Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange |
- Why does Tucker Carlson (an American) say "A man called" rather than "A man named"?
- In American English, shouldn't "gotten" be used as a part participle?
- Is it true that it's OK to omit the pluperfect (past-perfect) in casual speech?
- Adverbs of frequency
- Is there a standard way to pronounce latin words in English?
- Capitalisation when using 'the word x'
- Is it correct to say "why you pick us" in a sentence?
- "Nothing changes unless we make it" – is there anything grammatically incorrect about this line?
- Is there a difference between 'They all had done something' and 'They had all done something'?
- Where does Cloth-Head come from?
- How can I keep away from latinate? [closed]
- Multiple Numbers Comparison with "times in"
- What is the basis for calling HOME a preposition?
- Strategy of levelling/heights
- Singular/plural juxtaposition ? ("... was remarks ...")
- Can we say "I am looking forward to being a doctor", or is that wrong?
- What do you call someone who studies letters?
- I can't pinpoint what's exactly wrong with this corporate mission, but it feels really incorrect
- What is the true etymology of "algebra"?
- What semantic meaning does the copula 'be' have in its specifying use?
- Different name for the strip of holey paper from a spiral notebook
- Grouping of "or" and "along with"
- "A decreases with B"
- I need a word for things not going your way
- All had taken or had all taken
- "Popular with" vs "Popular among"
| Why does Tucker Carlson (an American) say "A man called" rather than "A man named"? Posted: 24 Mar 2021 10:34 AM PDT Tucker Carlson in an American FOX news anchor. He's from San Francisco CA originally. However he constantly uses the non-American (British) expression A man called... rather than A man named... What could explain this? Example: https://youtu.be/mi-_VqYODLw?t=292  |
| In American English, shouldn't "gotten" be used as a part participle? Posted: 24 Mar 2021 10:24 AM PDT I live in the US. I sometimes hear some Americans say
This sounds wrong to me; in American English (unlike British English) one would say
You would only use "have got" as in the expression "to have," e.g. I've got a few seconds, but not in the past-participle form, which is a key difference from British English. Am I correct?  |
| Is it true that it's OK to omit the pluperfect (past-perfect) in casual speech? Posted: 24 Mar 2021 10:19 AM PDT The pluperfect is used to indicate what is relatively earlier than the compared clause. But in conversation I hear people omit it all the time. Examples:
vs.
Or,
vs.
If I were writing something I would take care to include the pluperfect, but in conversation I often don't have time to do the comparison. It seems to be omitted a lot by people. Am I correct in this perception?  |
| Posted: 24 Mar 2021 09:52 AM PDT Can 'lifting up and down twice' mean:
 |
| Is there a standard way to pronounce latin words in English? Posted: 24 Mar 2021 09:44 AM PDT Is there a standard or common way of pronouncing Latin words such as the names of plants? For example, "Iris virginica". There are websites such as YouTube which provides various sample audios (presumably from volunteers). But I am just wondering if there are general rules, e.g. where to place the emphasis and about how character combinations like  |
| Capitalisation when using 'the word x' Posted: 24 Mar 2021 09:43 AM PDT So when I write a sentence like for example:
should the word be capitalised or not ? It seems logical not to capitalise because in this sense it's not talking about the Europe but just the word.  |
| Is it correct to say "why you pick us" in a sentence? Posted: 24 Mar 2021 07:33 AM PDT As titled, Actually, we always use this sentence in a way like:
rather than in a question sentence, but what I am wondering is whether it's correct to use a sentence like the above one in American or British English? Or we must use the complete sentence like
 |
| "Nothing changes unless we make it" – is there anything grammatically incorrect about this line? Posted: 24 Mar 2021 05:57 AM PDT I work in advertising and want to use the line "Nothing changes unless we make it" as a call to action, but a stakeholder says it doesn't make sense grammatically. I can't see anything wrong with it. Can you?  |
| Is there a difference between 'They all had done something' and 'They had all done something'? Posted: 24 Mar 2021 08:45 AM PDT So, I preparing for this test and one of the questions is this. Why is this sentence structure wrong?  |
| Where does Cloth-Head come from? Posted: 24 Mar 2021 08:42 AM PDT I've just come across the pejorative term Cloth Head, and beyond pure speculation here on WordReference.com Language Forums that it's related to the term clot head.
