Sunday, May 16, 2021

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Can a colon be replaced with the word but?

Posted: 16 May 2021 09:26 AM PDT

Can you please tell me if you can replace a colon ":" with the word but?

The difference between "could" and "might"

Posted: 16 May 2021 09:12 AM PDT

The following is a question from English Grammar Today Workbook(Cambridge).

This decision ( ) affect the company very badly.

(1) must, (2) will, (3) should, (4) might, (5) could, (6) shall

The answer is

(5)could (or, less likely, might).

Why might be less likely? I thought that they have the same meaning of "future possibility".

Should the verb be singular or plural in this sentence?

Posted: 16 May 2021 08:57 AM PDT

One-thousand old refrigerators floating in the ocean (isn't/aren't) an issue.

Is the subject here "One-thousand old refrigerators" or is it the whole phrase "One-thousand old refrigerators floating in the ocean", that is what is confusing me... should I use isn't or aren't here? The word "floating" here is a present participle right?

Thank you.

In what order should english grammar should be revise?

Posted: 16 May 2021 08:14 AM PDT

I am currently 3rd in my college and I am planning to prepare for competitive exams, I plan to revise my english grammar as i sometimes find sentences wrong mainly grammatical mistakes.

As in our childhood our syllabus used to increase in english like nour, verb etc...What my question is that in which order I should revise the grammar ? I got 1 year or so, so better use this lockdown period to improve

My native language is Bengali (India) but we use English as primary language.

She has a very little knowledge of music [closed]

Posted: 16 May 2021 08:10 AM PDT

What kind of noun is music in the sentence? Abstract or common

What is the reason for not using a past form there?

Posted: 16 May 2021 08:38 AM PDT

  • Researchers speculate that if the birds continue/continued to evolve in this way, they could eventually become a distinct species.

It's kinda clear that "continue" is correct, but I can't find any explanation based on English grammar why "continued" is not a valid choice here

Word order & semantic difference [closed]

Posted: 16 May 2021 07:44 AM PDT

For example:

secondary blue car = a blue car is secondary but the car itself could be in the other order for example the third

blue secondary car = a car is secondary and the car couldn't be in the other order.

Is it right?

Which term is correct grammatically [duplicate]

Posted: 16 May 2021 08:29 AM PDT

Are 'death cause' and 'cause of death', both correct? As for the second I'm certain that it's correct but the first, I'm not.

I'm sorry if this shouldn't be under the grammar tag, but I'm sure it should be under one of the two tags I added, 'grammar' & 'grammaticality'

Can is use IAST in English writing? [closed]

Posted: 16 May 2021 06:18 AM PDT

Can is use IAST in English writing?

Do question tags after dependent clauses form complete sentences?

Posted: 16 May 2021 05:13 AM PDT

Most often, it seem question tags are used after independent clauses to seek agreement with the complete idea expressed in said clause.

'He went to the store yesterday, didn't he?'

However, in some forms of media, and in everyday life, sometimes question tags come after clauses that could not stand on their own as a result of dropping the subject of an independent clause, and it creates a sort of inverted question.

'Had fun, did you?' (from: 'You had fun, did you?)

'Think you're so clever, do you?' (from: You think you're so clever, do you?)

'Real proud of that one, aren't you? (from: You're real proud of that, aren't you?)

I'm curious to what extent the above usages are correct, and if there is a specific term / specific rules for these usages.

Thanks in advance (:

What does a girl call the second husband of her widowed stepmother? [closed]

Posted: 16 May 2021 04:54 AM PDT

The girl's father has died and his wife, her stepmother, becomes her legal guardian. When the stepmother remarries, is her husband the girl's stepfather? If not, what is he?

Trees at both ends [closed]

Posted: 16 May 2021 03:58 AM PDT

Page 117 of Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage reads

'You will see a tree at both ends of the road' is not so much ambiguous as counter-intuitive, since the tree can only be in one place. Rephrase as You will see a tree (or trees) at each of the road

Would a plural noun, such as in Two trees at both ends, avoid such counterintuitiveness?

If so, how many trees would there be altogether?

