you to_** be out and someone tells you this other than > me. source>/ > > We **_hope for you to_** be as comfortable as possible during your > stay.source>/


title: Can a "who" act as both a pronoun and a conjunction at the same time?

text: Example: > I will sue the person who murdered my neighbour. In the above example, should we treat _who_ as a relative pronoun, a conjunction, or both?


title: Synonyms, Antonyms, and "Neutralnyms"

text: Two words A and B are synonyms if they mean the same thing, and antonyms if they mean opposite things. But is there **a word to describe the relationship where A means "neither B nor its opposite"**? > For example: "Indifference" means "neither love nor hate". I would like to be able to use it in sentences of the form: "What is a `neutralnym' for love?" (The wikipedia page for the -onym suffix says that "anonym" is already taken, sadly, as this would have been a good neologism. That's why I used "neutralnyms" even though it mixes Latin and Greek roots.) **Edit:** A further more example to illustrate what I am asking. > right and wrong are antonyms, and ambiguous is a neutralnym of both.


title: One may, two verbs

text: I wonder which of the following is grammatical. >   * Your account password or username may have changed, but hasn't yet been > updated on our side. >   * Your account password or username may have changed, but haven't yet been > updated on our side. >


title: Use of 'On the ..." in titles

text: I'm wondering if there is a convention on the use of " **On the** ..." at the beginning of a title of a report / paper etc. I've realized that I have (unintentionally) used this form in the titles of the last two scientific papers that I have written. This got me wondering if I am actually using this correctly (although no one commented throughout the publishing process - i.e. co-authors, reviewers, or editors). After doing a brief search on Google Scholar, I don't seem to find all that many titles that use this structure, although those that do seem to be often papers from earlier times (ca. pre-1970). One of the best known examples is Charles Darwin's (1859) " **On the** origins of species by means of natural selection". I don't know if this was his reason but, for me, the alternate title "The origins of species by means of natural selection" is more authoritative. This was the reason for the inclusion of "on" in my titles. In my cases, the topics were either somewhat speculative, or did not cover all aspects of the issue at hand. I would be very grateful to hear if anyone has an informed perspective on this.


title: What does Theoden's quote in The Two Towers 'oft evil will shall evil mar' mean?

text: The formulation of this phrase seems odd and I can't pick the full meaning out of it. He says it after Wormtongue has thrown the Palantir out of Orthanc, which seems to be a great example of evil shooting itself in it's own foot, but that doesn't seem to be the thrust of the phrase.


title: No comma preceding quote from a document?

text: I am a court reporter, and I was recently informed that I should not put a comma before a quote from a document. E.g., in the sentence: John said, "We need to clear this item," the comma after "said" is appropriate, but in the sentence: Paragraph 2 says "We need to clear this item," a comma after "says" would be inappropriate. Anybody else ever hear of that rule? It's new to me.


title: Do adjectives ending in "-ed" derive from words that were once used as verbs?

text: _Talented_ derives from _talent_ , which is not a verb in Modern English. Has _talent_ ever been used as verb? Are there any words ending in _-ed_ that derive from words once used as verb that is not used nowadays?


title: "List of tasks" or "tasks' list"

text: Which of these forms is better: _list of tasks_ or _tasks' list_? Another question is whether I should use an apostrophe or not ( _tasks's list_ vs _tasks list_ ). Other phrases which are similar to this, but aren't quite what I'm looking for, are _list of projects_ and _task's action_ (one task this time). Maybe the answer is obvious, but English is not my native language so I need to understand it.


title: What's the difference between a graph, a chart, and a plot?

text: _A graph_ , _a chart_ , and _a plot_ can all refer to the same thing. Is there any even somewhat consistent distinction in these three words? (I mean, in this particular sense of the words; it is not relevant that a chart is also a nautical map, and a plot is also a scheme.)


title: Difference between "calculus" and "calculi"

text: What is the difference between _calculus_ and _calculi_? Both of these words are used to identify formal languages in computer science (e.g. π-calculus, λ-calculus, process calculi).