But 'Cloth Head' seems to outweigh all other formulations in these Google ngrams, however that doesn't negate when cloth head is not used pejoratively. So although that seems to be the original term, I then searched on 'clot(h)headed variants. The google ngram is here. Clothheaded still prevails, making me think that is the original, but I cannot find an original use that gives an etymology.  |
| How can I keep away from latinate? [closed] Posted: 24 Mar 2021 06:05 AM PDT Friends, Help me keep away from latinate when I write. Show me lists that let me trade latinate words for older, better words. Thanks! P.S. I know about this, but it's too short. A bodily book I can buy and hold would be best.  |
| Multiple Numbers Comparison with "times in" Posted: 24 Mar 2021 03:37 AM PDT Dear potential resolvers, I'm currently stuck with this enigma: "Distance between last two pelvic-fin rays 2.7-4.0 times in body width at pelvic-fin origin" The "times in" part makes me confuse. Does this mean the distance between last two pelvic-fin rays equal 2.7-4.0 times the width of body at pelvic-fin origin, OR it means that the body width at pelvic-fin origin is equal 2.7-4.0 times the distance between last two pelvic-fin rays? If it is the former, then why bother put "in" in there? The same problem is also for the following: "Snout length 1.9-2.1 times in head length". I do hope my inquiry get resolve soon! Sincerely, TNLK  |
| What is the basis for calling HOME a preposition? Posted: 24 Mar 2021 10:17 AM PDT I have gone through many a post here and elsewhere that treats home in such sentences as
prepositions. Admittedly, this is a fairly new perspective of looking at the POS, thanks largely to Otto Jespersen. However, beyond a smattering of information about this new approach to classify the POS, nothing more is to be found anywhere on the internet. Maybe, I can't zero in on the right information. My question then is what makes home a special word that we treat it, and not other such words (say, factory, store, shop, etc.), as a preposition? Could it be that such sentences as above became idiomatic through word of mouth and forced a novel classification of home? And how does this change the definition of a preposition, which traditional grammar defines as: A word that shows in what relation a noun or a pronoun stands to other elements of a clause or a sentence.  |
| Posted: 24 Mar 2021 03:23 AM PDT Please I´d like to know what is the meaning of "Strategy of levelling/heights" in the airport construction context. Thank you  |
| Singular/plural juxtaposition ? ("... was remarks ...") Posted: 24 Mar 2021 03:08 AM PDT There are many questions here on singular and plural controversies and one thing I have noticed is that many of these apparent contradictions are resolvable by grammar. However, sometimes, the ear (that is to say, in reading, the eye and the mind) find the juxtaposition of singular and plural unacceptable even if 'grammar' is satisfied.
This is Laura Kuenssberg on Boris Johnson's 'pharma greed' remarks which remarks Mr Johnson immediately withdrew as irrelevant to the question of 'political vaccine controversy'. Laura Kuenssberg is the Political Editor of the BBC and one of the leaders in expressing contemporary British English. Yet, even from such a reliable and respected source, 'was remarks' sounds wrong (to my own ear) because of the juxtaposition of a singular and a plural, albeit that 'grammar' says it should be so. 'What has got' is singular. But 'remarks' is plural. What is thought about this ? Does this seem, conceptually, wrong ? And, if so, should 'grammar' bow to the conceptual instinct ? The sentence can be re-worded :
 |
| Can we say "I am looking forward to being a doctor", or is that wrong? Posted: 24 Mar 2021 03:29 AM PDT Can we say "I am looking forward to being a doctor", or is it wrong like this?  |
| What do you call someone who studies letters? Posted: 24 Mar 2021 06:25 AM PDT I recently asked a question for nouns pertaining to people who write letters. But is there a word to call someone who studies letters (academically)?  |
| I can't pinpoint what's exactly wrong with this corporate mission, but it feels really incorrect Posted: 24 Mar 2021 09:42 AM PDT I am currently looking over a local small-time company's corporate mission, and I can't figure out what exactly is wrong with it or how to fix it but it doesn't feel right. Would appreciate thoughts! Also - would this be considered a vision or a mission? What makes each?