Write about an unforgettable experience in your life. Could you give me feedbacks on my paragraph? [closed]

Posted: 16 May 2021 01:25 AM PDT

I just turned to 16 years old last April, it means that I've been living for 16 years. Honestly, there were many unforgettable experiences throughout, I suppose one of them, which popped into my mind initially when i first saw this topic, was the first time, i had ever struck up with my dj controlle. To me It was an indescribable experience. No words could convey my feelings and my thoughts that day, though I'll try to simplify it. Off the top of my head, it took place on Saturday. It was an ordinary day . Everything just happened the way it is supposed to be. But deep inside myself there was sth that palpitated, looked forward to, excited. The day before , I decided for no reasons to choose that saturday.I don't know how could i slept very well in that night, whereas woke up feeling worried the day after, That day seemed to me elapsed really slow. Finally it was about time to perform. There were 7 people who attended the party. They were all my friends. They were so excited and looking forward to the performance. My performance wouldn't be flawless without the help of my friend Kim. She and I prepared well to please the attendance by adjusting my room a little bit, moved 2 desks together and hid a ton of mess behind the curtains. I also borrowed Kim's speaker and a room light. I got my performance prepared by connecting the speaker with my laptop and having the light set up. It was terrific and gorgeous. The vibe was insane. It blew everybody's mind. Before I started performing, I asked my friends to go out and justified myself with only a reason for that I still had something to prepare for. Actually the perfume and put on hair wax. I was already pleased with the sight in front of my eyes. Meanwhile I also felt extremely anxious, palpitated with fair and trembled with anxiety. Despite of having so many eyes on me. I tried to call deep on my courage and pressed the start button at once. The first minutes really put me under pressure. Until everybody started to feel and sing along with the music, I was relieved. I also heard some whispering compliments from the audience. At that moment, I knew that I succeeded and I would continue to do this again. Although I made a couple of mistakes in my performance, I had a feeling that the perfect output sound from the speaker Marshall and the bar lights really compensated for my mistakes. That night ended up wonderful for me and I slept quite deep that night.

How to talk about a dilemma in the past tense?

Posted: 16 May 2021 12:34 AM PDT

I have this sentence fragment -

prompting my morally dilemmed conscience to become...

Obviously this doesn't sound grammatically correct and I can't find any information about it online. Can anyone help me with a suggestion?

What is the difference between "which" and "that? What should I use in the sentence? [duplicate]

Posted: 16 May 2021 02:11 AM PDT

What is the difference between which and that? For example, I have a sentence,

They describe different methods, which their company usually practices.

Which is better to use here — which or that?

Adverb of zero (once, twice, thrice, ...) [duplicate]

Posted: 15 May 2021 10:28 PM PDT

Is there a word to describe zero as an adverb? Similar to once or twice? I.e., "Zero'ce". All that I've heard is "zero times", but was wondering if there's some other form or compound word that could be used.

Example:

  • 2 is read as "twice" and not "two" since it indicates that the function has been invoked two times.
  • 0 is read as "...?" and not "zero" since it indicates the the function has been invoked zero times.

This is for discussing church numerals.

Had+been+adjective or Had+been+noun [migrated]

Posted: 16 May 2021 12:30 AM PDT

This is the sentence that I've been thinking:

I would have gone had they been ____

a) ignorant

b) ignorance

Notice that the writer (of the question) omitted the "if", so that he could revert they and had, means that the sentence is a conditional sentence.

So, between ignorant and ignorance which one is better? In this case I'm thinking about "I'd be happy", It has an identical structure with the question, is it correct if I choose b) since it's an adjective?

Sometimes, I'm confused with what I should put after "be". Like:

I want to be a doctor (a noun)

I want to be happy (an adjective)

What's the difference? How do i know? Hope you can make me understand.

Is "go to the hospital" used even when referring to multiple hospitals? [AmE]

Posted: 15 May 2021 10:32 PM PDT

It's well known the British go to hospital while the Americans go to the hospital.

But I wonder Americans really use go to the hospital in the completely same way as Britons do with the zero article hospital.

I have come across the following sentence, a bit modified for removing distractions, from a New York Times article.

Police officers fired rubber bullets and stun grenades at citizens, sending hundreds of people to the hospital by the afternoon.

It's unlikely that all of the hundreds of people mentioned above were taken to a single hospital, I believe. This begs the question--whether Americans use the phrase to the hospital even when people go to or are sent to multiple hospitals.

In British English, the phrase to the hospital in the quoted sentence above should be rewritten as to hospital, with no information on which hospital or hospitals they were admitted to, much the way phrases such as to school and to church have no interest in the physical place when they mean abstractly the purpose they are designed for.

With the phrase to the hospital, do Americans recognize abstractly and not care about the physical place, so to the hospital is used even when multiple hospitals are involved?

I appreciate any suggestions or explanations.

How to translate "por la cara" to English?