Why sometime we see 'Save As' while sometime we see 'Export' when dealing with file(s) Are 'Save as' having the same meaning as 'Export' when dealing with file(s). Suppose, I want to save this particular file to another file, I will 'Save As' to another file. Same goes as 'Export' if I want to export to another file. Any Insight?


title: Breaking the set - meaning

text: **Breaking the set** What does this expression mean? I hear this expression often used in the context of alternative media reports and debates. Here's the link, right at the beginning the host uses that phrase: > Hi, I'm Sean Stone, today we're breaking the set on Buzzsaw


title: Do I need a comma after which in this sentence?

text: Do I need commas around " _on that morning_ "? While technically correct (I believe), it just seems like so many commas sounds too choppy if one pauses at each comma. > As they passed the cathedral, they rode alongside the River Irwell, which, > on that morning, had a thick layer of fog blanketing the black waters.


title: What is the word for statements that aren't ironic but have an interesting juxtaposition?

text: For example: my grandmother went to university and learnt to speak RP; I went to university and picked up her cockney drawl. Or: I was searching for a book on the internet and when I found it, it turned out that it my next door neighbour was selling it.


title: Comma separating subordinating clauses

text: I'm a software developer and occasionally write user documentation and project proposals for my boss. I've been running into a punctuation problem recently that I've been unable to solve. I have a sentence in the form > SUBORDINATING CLAUSE + "and" + SUBORDINATING CLAUSE, MAIN CLAUSE. For example: > If Jack and Jill were going up a hill and Bob were simultaneously driving > down the hill, Bob would run over Jill. I've been rather confused whether there should be a comma before the _and_. I realize the two subordinating clauses actually share the _if_ , but a part of me still wants to insert a comma like one would do if the _and_ separated two main clauses. Is there any standard (American) punctuation rule that applies in this sort of corner-case? I realize I could rewrite the sentence in a way to avoid this problem, but I'd really like to know what the generally accepted (American) standard for this is.


title: "Todo list" or "to-do list"

text: I always thought it was a _todo_ list, and quite a few places online refer to it as _todo_ , but various spell checkers are telling me it should be _to-do_. The only meaning I could find was http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/to-do which is different from the use I need for the word. Which is correct?


title: Applying/earning/validating leave

text: When someone attends an event, he will be awarded some additional leave subject to his boss's approval. Therefore, he will need to submit a leave application to his boss for approval. Should I call this (action 1) _apply leave_ , _submit leave_ , _apply new leave_ or something else? Note that if we use _apply leave_ or _submit leave_ , we will have another problem as follows. If that someone wants to _use_ the leave that his boss had approved for action 1, he will need to submit this further application to his boss for approval. Then, should I call this (action 2) _apply leave_ (not again?), _submit leave_ (not again?) or something else?


title: Is there a difference between "at the example of" and "using the example of"?

text: "This is illustrated at the example of Foobar." versus "This is illustrated using the example of Foobar." Are they interchangeable? If not, what is the difference?


title: Grammatical correctness of a sentence

text: Recently I read a sentence - > The French Rooms, at least until modern periods are reached, are a > demonstration that in the sphere of aesthetics, science does not produce the > greatest artists - that something other than intelligent interest and > technical accomplishment _are_ requisite to that end, and that system is > fatal to spontaneity. I am not sure if _'are'_ instead of _'is'_ should be used since it is referring to _'that something other'_ which seems to be clearly singular. So what should it be?


title: With + adverb structure

text: The strange example makes me confused - **with + adverb** : " **Red items need dealing with immediately after the process...** " How correct and common of this structure?


title: Someone who comes across as "airheaded" but is really quite the opposite

text: What is a word for someone who comes across as "airheaded" but is really quite the opposite? I will add that the person is not deliberately trying to act stupid, they just come across that way when they speak. Without knowing them, you would assume this person holds no intellect.


title: A verb for performing foot tricks with a ball?

text: Is there a word for when a soccer player does the kind of tricks where he would try to kick the ball with his feet into the air, catches the ball with his knee cap with another hit to bring the ball higher into the air, and then hit the ball with his head and so on? I don't know how I can describe it, but it's a common move/trick that soccer players do. They would "play" around the ball with different moves. I used to think that a verb for performing such actions is _shuffling_ , and would say: > "The soccer player is _shuffling_ the ball." But now I think I'm wrong because shuffling sounds more for something else. So, is there a verb for performing such an action?


