Monday, May 10, 2021

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

What is the word that captures a state in which one has "done all there is to do"?

Posted: 10 May 2021 09:24 AM PDT

I am looking for a word that captures a state in which someone has done everything possible. What word captures this? An example would be "He is a (word) who has been around for a long time and has done it all." I am looking for an adjective or noun (no verbs please). I have tried Merriam Webster and Collins dictionaries, but I can't think of a word to look up. I would prefer one word. I have considered Pantomath, but it means someone who wants to know everything, not someone who has done everything.

Can I say "I'm waiting for no one but you to call on my phone"?

Posted: 10 May 2021 09:38 AM PDT

It's intended to mean that I'm only waiting for you to call on my phone but is it grammatically correct and understandable if I say the following?

I'm waiting for no one but you to call on my phone.

They vs it when talking about "your dog" [duplicate]

Posted: 10 May 2021 08:01 AM PDT

I have the following example from this blog post:

"Your dog gets some kind of reward when they bark. Otherwise, they wouldn't do it."

Should it actually be:

"Your dog gets some kind of reward when it barks. Otherwise, it wouldn't do it."

If the first example is actually correct, can you please tell me why. I thought when talking about a single thing, you should always say "it" as opposed to "they".

Is "should" + 3rd person present correct?

Posted: 10 May 2021 07:01 AM PDT

My colleague frequently uses "should" + 3rd person present, e.g. "It should goes ..". Notifying him about that he replied he had a British teacher and this form is correct.

It was surprise to me as I thought the correct form is just the verb base form, e.g. "It should go ..". Asking him if it is correct also for negative sentence, e.g. "He should not smokes." he was not sure..

Could someone confirm it is correct and when it is used in this form?

Is "prolongation of nasalization" ocurring in English?

Posted: 10 May 2021 06:06 AM PDT

I am wondering if the same phenomenon occurs in English, as described here in Spanish: https://spanish.stackexchange.com/q/37916/11155.

Q: Why did the Latin coemeterium change into cementerio* in Spanish, where does the n come from?

A: (@Charlie) The origin of that middle -n- is due mostly to a prolongation of the nasalization produced by the previous -m-.

which I understand that once the velum is lowered, it takes some time to return back and the "momentum" influences the pronunciation even of the next vowel.

Is there a phenomenon like this also in English? Can you provide examples?

Is it appropriate to skip salutation and just get to the point when you are replying to a potential employer? [duplicate]

Posted: 10 May 2021 05:53 AM PDT

So, I've been sending emails back and forth to this company regarding some job opportunities but I always find it a bit awkward as to how I'm supposed to reply to them.

Say they asked me for my contact details. Should I start with "Dear sir" or something or i should simply go "Thank you for the response, my contact details are XXXXXX"

Does the word copulation refer only to heterosexual intercourse? [closed]

Posted: 10 May 2021 05:29 AM PDT

I stumbled over the word "copulation" today and while looking it up, found only examples of male having intercourse with a female. For example here: (not sure about such words here hence spoiler)

Is this part of the word definition itself, or just lack of mentioning other possible examples of usage in the sites I visited?

Saying or expression for "behave or f... off"

Posted: 10 May 2021 05:01 AM PDT

I remember reading a saying or expression that was used to warn someone to behave. It was along the line of (teaser because it contains an offensive word):

If I recall correctly, it was mostly used in jobs or businesses to tell employees to either behave or leave. An example would be:

An employee is acting up so the boss tells him or rather gives him a warning and says "behave or f... off" (it didn't have the word "f..." but I feel that both have more or less similar meanings of dismissing someone).

I've been scratching my head for that expression but can't seem to find it.

What is the meaning of this statement?

Posted: 10 May 2021 04:16 AM PDT

In this book 'The Prevention of Suicide in Prison' I would like to know meaning of this statement:

If there was a good screw you were on a couple of mars bars and whatever everyone would be bloody suicidal.

Thank you

"Die in vain" in a sentence - what could it mean? [closed]

Posted: 09 May 2021 11:49 PM PDT

With the interpretation of the following sentence:

For what it may be worth, I assure you the memories we've experienced won't die in vain, they'll be often reminisced and forever treasured.

I have two questions I'd like to ask:

  1. What does the overall sentence mean?
  2. The phrase won't die in vain means to no avail according to Collins Dictionary - however what does it mean in this context?

How to describe "the remaining portion of a target" in a simple term or phrase?

Posted: 09 May 2021 11:55 PM PDT

Let's say I run a car dealership and I gave my sales a target of selling 50 cars this month. They have sold 25 already. Is there a word to describe the remaining 25 cars? For example, the goal of selling 50 cars is the target. The 25 cars sold can be called fulfillment or completed.

When was "rush" first used to describe a sudden intense feeling?

Posted: 10 May 2021 01:08 AM PDT

I see different definitions of the word date back to the 14th century, but none for the meaning of a sudden intense feeling. Merriam-Webster didn't have that information either.

Is it a modern definition?

Is the name of a person an attribute or a property?

Posted: 10 May 2021 03:56 AM PDT

People have names. Well, they don't have to but giving names to people, or people giving names to themselves, makes it much easier to reference them in speech and writing. Are names attributes or are they properties of people?

Update
Not relevant to the question itself but maybe interesting to know: The reason why I asked that question is because English is not my mother's tongue and in my native language, attribute and property are pretty much interchangeable by definition as attribute is a foreign word, imported from French, and translates to property. Yet in daily use people seem to make a slight distinction between those two terms. There are situations where using one of them seems natural while using the other one seems "strange", albeit not incorrect.

