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:
I'm a little bit confused with the following phrase. I was reading an article about concurrency in Java and there was a sentence saying: It is worth noting that both unlockRead() and unlockWrite() calls notifyAll() rather than notify(). This phrase seemed quite strange to me. What does it mean?.

Ex Output:
'It is worth noting that' simply means 'here's something, which you should remember:' or 'here's something you should pay attention to:' or 'here's something that is worth reading and remembering:' It's that simple. Regarding (1), there is no connection at all to 'apropos' or 'besides...' Regarding (2), it always means exactly the same thing. It simply means 'Here's an interesting point:' (There is utterly no connection in any way to 'useless' or 'costs nothing'.) It is worth noting that, the ELL site exists for basic questions about the meanings of phrases.

Ex Input:
Is there a word that describes a person who spreads others' secrets without their permission?.

Ex Output:
'gossiper' fits perfectly. (not specific for secrets, though) a person given to gossiping and divulging personal information about others - TFD 'yenta' is a slang word for a person, especially a woman, who is considered to be meddlesome or gossipy. a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others. e.g. 'the couple's loud quarrel had the building's yentas yapping for a week.' MW related words: blab, gossip, gossipmonger, newsmonger, rumormonger, scandalmonger, tabby, talebearer, taleteller, tattle, tattler, tattletale, telltale, whisperer.

Ex Input:
Possible Duplicate: Is a company always plural, or are small companies singular? When I'm referring to a group of multiple things, should it be considered singular or plural for the purposes of applying a verb to it? For example, which is correct in the examples below? A sentence is a group of words that is followed by a period. A sentence is a group of words that are followed by a period. The group of people constitutes a jury. The group of people constitute a jury. A group of crows is called a 'murder'. A group of crows are called a 'murder'. My instinct is that it depends on whether the verb is referncing the group itself or the members of the group directly, but is that right?.

Ex Output:
According to the OALD, group can actually serve as either a plural or singular noun. The category they give is 'countable + singular or plural verb'. So, an example of correct use is: A group of us is/are going to the theatre this evening. For any of your examples, both is and are can be used. I think the difference between them is as you say: use is when you are referring to the group, and use are when you are referring to the members of a given group. This page on when to use 'group' as plural from Washington State University backs this up, saying: When the group is being considered as a whole, it can be treated as a single entity: 'the group was ready to go on stage.' But when the individuality of its members is being emphasized, 'group' is plural: 'the group were in disagreement about where to go for dinner.' To analyze your given examples, here are some notes: A sentence is a group of words that is followed by a period. Use this form if you're talking about the group itself. That is, a sentence is a group of words followed by a period. A sentence is a group of words that are followed by a period. This implies that 'This. Is. A. Sentence' is a sentence. The group of people constitutes a jury. The group of people constitute a jury. This would be more correct, since you are describing the nature of the group. A group of crows is called a 'murder'. This would be correct, since you're again describing an entire group. A group of crows are called a 'murder'.