Posted: 16 May 2021 06:16 AM PDT

I'm looking for a suitable English translation of the Spanish expression "por la cara".

In Spanish, unless you go very deep into the details, for various context that are very specific, generally, "por la cara" can have two relevant meanings (I think); those are the following:

  1. There is no specific reason for something to happen, it just happens - e.g. You get out of your home and see an elephant in the street. In Spanish, you would say that the elephant is in the street "por la cara", meaning "out of the blue".

  2. There is no reason for you to get something, but you still get it - e.g. Your brother came back home from shopping and got you an ice-cream without you asking for it. In Spanish, you would say he got you the ice-cream "por la cara", meaning "just because".

I'm very interested in this second meaning and what would be the best translation to English.

Even though I used "just because" which I think can be a very good option for the translation of "por la cara", I've seen other options such as "because reasons" or "for the hell of it". However, I'm not completely sure that this latter has the right meaning.

Therefore, for meaning number 2, I was wondering what translation would be best:

  • just because
  • because reasons
  • for the hell of it.

Thanks.

Is participle clause commonly used in spoken English?

Posted: 16 May 2021 03:00 AM PDT

I have never heard a native speaker use sentence with participle clause such as 'Thinking about her past, she cried bitterly.'; 'Bitten by a snake, she died.' in their day-to-day conversation although I see in writing.

As she gathered or as she was gathering

Posted: 16 May 2021 09:04 AM PDT

I was studying for the ACT ,and I encountered a question. There is a sentence:

  • Donna was surprised at my suggestion, but quickly began sharing my unbridled enthusiasm as she ___ the appropriate chemicals and concoctions that would soon transform me.

The question asks about what comes in place of the space (using the verb gather).

I Thought it should be are "... she was gathering...".

However, the answer given is "... she gathered..." Can someone please explain why it is past simple and not past continuous?

'The thread with which I used to tie her hair tight' or 'The thread in which I used to tie her hair tight'? [closed]

Posted: 16 May 2021 02:06 AM PDT

In this two sentences which one is better? Also, tight has to be at the end of the sentence because it is part of a poem.

Should "such" as an adjective be always followed by a plural noun? [closed]

Posted: 16 May 2021 01:02 AM PDT

I always thought that according to grammar "such" adjective should always be followed by a plural noun.For eg., Are more and more students getting oriented to social media more than ever? I am interested in such topics.

Can I also say "I am interested in such topic". Kindly guide me.

What is the best word or adjective for someone who does not meet the deadline for delivery?

Posted: 16 May 2021 04:01 AM PDT

I'm trying to write an article about computer programmers who often do not meet their deadline and are not committed to the contract deadline or due dates.

So, what is the best word or adjective for someone who does not meet the deadline for delivery?

Is the following correct?

Programmer's renege is real!

"You are not your f***ing khakis" - What does "khakis" exactly mean in the Fight Club movie?

Posted: 15 May 2021 10:41 PM PDT

You are not the car you drive
You are not your fucking khakis!

I absolutely love Fight Club - this is a cult movie.

I know that khakis mean a special color used for army dresses; but I want to know what it means in the context of the movie. What did Tyler Durden mean by this?

What does khakis mean?

Can a dash work after a question mark?

Posted: 16 May 2021 05:50 AM PDT

Can a dash work after a question mark? Meaning is this sentence correct and if not how would you rewrite it?

I am wondering if you know any publications, blogs or websites who are seeking new writers right now? — particularly those interested in tech or the cloud, big data, mobile applications, info graphics, etc.?

Idiom: to hesitate when something is nearly finished

Posted: 16 May 2021 09:21 AM PDT

I have an idiom on the tip of my tongue, or at least I think I do — the meaning I want is roughly "to hesitate or falter on a task, when it's almost completed". The phrase that first came to my mind was "to balk at the last jump", but (while certainly serviceable) that doesn't seem to be an established idiom, nor do any of the variations of it I've tried searching for. Can anyone place such a phrase?

Proper verb to denote 'consistent-ize'

Posted: 16 May 2021 09:40 AM PDT

Is there a verb I could use to condense "make consistent" or "consistentize" in one word? E.g.

another item to across different groups in our process is...

“Thank you very much” vs. “Thank you so much”

Posted: 16 May 2021 12:50 AM PDT

Some people used to say:

Thank you very much.

Where others say:

Thank you so much.

Could anybody please explain what differences there may be between those, whether of correctness or usefulness or anything else that separates one version from the other.
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