Generate the answer for a given question. The question requires common knowledge of English. Make sure that the answer is in detail, long, consistent with the context, and requires general knowledge of English. To be less repetitive, please vary your language for each question. Give a proper explanation to answer, and if necessary, provide the definition of various terms. And conclude your answer if it's long. If you have used other resources (e.g., Merriam Webster's.) to answer the question, include citations in your answer. You don't need to paraphrase the context of your resources, but make sure that your answer is consistent and complete.

Ex Input:
This question, 'Discrete Units of a Continuous Quantity', asks whether units of a continuous quantity should be spoken of as discrete or continuous. The top answer states The rule is simple, and you obviously know it: discrete quantities require the use of 'fewer' and continuous quantities require the use of 'less'. Calorie, as a unit, requires the use of 'fewer'. Energy, as a continuum, requires the use of 'less'. 'Fewer calories means less energy.' I do not understand the logic here though. Calorie is a unit, yes, but it is a continuous unit (it is possible to have half a calorie, or 4.582394 calories). Since a calorie is such a small unit of energy compared to what it is usually used for (food energy and human metabolism), it is very seldom expressed in a fractional form and instead is rounded (usually to the nearest 10 or higher). Why then should 'fewer' be used with calorie instead of 'less'? Is there another relevant rule than just 'continuous quantities use 'less' and discrete quantities use 'fewer'?.

Ex Output:
Divisibility does not mean something is not countable or that it isn't a discrete unit, requiring use of 'fewer'. A calorie is not 'energy' it is a 'unit of energy', and therefore, countable and discrete, even though it's divisible. It's divisible into further discrete units - half a calorie, in this case, is still a discrete unit. Using another example, you would have 'fewer' jars of peanut butter, even though someone might have eaten half of the peanut butter in some of the jars. You could even cut the entire jar in half, none of that matters, you still have fewer jars. And you also have less peanut butter, in the same way that fewer calories means less energy. The calorie corresponds to the jar, not to the peanut butter (that would correspond to the energy the calorie measures). It doesn't matter that there is 'less' peanut butter in some jars than in others any more than it would matter if some of the jars were a gallon in size, and some were just single-use jars with two tablespoons of peanut butter inside. Put another way, your 'half a calorie' is still a unit, and thus, you'd still say 'fewer calories'.


Ex Input:
As per title of the question, I see this a lot. 'We will release the product when issue 51 has been finalized.' 'We are waiting for it to be finalized.' Is this just a case of people trying to sound professional with corporate jargon , or is there a real difference between 'finish' and 'finalize'?.

Ex Output:
The definitions of finalise and finish are pretty similar, with finalise referring to the production of, or agreement on, the finished version. The single word finalise carries the connotation of just the last bit, whereas finish needs helper words to carry that connotation (e.g. finish off, finish up). Saying that something is finished can also carry the unwanted sense that it is done for, that is, that it is of no further use; finalise doesn't carry that unwanted sense. In commerce (including the fields of software engineering and management that you specifically referenced), completion isn't always enough. The customer wants confirmation of completion. Transacting parties want the signed agreement that follows the completion of negotiations, or the invoicing and payment that follow the completion of work. So it isn't enough that the work is finished (even in the positive sense); it needs to be finalised.


Ex Input:
I have been using the term ofcourse ever since kindergarten. However, I recently stumbled upon a site that claims of course is how the term is correctly used and not ofcourse. I would like to seek the community's opinion about which is the correct usage of that term.

Ex Output:

I'm not sure what novels you are referring to, but ofcourse is a typo. Wiktionary doesn't have an entry for it, and neither does Merriam-Webster or any dictionary I have checked. Here are the usage stats from the British National Corpus and the Corpus of Contemporary American English: BNC COCA of course 29651 100939 ofcourse 1 12