title: Definite article with "Wiener filtering", an uncountable noun

text: I have a sentence something like this > We apply Wiener filtering to obtain a solution. In this "Wiener filtering" is a uncountable noun. I am not sure whether "the" is required before it.


title: be wondering - tenses

text: In reference to: Why is the past tense used in "I was wondering if you would like to come for dinner?" I'd like to ask why we usually use _"I was wondering if..."_ not _"I have been wondering if..."_. Anyone?


title: Meaning of the word "snood"

text: What does actually _snood_ mean when someone says, 'He is a _snood_ arm wrestler. He eats more than he trains, but he's beaten some of our toughest guys.' Does it mean that person who's called _snood_ arm wrestler is kind of lazy to train hard and has some extra weight? Link to the video, I've heard that word there, at 54 second The video is available only in USA.


title: meaning of "internetz"

text: What does _internetz_ mean? I realize it's not a Real Official Word™, but what is its meaning when it is normally used?   * Urbandictionary has several competing definitions.   * The Google results are irrelevant for "what is internetz" and "what does internetz mean" (with no options, with "-internet", and with "-internet -internets").


title: There isn't and there is no

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  “There is no rule” vs. “there isn’t rule” If I'm not mistaken, both _"There isn't a storm."_ and _"There is no storm."_ have the same meaning. I understand that the first one is the "contraction" of the second one, but what I can't understand is that if it is the contraction of the second, why the is second _"There is no storm"_ and not _"There is no **t** storm"_?


title: Adjective form of "collide"—"collideable" or "collidable"?

text: I need to name an interface in a program I'm writing as being able to collide, but I've seen use of both _collideable_ and _collidable_ in projects with a similar type. Both of them look right in some ways, and wrong in others. Which spelling is more correct?


title: What is the historic process for converting vulgar words into simply rude words?

text: I have noticed a pattern involving vulgarities where the previous generation's evil words become accepted as merely off-color or rude in the following generation. Is this merely each generation's small rebellion against their parents? Does society get bored with certain blacklisted words and move onto different choices? It seems that some offensive or vulgar words maintain their status far longer than others while some don't last too long. Am I simply suffering from an odd form of selection bias? Other interesting observations are the choices of insults that particular communities choose to use. Online video gaming has become quite fond of "rape" which is probably a completely inappropriate word to trivialize as meaning pwned. That community seems particularly attracted to violent or overtly offensive terms. Is there a historic precedence for this? Are such communities related to the aforementioned shift in what is considered vulgar?


title: Etymology of "age of majority?"

text: What is the etymology of the phrase "age of majority," meaning, e.g., 18 in the US? Does it have something to do with democracy, the age at which one can vote, and the fact that democracy is based on the will of the majority? Or does it come from some other, unrelated sense of "major" or "majority?"


title: Customizable style checker

text: I am looking for a customizable style checker. Preferably with Ruby bindings. I have seen previous posts on here about static "grammar" checkers. However, I want something much more flexible allowing you to add/remove/rank warnings. Native Slavic users may want to rank missing "a/an/the" highly. Newspapers may want their writers to use conventions. Technical writers in certain professions like lawyers seeking uniformity may want to flag paragraphs with writing styles that deviate from those found in a database of appellate opinions.


title: we could have written the following and BE RETURNED the same result set (grammar)

text: _When there is only one instance of the column name in the query, then qualifying column names becomes optional. Thus, we could have written the following and **be returned** the same result set..._ I can't understand how **_be returned_** is worked into the sentence. Is it _we could be returned the same result set_ or what? Who's the subject of **_be_**? Please, break it down for me.


title: Should I write "repartee" with an accent?

text: Does _repartee_ need an accent with it in writing? Also, what does it mean? **Edit:** Can you please provide an example sentence or two? I'd really appreciate it!


title: Graduate student in or of?

text: In my cover letter I want to write that I am a graduate student in statistics. But I am not sure about the "in". So what is correct? > I am a graduate student in statistics. > > I am a graduate student of statistics.


title: Unique for how many reasons?

