Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange |
- Why does it take so much time to have a word to become a closed compound?
- A word for both surrounding gasses and liquids (or absence of)?
- Can abbreviations be used as stand-alone adjectives when the abbreviated term couldn't?
- What is the meaning of "right back over my hill" in a poetic context?
- indicative vs subjunctive in terms of conveying meaning
- Explain the differences between worship and obeisance
- Under what circumstances may the noun 'ambush' not be preceded by any article?
- when the result is unknown for a past counterfactual situation
- "We've determined that you have" or "We've determined you have" - and why?
- Whole paragraph meaning!
- Do the words "mommy and daddy" in the following paragraph need to be in plural?
- The uses of 'very' as an emphatic word [duplicate]
- How can you describe the action of lighting a cigarette for someone?
- Uniqueness of tense suffix *ood in Stood
- What is the name of the poetic device where the author creates neogisms/malaprops to complete the rhyme?
- Is there an adjective for deer-like?
- “I don’t mind getting to know you more.”
- What does this mean? 1 [closed]
- What does "the folds of every garment would have the inevitability and definitiveness of syllogisms carved in porphyry" mean? [closed]
- Expound and simplify the "semantic progression" behind "must" (the modal)
- Fewer/less than a dozen (people)
- What does "Reverts to type in" means?
- Why are there multiple verbs in this sentence?
- How negative is "skip school?" Could a student use it when addressing a teacher, in a neutral sense?
- Appropriate Use of Being
- Sentence starts with "WITH"
- "A decreases with B"
- Modern use of "I should think" vs. "I would think" in speech
- Can last names be shortened just as first names?
| Why does it take so much time to have a word to become a closed compound? Posted: 26 Mar 2021 09:54 AM PDT As a a non native English speaker: Why you can not directly just add words together so like that slow motion would be slowmotion? What I mean what is bad in that and what is it that takes a quite as long time to adapt such expression as a compound word? I have understood that it happens but it - again - takes a long time and.  |
| A word for both surrounding gasses and liquids (or absence of)? Posted: 26 Mar 2021 09:47 AM PDT The gasses that surround us are called "atmosphere." Planets without air can still have an unbreathable atmosphere. In space there is no atmosphere, so what surrounds a person is called "space" or "vacuum." Underwater is not called an atmosphere either because it's liquid instead of gas. What I'm searching for is a word that means "the molecules directly outside our bodies." Whether they are gas, liquid, breathable, or extremely sparse/non-existent.  |
| Can abbreviations be used as stand-alone adjectives when the abbreviated term couldn't? Posted: 26 Mar 2021 09:16 AM PDT
ESL stands for "English as a second language". In the above sentence, it is being used as a stand-alone adjective, but I'm not sure if that makes sense. The term would not work as an adjective if it wasn't abbreviated, as in:
You can be English as a second language, that's absurd. However, ESL is used like an adjective (or a modifier, I'm not quite sure on the terminology), in cases like ESL writer or ESL speaker. If it modifying the noun, and modifiers are usually adjectives or adverbs. Because of that, it seems that perhaps it would be correct to use this abbreviation as a stand-alone adjective in the example sentence. Or is this ungrammatical?  |
| What is the meaning of "right back over my hill" in a poetic context? Posted: 26 Mar 2021 09:13 AM PDT
What is the meaning of right back over my hill?  |
| indicative vs subjunctive in terms of conveying meaning Posted: 26 Mar 2021 07:55 AM PDT In A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (page 156), the book gives these examples for WERE-SUBJUNCTIVE (for showing the structural differences between indicative vs subjunctive constructions):
Later the book describes the were-subjunctive as:
As I said, I know the structural properties of subjunctive constructions but I wonder what a native speaker of English language grasps/understands when hearing/reading those above mentioned examples (in terms of meaning)  |
| Explain the differences between worship and obeisance Posted: 26 Mar 2021 07:36 AM PDT In English is there a substantive difference between the words obeisance and worship? In biblical Greek the word translated worship can mean adoration toward deity or respectful bowing toward another person like a curtsy or ceremonial bow. Yet in English we rarely if ever would use worship in the context of genuflection toward a fellow human. Instead we might use the word obeisance. Are the words worship and obeisance interchangeable in English? Explain why or why not.  |
| Under what circumstances may the noun 'ambush' not be preceded by any article? Posted: 26 Mar 2021 05:46 AM PDT In particular, I wish to know if they were attacked from ambush and they were attacked from an ambush are equally in fashion. The articled form is is definitely more familiar, but look at the first definition in https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/waylay . Might one say that the unarticled usage is passé ? Please cite current usage examples if you can.  |
| when the result is unknown for a past counterfactual situation Posted: 26 Mar 2021 05:43 AM PDT We normally use the third conditional for describing past counterfactual situations. We use it when we're sure about the occurrence or non-occurrence of both the condition and the result clause (more precisely, what is said in them). For example:
But there are contexts where a) we know about the occurrence/non-occurrence of the condition clause but do not know about the occurrence/non-occurrence of the result clause, b) we do not know about the occurrence/non-occurrence of the condition clause but we do know about the occurrence/non-occurrence of the result clause, c) we do not know about the occurrence/non-occurrence of the condition clause neither do we know about the occurrence/non-occurrence of the result clause. Here, in this thread, I'm interested in situation(a) only. Consider the following, please: Person A: My brother was supposed to appear for an interview at 8am, and now it's 10. One of his friends called just a few minutes ago to inform me that he didn't get the job, and I don't know if he's been sad for that.