 |
| What is the true etymology of "algebra"? Posted: 24 Mar 2021 09:56 AM PDT This is more of a question for Arabic stack exchange if there was such a thing, but anyways: The OED suggests as the etymology of the term "algebra"
However, more likely etymology seems to be Proto-Semitic * gabr- "strong man" (or related word) > Arabic jabara "force, compel" > "set [broken bones]" > "reunite broken parts, restore [anything which is missing, lost, out of place, or lacking]" > Arabic al-jabr "the reunion of broken parts, the restoration [of anything which is missing, lost, out of place, or lacking]" > ... Is there any clear answer on which is correct? I.e., was the meaning of restoration or the meaning of setting and reuniting broken bones more basic?  |
| What semantic meaning does the copula 'be' have in its specifying use? Posted: 24 Mar 2021 09:10 AM PDT The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (Page 252) says:
The copula be (is) of Kim is fond of animals is in the ascriptive use in that it ascribes to Kim the property of being fond of animals. By contrast, in The chief culprit was Kim, the copula be (was) is in the specifying use in that it specifies who the chief culprit was. In the above excerpt, CGEL seems to be saying that the copula be in the ascriptive use has no meaning ("semantically empty") whereas that in the specifying use does have some meaning ("does express a semantic predicate"). Assuming this is what CGEL is saying, what semantic meaning does the copula be have in its specifying use (that the ascriptive be doesn't have)?  |
| Different name for the strip of holey paper from a spiral notebook Posted: 24 Mar 2021 06:37 AM PDT When students rip out papers from a spiral notebook, the edge has a row of little holes. Unlike when I was young, these pages have perforations running down the right side so that the strips can be easily removed, making the paper much neater. I taught at university my whole career and we called these annoying strips "shitlets." And it was my (and others') policy that submitted work was to have the shitlets removed. "Homework with shitlets attached will be returned ungraded. And if I find shitlets outside my door and your homework shoved under it, then I'm just going to shove it back." In my retirement, I've picked up a part-time job teaching math at a little Christian school. I want to have the same policy, but I'm pretty sure that "shitlet" is on the list of words I shouldn't use in the classroom. So is there another word for shitlets? Preferably one that is disparaging? If not, would it be too far off topic to have a contest on this list to coin a Puritan-friendly yet derogatory term for them? I'd be happy to post a bounty.  |
| Grouping of "or" and "along with" Posted: 24 Mar 2021 03:04 AM PDT I was confronted with the following sentence
and wonder, if the options for me are
or this:
Is this obvious to the native English reader? And if so, why? It is not obvious to some non-natives including myself.  |
| Posted: 24 Mar 2021 06:20 AM PDT I encountered today in a text this sentence: "We found a decline in colonization with isolation." Does it means that colonization declines when isolation increases? or when it decreases?  |
| I need a word for things not going your way Posted: 24 Mar 2021 05:03 AM PDT I need a word for things not happening the way someone would want it to. For example, if you're at the ice cream parlor buying some icecream but they don't have vanilla, your favorite flavor, you would have to buy chocolate. Generic example aside, is there even a word for life not going your way? (One-two word answer, not a phrase)  |
| All had taken or had all taken Posted: 24 Mar 2021 04:30 AM PDT The players all had taken a card The players had all taken a card Please can you explain the meaning of above sentences and why changing the position of "all"? These sentences, I have taken from Rodney huddlestion's, Cambridge university book, page - 102 verb chapter 3  |
| "Popular with" vs "Popular among" Posted: 24 Mar 2021 02:29 AM PDT
Which usage is correct here and why?  |
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