text: Does the phrase "The holocaust was a unique event in history for two reasons:" mean that the following two reasons will individually cause uniqueness or will in conjunction cause the uniqueness? Here is the phrase in context: > Fackenheim argued that the holocaust was a _unique_ event in history for two > reasons: (1) The Nazis persecuted the Jews not because of their religious > beliefs or practices as in former times, but strictly because of their > genetic makeup. (2) The demonic will of persecutors to exterminate the Jews > superseded their aims at winning the War. I feel as though both must be in conjunction to be unique as it is not the first time in history that people have been persecuted because of genes (black people have been persecuted for that reason). Therefore the author must either be wrong or the two reasons must be in conjunction to be unique.


title: "all but at most one" - What does it mean?

text: I came around this one just now and I can't tell the meaning of this sentence by the context. > no new vehicle is used unless all but at most one other vehicle has at least > 50% of its time scheduled Does it mean something like "all are, but one is not"?


title: Which is correct? "the traditional and the modern" or "the traditional and modern"

text: I heard this from a film without subtitles. Which is correct? > The island of Taiwan in East Asia is a melting pot of the traditional and > the modern. or > The island of Taiwan in East Asia is a melting pot of the traditional and > modern.


title: Are there any rules governing what we call people from different countries?

text: >   * people from China = Chinese >   * people from Japan = Japanese >   * people from Australia = Australian >   * people from Lebanon = Lebanese >   * people from Sweden = Swedish > Are there any rules that govern this? Like people from asian countries all end with an "ese" or something? Or maybe some rules within the name of the country?


title: When to use -Ites / Ians / Ish / An / Ni / Ese / Elsh / Er

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Are there any rules governing what we call people from different countries? I have some confusion regarding usage of suffixes such as _-ites_ / _-ians_ / _-ish_. For example: I have seen some people using the words Kerel _ite_ and Mumba _ites_ for people from Kerela (a state) and Mumbai (a city). Other examples:   * Ind _ians_ (where India is a country)   * Span _ish_ (Where Spain is again a country)   * Americ _an_   * Pakista _ni_   * Chin _ese_   * W _elsh_   * New York _er_ So on what basis do we decide what suffixes should be used, or is it very dependent on mood or environment?


title: Is there a rule to what ending you use when you construct the nationality adjective? Or where did the various endings come from?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Are there any rules governing what we call people from different countries? In the English language, you have several endings used when you construct an adjective out of the name of a nationality. For example, the nationality of Japan is Japanese while the nationality of Korea is Korean. Is there a grammar rule that decides what ending should be used? Or what did decide on what ending to use? And is the -nese ending connected to Polynesia somehow? As the -nese endings seem concentrated in that area?


title: Are Pounds Sterling referred to as squid (in addition to quid)

text: Commonly pounds are called _quid_ , but I've come across references to pounds as > _squid_ Is that a typo or actually a common usage? Example from Football forums: > It is believed they have offered them over a million **squid** to take on > the role and gave them till this morning to give them there decision. > Allardyce or O'niell ???.


title: When did the word cutlery first include spoons and forks?

text: In the comments in Where is the word "cutlery" in common usage this question came up with no obvious resolution. In British English today the word cutlery just refers to implements used for eating, such as knives, forks and spoons. However this is not the definition given in the OED (where the current entry still dates from 1893), nor is it the usage one can see using Google books from the 19th century. What is the first usage of cutlery in its modern meaning? If one needs more proof of the modern meaning, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutlery says "The major items of cutlery in the Western world are the knife, fork and spoon." and a web search will show no end of shops in the UK selling knives, forks and spoons as cutlery. * * * To try to hone in on a date, in 1939 cutlery apparently included spoons and forks even in the US. See http://bit.ly/1a0P1hZ . There is also a linguistic distinction between kitchen cutlery and table cutlery.


title: Why is 'unexpectedly' common but 'expectedly' not?

text: "unexpectedly" is common, but "expectedly" is not, whereas "predictably" (the synonym of expectedly) is common but "unpredictably" is not. Is there any rationale for this? See Ngram


title: What are the implications of "at my disposal"

text: I found myself using the phrase "[something] is at my disposal" as a way of indicating that a particular resource is available for my use. My question arises from the word disposal. It seems to imply that the resource is gone once it is used. As in, "I disposed of the trash". ~~Another use would be, "He was going to help me, but was already disposed". In that case, it seems to mean "otherwise occupied" or "not currently usable".~~ @mfe pointed out that this usage was incorrect. So I can say, "The tool is at my disposal". This naturally seems to mean that while I am using it, others probably can not. If I say, "The firewood is at my disposal". It would mean that I am able to permanently deplete the firewood by using it. So the question is, if I'm referring to a resource that can not be used up and a particular use of it does not prevent furtherer use (such as a concept in the mind), is it correct to say that it is "at my disposal" simply because I am able to use it? Its also possible that I'm confusing similar terms. Can anyone help me straighten this out.