When reading English texts, I quite often read about "attributes of a person" where I would have expected the term "properties". So I was wondering if there is also a distinction in daily use. Answers to similar questions here sometimes hint towards such a distinction but they always refer to both words in terms of "computer language" and computer language is not necessarily bound to natural use of these words. So I was wondering, how would a native speaker refer to the name of a person? Would they say it is an attribute of that person or what they say it is a property of that person and why would they favor one over the other one?

usage of can + make [closed]

Posted: 10 May 2021 06:17 AM PDT

I've faced a question and decided to ask here. Which one is correct?

They can't speak good English, but they can make themselves ______ .

a) understand
b) understood
c) understanding
d) a and b

What does "make" mean here?

Why is it 'three score years and ten' almost half the time and not always 'three score and ten years'?

Posted: 10 May 2021 08:48 AM PDT

Why is it 'three score years and ten' almost half the time and not always 'three score and ten years'?

Note: I edited the question body and title in light of comments and answers pointing me to a Google phrase frequency chart which indicates that the two versions are used about equally often right now.

I had never heard AFAIK, 'three score and ten years'.

Is there a word for a swift periodic movement? [closed]

Posted: 10 May 2021 06:20 AM PDT

I want to express something along the lines of

I was running, moving left and right periodically (repeatedly).

Is there a word for such a movement? I thought about balancing, intercalating and even oscillating between left and right, but I am not quite sure.

Perfect tense + +'for' vs. Perfect tense + 'over/during'

Posted: 10 May 2021 09:01 AM PDT

Page 423 of Collins Usage Guide reads,

If you want to say how long something has been the case, you use for: We've been married for seven years.

If you want to mention how long something has been happening, you use during or over:

A considerable amount of rain has fallen during the past two years. Things have become noticeably worse over the past two or three months

What's this difference due to? different type of verbs?

‘Gen’ as a synonym for Atty?

Posted: 10 May 2021 12:25 AM PDT

The Words With Friends dictionary tells me that 'Gen' means attorney, Is this a general term for lawyers?
Does it have any special connotations? Is it office slang?
How is it pronounced; like gin?

Ambiguous prepositional phrase in a legal document

Posted: 10 May 2021 08:03 AM PDT

In common speech or writing, disambiguation of objects of prepositional phrases can be inferred from context. However, there is no room for error in filling out legal documents! I came across this question:

  • Have you enrolled or will soon enroll in health insurance but your health coverage has not started yet?

The answer choices are: "Yes, I am enrolled", "I will soon enroll" and "No". I am currently enrolled in health insurance and it has already begun, but I have no idea how to answer this question (or whether I should skip it).

There is an ambiguity in the interpretation of this question. Logically, given propositions A, B, and C, the question " "A or B and C?" can be taken to mean either " A or (B and C) ? " or " ( A or B ) and C ? ", which are not equivalent questions.

Is there a correct interpretation?

Using singular "they" for an animal

Posted: 10 May 2021 08:00 AM PDT

As I know, animals can be called "he" or "she" (not only "it").

Also, if a person's gender is unknown, we may use "they" instead of "he" or "she".

Is it possible to use "they" when we talk about a specific animal and in what context?

Does leaving "any" change the meaning of the sentence?

Posted: 10 May 2021 01:04 AM PDT

It tackles a problem with no preconception that any human would have.

It tackles a problem with no preconception that humans would have.

What phrase or expression is used to describe someone who speaks eloquently?

Posted: 10 May 2021 03:59 AM PDT

I have heard the phrase a few years ago and now I can't remember it.

It's a figurative phrase or expression used when someone has the skill of speaking fluently with a great lexicon, someone eloquent. It's not silver tongue. It goes more along the lines of someone that has the gift/touch of someone.

The first and only time I heard the phrase was from a video of someone one (can't remember who it was) during an interview and they were acknowledging their way of well speaking because they had the insert phrase here.

EDIT: I kept searching in Google using my keywords and 20 minutes after posting this I found it! It was the gift of gab.

Meaning of "spin up" in a phrase

Posted: 10 May 2021 02:53 AM PDT

In a documentary, a scientist says about a theory:

As an experimentalist, I am not spun up about it.

What does spun up mean? I couldn't find a meaning that makes sense.

Thematic comparison of 'collaborative' vs 'collective' in literature or culture

Posted: 10 May 2021 04:00 AM PDT

I'm trying to brand a product with either the word 'collaborative' or 'collective', but I am having trouble imagining what the well known thematic usage is with either word. I've always seen them used interchangeably.

The definitions seem pretty similar:

  • collaborative: produced or conducted by two or more parties working together.

    • "collaborative research"

  • collective: done by people acting as a group.

    • "a collective protest"

My guess is that someone with a literature or world history background would be able to help me parse the difference or nuance I'm trying to identify.

Present Simple vs Present Continuous

Posted: 10 May 2021 07:03 AM PDT

I was doing some exercises and I stumbled upon something that isn't very clear to me. I have to fill in the gaps and explain why I use Simple Present or Present Continuous.

I (to be) furious with John! He (normally - to be) a very reasonable guy but he (to have) some problems with the loss of his wife and (to take out) his anger and bitterness on the entire group.

My conclusion was next: I AM (stative verb) furious with John! He normally IS (stative verb) a very reasonable guy but he IS HAVING (temporary action going on at the time of speaking, with clear beginning and end... or is this also STATIVE?) and he IS TAKING OUT (temporary, clear beginning and end) his anger on the group.

I am struggling with the last two verb tenses.
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