Again, consider this, please: Person A: My brother's interview was at 10am, and now it's 11. He left the house at 9:30am. I don't know if he was on time for the interview or not. But, I'm sure
Another example: Person A: My sister appeared for an exam a month ago, and I'm sure she'd not studied for the exam at all. X: The exam results came out just an hour ago. I don't know her results yet. But, I'm sure
Y: The exam results are not out yet. But, I'm sure
And I could go on and on. Q: Are sentences (3), (4), (5), (6) and (7) correct?  |
| "We've determined that you have" or "We've determined you have" - and why? Posted: 26 Mar 2021 07:39 AM PDT Apologies if this is an existing question. I am not familiar with the terminology required to tag this appropriately or come up with keywords for the search. Something along the lines of accusative case or what have you. Perhaps this is a simple case of style. Take these two sentences;
and
Which is the correct structure, and why?  |
| Posted: 26 Mar 2021 05:42 AM PDT I don't understand this paragtaph from an old book at all! please enlighten me "With that in mind, when he comes back tomorrow to go discuss—the agenda, I intend to have him meet with the staff with perhaps an intervening summons for him to come visit with me to try to set some specific milestones for moving ahead."  |
| Do the words "mommy and daddy" in the following paragraph need to be in plural? Posted: 26 Mar 2021 09:07 AM PDT
I feel like if not in the plural, "mommy and daddy" would imply all those girls share the same parents.  |
| The uses of 'very' as an emphatic word [duplicate] Posted: 26 Mar 2021 08:49 AM PDT I have found a sentence in a text in which the word 'very' works as an emphatic word. The sentence is: "These very habits should be formed in student life." The word 'very' emphasizes the noun 'habits' here. I have found this types of emphasizing first. So, I don't know so much about it. Please someone make me understand how 'very' works as an emphatic word. When, where and how can I use it in sentences? Please make me clear about it.  |
| How can you describe the action of lighting a cigarette for someone? Posted: 26 Mar 2021 05:32 AM PDT In Spanish, we often use "to offer someone a light" referring to someone who hands a lighter or match to another. Can it be used in American English? Or is there some other way to describe that action? Thanks in advance  |
| Uniqueness of tense suffix *ood in Stood Posted: 26 Mar 2021 06:54 AM PDT Searching https://visca.com/regexdict/ for verbs like ".*and$" (ending in a n d), revealed some, but only those with the root "stand" have a past tense ending in o o d. Looking for verbs unrelated to "stand" that end in o o d revealed only "snood", which seems like it was a noun that got verbed in the present tense. Is there something about the origin of "stand" which gave it this unique past tense suffix? And why don't other verbs have it?  |
| Posted: 26 Mar 2021 05:21 AM PDT I just learned about slant rhyming where you use a distorted not quite rhyme. Emily Dickinson is noted or these. (I personally don't like these, as they distract. Much like trying to make a pun on Polish the nationality and polish to make shiny just because they are spelled the same way.) But on the flip side, here are a few that go the other way. Forcing the rhyme to work by changing the word. Ogden Nash:
Bennett Cerf and the extended abbreviation. Or you can just mangle the spelling to enforce the rhyme. What is this called?  |
| Is there an adjective for deer-like? Posted: 26 Mar 2021 09:23 AM PDT "Canine" is for dog, "Porcine" for pig, "Equine" for horse. Is there an adjective for deer-like?  |
| “I don’t mind getting to know you more.” Posted: 26 Mar 2021 09:17 AM PDT A friend of mine told me
What does it mean? Does she want to know me better or doesn't she care?  |
| What does this mean? 1 [closed] Posted: 26 Mar 2021 08:13 AM PDT According to the gradualist viewpoint, dubbed phyletic gradualism, the origin of novel features, such as the vertebrate eye, can be explained as having arisen from numerous, tiny, imperceptible steps, with each step being advantageous and developed by natural selection  |
| Posted: 26 Mar 2021 06:36 AM PDT This is a paragraph in Huxley's novel Ape and Essence, talking about a painting by Piero Della Francesca:
What does he mean by: "the folds of every garment would have the inevitability and definitiveness of syllogisms carved in porphyry" in this passage?  |
| Expound and simplify the "semantic progression" behind "must" (the modal) Posted: 26 Mar 2021 09:55 AM PDT I don't understand the "semantic progression" suggested below by Ayto. The steps in the "semantic progression" feel farfetched and unconnected to me. Can someone please fill in, and elaborate, the steps?