title: What do you call a person who is easily replaced?

text: I was thinking "interchangeable", but isn't really used on people. How do you describe someone who is easily replaced by another person. The implied connotation is that they have no inherent qualities that make them more suitable for the job than any of their peers, it is just a matter of selecting one of them at random to do it. Example I wish to fill: > "I complained that I didn't want to be in the conference call so they had > Joe do it. Feels awesome." > > "Feels awesome to be [interchangeable]?"


title: What is the difference between "been" and "being"?

text: What is the difference between _been_ and _being_?


title: Is "not having...full time" partial negation or complete negation?

text: I got a bit confused by this sentence: "I’ve got used to not having a man around full time." I am not sure if it is partial negation or complete negation. Does this mean:   1. I've got used to occasionally having a man around, or;    2. I've got used to not having a man around at all? Thanks. Here is the context: > I’m a bit afraid of us being together all the time; he is full of vigour and > I’m a tired middle-aged woman. And besides I’ve got used to not having a man > around full time.


title: Is there a name for this kind of phrases?

text: I often times heard phrases like itty-bitty, nitty-gritty etc, the latter word followed part of the previous word's syllable(mostly ends with -y), I want to know the names for this kinds of phrases.


title: What does "my point being" mean?

text: I have heard someone say in a conversation, "Well, my point being,,,". As an English learner, I was puzzled but assumed that it was roughly the same as saying "My point is that..." or "Here's my point:" Even if my guess was right, the phrase strikes me as a bit odd. Can anyone elaborate on the meaning/usage/gramatical explanation of this phrase?


title: If "whenever possible" is in the middle of a sentence, does it need to be preceded by a comma?

text: The sentence in question is "We believe that the best way to think about the mentor-mentee relationship is to remember that whenever possible, all adults in a child's life should act as a team. It seems odd to add a comma before "whenever" as there's no pause intended, and I don't think the phrase, "whenever possible" is truly parenthetical, as without it, the goal isn't really achievable anymore.


title: What's the adjective to the word "sibling"

text: I'm looking for the adjective that goes with _sibling_. My sentence would be something like: > The [...] relationship. So the adjective would be used to denote that the relationship is one between siblings. A native speaker told me it was simply _sibling_ , however, I'm not convinced. I have tried googling for the answer, but it hasn't yielded any results as of yet. Unfortunately, my Oxford dictionary is having a sleepover at one of my fellow students.


title: What did Petrucci mean by the book title 'Wild Stringdom'?

text: His book name is "Wild Stringdom", I don't understand... — what is it? I'm from Russia and I speak English very bad. I want to translate this book for me into Russian.


title: When proper usage impedes communication

text: This question may be moderated as unanswerable, but I am interested in opinions. Take this scenario: Most people I know will improperly correct "The ball belongs to John and me." to "The ball belongs to John and I." The simple rule I was taught is that you remove the other party and see if the sentence makes sense. Would you say "The ball belongs to I?" No. "The ball belongs to me." Therefore, the correct wording is "The ball belongs to John and me." If I am giving a talk to a group of people and use the correct "John and me" construct, I will cause a good portion of my audience to lose focus as they mentally (improperly) correct my grammar. My question is this: If the purpose of language is communication, what do you do when proper grammar is a barrier to effective communication? Do you use the proper construct, causing over half the room to stop paying attention; do you use the improper construct that most accept and lose the respect of the more educated people in the room; or do you avoid the situation altogether by wording your thoughts such that you don't need to use the distracting construct at all?


title: Word for “decorated too much”

text: I'm looking for a word (verb) meaning decorate/embellish too much — in a bad sense — and in particular having the tint of being too much so that something instead of being beautiful becomes fussy and ugly.


title: Is this sentence correct: "She didn't have any book with her."

text: Is this sentence correct? "She didn't have any book with her."


title: What does "written out" mean?

text: What does _Her character was written out_ mean? > (My emphasis) > > On _That '70s Show,_ the veteran actress played the promiscuous elder sister > of Topher Grace's Eric Forman for five years. **Her character was written > out,** though Kelly returned for a few episodes in Season 5. Then, she was > replaced by Christina Moore in Season 6. I assumed a number of things but I can be sure to be wrong in each case. It doesn't make sense if it relates to writing down individual letters.


title: Meaning of "Blood, Fish and Bone"

text: For this text: > The weeds on the compost heap, I began feeding the shrubs with Blood, Fish > and Bone.---- I am wondering whether the "Blood, Fish and Bone" above indicates "the weeds" and "the compost heap" or not, or indicates something else? The context is : > And she'd reply, "I prefer to be called by my maiden name, from now on." > > The weeds on the compost heap, I began feeding the shrubs with Blood, Fish > and Bone. Three miles away Patrick Beeman would be working down a list of > bullet points with Lorna: General Procedure, Custody, Money, House, > Pensions, Miscellaneous, Standard Fees. * * * Excerpted from David Mitchell's novel "The Massive Rat": http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/aug/01/david-mitchell-short-story-rat * * * [Edit, following comments received:   I now think the narrator used the _Blood, Fish and Bone_ to feed the shrubs.   It seems I have to learn something about the gardening...]


title: Which is the correct word to use here: "consensus" or "majority"?

text: I was just told that: > What you call a consensus isn't a consensus, but a majority. He implied that it was not a consensus because a few disagreed with the decision made. From my understanding, consensus does not require unanimity. For example, when we talk about a scientific consensus, there might be a few dissenters, but not many. Is that correct?


title: Stack of Paper vs. Stack of Papers

text: I question the usage of "stack of paper" vs. "stack of papers". I purchase a ream of paper, and set it on a desk. In that process, does it change from a ream of paper to a stack of papers - changing from a singular word to a plural? In both cases it is still 500 sheets of paper. When is it proper to use stack of paper vs. stack of papers? A stack of bricks is always plural isn't it?


title: what does "early next week" means when said on Sunday?

text: I just received an email from my boss on Sunday afternoon saying that "please submit your work early next week". Does this mean the Monday or Tuesday of the coming week or the Monday or Tuesday of the week after. I appreciate your help. Thanks


title: I’ve an Italian degree in “engineering informatics”, so I am a what?

text: I studied Engineering Informatics in Italy, and I always have difficulty when trying to define my title (in several contexts, e.g. In my researchgate account, as well as in the subscription form to some conferences where they ask for your title or position). I read What is the difference between "Computer science" and "Informatics"?, "IT specialist" vs. "computer scientist" and What is the difference between "Computer science" and "Informatics"?, because I usually define myself as a "computer scientist", which I feel is wrong. What would be the correct job title for somebody who has studied, like me, Engineering Informatics? Would _Informatic Engineer_ work? **\----- UPDATE 1 ------** To be more precise, I studied "ingegneria informatica" which wikipedia refers to (in english) as "Computer engineering" After some digging, after discussion with university colleagues, and also reading what is reported on the italian "ingegneria informatica" wikipedia page, I discovered my title is equivalent to a Master in Computer Science AND to a Master in Engineering. I suppose then that "Computer Scientist Engineer" is the title which match bettter than the others. Does it sounds reasonable?


title: Is this phrase gramatically correct? [sb] found [sb]to not only have a [] but able to [] due to [] and []

text: For example: [Amy] found [Bob] to not only have a [good sense of humour] but able to [do other impressive things] due to [Bob's personality] and [wealth] The above is just a random example where I filled in the blanks. The structure I wanted to ask if it was grammatically correct is in the title. See, I'm a native speaker of English and I used this structure in passing when writing to a friend (ESL learner) who says I'm wrong to use it like that, whereas I think it sounds right, but can't explain why. Help pls? Thx guys.


title: "As did I" vs "So did I"

text: Which is the (more) correct response? > Me - "We have more tweaks for the ABC job" > > Other - "Really? I thought we'd completed that job!" > > Me - "As did I / So did I" Thank you for any suggestions you can offer.


title: "Now I am" vs. "I am now"

text: Which is more correct? > Now I am the main stakeholder... or > I am now the main stakeholder... Do the intonations imply different meanings?