Word Origins (2005 2e) by John Ayto. p 343 Left column. The following are my attempts to explain the etymological steps involved: 1 → 2. If you've measured out time for doing something, then you definitely have time to do something. Correct? 2 → 3. Just because you have time to do something, doesn't mean you are able to do something. Theoretically wealthy retirees have time to learn Algebraic Geometry, but perhaps they're innumerate, senile, and incapable of learning the math. 3 → 4. Just because you're able to do something, doesn't mean you're allowed to do something. Most physicians know how to assist patients with euthanasia, but medically assisted suicide is illegal in many countries. 4 → 5. Just because you're allowed to do something, doesn't mean you HAVE to do it! Every adult is allowed to reproduce 20 kids, but you don't HAVE to!  |
| Fewer/less than a dozen (people) Posted: 26 Mar 2021 09:02 AM PDT
A dozen is semantically plural ("twelve") yet it is grammatically singular, so which form is correct fewer/less than a dozen? Secondly, what about Fewer/less than a dozen people?
 |
| What does "Reverts to type in" means? Posted: 26 Mar 2021 07:01 AM PDT What does "Reverts to type in" means in this headline: "Donald Trump reverts to type in debate – and it isn't 'magnificently brilliant"  |
| Why are there multiple verbs in this sentence? Posted: 26 Mar 2021 09:03 AM PDT
This is from Harry Potter. I think "have", "sleep" and "spend" are verbs in this sentence, while I don't understand how does "sleep" exists here as a verb without a conjunction? I guess that means it's also not a participle.  |
| How negative is "skip school?" Could a student use it when addressing a teacher, in a neutral sense? Posted: 26 Mar 2021 08:03 AM PDT I told my EFL students that in general, "skip school/a lesson/class" has a negative connotation. So, when speaking to a teacher, a student should say "I can't come to class tomorrow" rather than "I'm going to skip class tomorrow." But it then occurred to me that "skip school" may be neutral in some contexts. It's been a long time since I was a student, and I'm not sure I can trust my intuition. Would the following sentences be socially acceptable, or odd/impolite?
For additional context, this question came up when reading an article like this one from the BBC, titled "Swedish teen Greta Thunberg skips school for climate protest." https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-45439003  |
| Posted: 26 Mar 2021 06:03 AM PDT Please have a look on this paragraph "There were some residential quarters in the elevated land area being occupied by government employee. The surrounding was bushy having some trees and commonly inaccessible to the area. One day, a person could notice some skeletal remains lying on the ground under a tree and reported to the police. On having the information, the police and forensic team visited the spot. The spot was almost undisturbed and as per statement of the informer, skull and some bones were found lying under the tree at one place on the ground. On further search, a pair of plastic slipper was kept near the foot of the tree, apparently kept before climbing in bare foot. On further search, a long bone, a torn pant (wearing apparel) and a portion of rope being tied with one of its end in a branch of the tree were also noticed. All the items were brought down for further examination to derive the information contained in them. In course of examination, one cell phone was also found kept inside the pocket of the damaged pant. All the physical evidence was collected for further investigation in this case." This paragraph is describing a past event. Then why BEING OCCUPIRD and BEING TIED is used in this context?  |
| Posted: 26 Mar 2021 09:16 AM PDT I have come across many sentence following the given structure { WITH+SUBJECT+VERB-ING } This type of sentence starts with "WITH" For Example :
Can anyone elaborate this structure of sentence and make me understand.  |
| Posted: 26 Mar 2021 09:18 AM PDT I encountered today in a text this sentence:
Does it means that colonization declines when isolation increases? Or when it decreases?  |
| Modern use of "I should think" vs. "I would think" in speech Posted: 26 Mar 2021 05:00 AM PDT When I listen to old Tom Lehrer recordings he says,
and it sounds a bit strange. However, yesterday I was building a shed with my wife and I said, much to my surprise,
I'm aware of the slight difference in meaning from "I would think..." but had no idea that I myself would actually naturally use it. Is this an atavism or do other young people actually still use it, say in the US? (Young e.g. 30s and younger).  |
| Can last names be shortened just as first names? Posted: 26 Mar 2021 06:59 AM PDT I know first names are usually shortened in verbal communication for reasons that I am not clear about. For example, Andrew becomes Andy. But is it also the case for last names? If yes, what is the reason? Is it polite or impolite? For example, if I am correct, I heard once that Robinson is shortened to Robin by a third person in the US.  |
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