title: What is a "Mexican Ultimatum"?

text: This is a term I read recently, but I didn't understand what it meant. I can't remember the exact context except that it had nothing whatever to do with Mexico. Edit: ElendilTheTall suggests this might be "Mexican Standoff". Which it could be, I suppose. So could anyone explain what either of these things are?


title: Timepoint vs. time point

text: When speaking of a point in time, what would be the proper usage: "Timepoint" vs. "Time point"? This funny confusion comes from my life as a programmer: While one of our style checkers enforces "timepoint" instead of "time point", another style checker contradicts that and prefers "time point" over "timepoint"...


title: Is "would" the past future tense of "will" or just a modal verb?

text: What's the difference: >   * Would you give me some advice? >   * Will you give me some advices? >


title: ”Demand in/on/for something”

text: I am not sure whether to use _in_ , _on_ , or _for_ after the word _demand_ in the following sentence: > The continuing demand on high-quality software that is reusable and easy to > maintain and modify after it has been released was a driving force > throughout the 1980’s How should one deal with this _demand in/on/for_ issue in general?


title: Dinky cars (toy cars)

text: I came across this term while proofreading an unpublished poem by an Irish poet. The context is not important so I'll just say that it is clear that it means “toy cars”. I Googled the term and see that it refers to a brand-name of die-cast toy car made by the British company Meccano starting in 1931, but, as far as I can tell, petering out in the early 1970s. Is this a term that’s generally recognized, today, on both sides of the Atlantic? If I said “that’s a _dinky car_ ” in the US to an 18-year-old, would they understand? Or would the term only be understood by an older person (I’m Canadian and in my 40s, so I'm guessing older than me)? Would it only be understood in the UK/Ireland (/Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, etc.)? In other words: 1\. Is the term recognizable to a younger person? If so, in which countries?   2\. Is the term recognizable to a North American? If so, of what ages? And finally: 3\. Is there a term for a toy car (other than _toy car_ ) that _is_ widely recognized by English speakers of different ages and from different countries?


title: 'makes' or 'make' for this sentence

text: Which sentence is grammatically correct? > What are the elements in the poem that make it joyful. or > What are the elements in the poem that makes it joyful.


title: Are these sentences grammatically correct?

text: >   1. He is standing **at** the gate. >   2. He is standing **among** the crowded place. > If both are wrong what is the right usage?


title: Should "anymore" only be used in a negative statement or question?

text: I don't know why this is so, but I've always believed that the word _anymore_ should only be used in a question or negative statement. > Do you go there anymore?   >  Don't do that anymore. But I often hear people use it in a declarative sentence, such as > Anymore, I eat pizza with pepperoni. To me this is just wrong. Am I wrong?


title: Is there a word that means "structure and function"?

text: "Structure and function" is a fairly common pairing of words used in structural biology; is there some word that means the same as the both? I've taken to using "anatomy and physiology"--"structure and function" applied to the macroscopic--but I feel that it requires some poetic license.


title: "Who" versus "whom" with multiple verbs

text: Which of these phrases is more correct? > The man **who** I know to be unhappy > > The man **whom** I know to be unhappy Is one of the verbs in the phrase more important, thus determining the noun case, or is something else happening with the particular combination of verbs? ( _The man whom I know_ is valid but _the man to be unhappy_ isn't; the tense must be specified as in _the man who is unhappy_.)


title: I need an adjective to precede the word "commitment"

text: I'm looking for an adjective that has a close meaning to _strong_ , _undying_ , _relentless_... > the school’s **__** commitment to bring change. I'm writing a personal statement for a school.


title: Word meaning the opposite of "belated"

text: If you say "happy birthday" a day late, it's a "belated happy birthday". What about when you say it one day early? Is there a single word fitting this definition?


title: Term for useful unreproducible keyboard shortcut

text: Is there a expression that describes the situation where you accidentally hit some combination of keys in a software application, and you discover that it triggers some useful keyboard shortcut that you didn't know about, but you don't know what the exact key combination was, and you aren't able to reproduce it?


title: "Enormity" in figurative sense

text: The word _enormity_ is widely used to mean _excess of size_ , but if somebody talks about the _enormity of his achievements_ he would look foolish. Why is that so? Does it depend on the tone used, or are there deep linguistic reasons?