Sunday, May 23, 2021

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

‘How wrong was I?’ grammatically correct? [closed]

Posted: 23 May 2021 08:39 AM PDT

Is the question 'how wrong was I?' grammatically correct

Should I break line after *the*? [closed]

Posted: 23 May 2021 07:33 AM PDT

Should I break line after the? Can I put the at the end of a line? Or a or an?

Albeit + -ing clause

Posted: 23 May 2021 07:23 AM PDT

Is it possible to use an -ing clause after "albeit"? Example:

We should praise the market's efficiency, albeit recognising the need for regulation.

Word/ expression/ idiom for "when you realize the good deeds someone has done after their departure/ death"

Posted: 23 May 2021 09:16 AM PDT

Oftentimes there are people that do good and people don't respect them (and/or rebuke them), but when they leave the place or die, people realize that they were a good person and that what they did was great and good.

Examples:

  1. There was an employee (A) in a shop who used to keep the shop organized and tidy but the owner of the shop wouldn't respect it and would rebuke him. After A left the job and the owner assigned his job to someone else B, the B wasn't so organized and the shop would always be messed up, the owner realized that the first employee A was much better and what he did was good and he was a nice employee.

  2. Sometimes there are wise people that people don't respect much but when they die, people realize how kind and wise they were.

Is there an idiom in English to convey/express that?

Is "the pass to the VIP area" correct? [closed]

Posted: 23 May 2021 02:36 AM PDT

Is "the pass to the VIP area" correct ?

Or can you only write "the pass for the VIP area" ?

Is it possible to write "in line XX there is an irony" or "in line xx we see an irony/ a hyperbole"? [closed]

Posted: 23 May 2021 07:10 AM PDT

Written language analysis/rhetorical devices.

Is it possible to write in an analysis:

in line XX there is an irony

or

In line xx we see an irony/a hyperbole?

Doesn't it sound weird?

What is an example of "where" in an adverb clause?

Posted: 23 May 2021 02:11 AM PDT

All the sentences I can think of are anything but an adverb clause. For example:

"Where I'm going is none of your business." (A noun clause as the subject)

"No one knows where he is." (A noun clause as the object)

"It's interesting where these things have come from." (A noun clause as an adjective complement)

"This is where I want to be." (A noun clause as a subject complement)

"This is the park where we first met." (An adjective clause)

"She was surprised by where I had gotten the magazine." (A noun clause as the object of the preposition)

Can you please make an example of an adverb clause with "where"?

Thank you

What is the phrase for not participate in something [closed]

Posted: 22 May 2021 11:41 PM PDT

So here is the scenario, I first agreed to take part in an activity, but when the date is drawing near, I realized that I can't do it. So what is the word to not participate in this activity? Cause I want to explain to the host with "I'm sorry that I have to bail out" or "I'm sorry that I can't join you", what is the synonym phrase for "bail out" or antonym phrase for "join you"?

What does extremely same mean? [closed]

Posted: 22 May 2021 11:09 PM PDT

Extremely silent means less than 0 decibels.

Synonyms for “passing the buck”?

Posted: 23 May 2021 09:34 AM PDT

What would be a better replacement for the informal phrase "passing the buck" (ie. shift responsibility for something to someone else)?

I am in need of a single-word verb that captures the all-too-familiar bureaucratic practice of referring endlessly.

"Refer to" is too neutral of a meaning; it lacks the hypocrisy inherent in "passing the buck".

"Defer to" implies a responsible act, whereby the referrer is conceding their limitations.

"Abrogate" is open-faced shirking of responsibility - whereas I am after the lazy bureaucratic practice of "passing the buck".

EXAMPLE:

A comes to B with a problem. B is lazy and doesn't feel like putting in the work to solve it, so they ______ to another department.

Structure and usage of the construction - BE of

Posted: 23 May 2021 09:33 AM PDT

I have seen various sentences like this:

The availability of two reasonably complete mammalian genomes is of great help to gene finders. - The New York Times

I do my utmost to dress the actors very differently from one another, and this is of great help, both in adding beauty and in facilitating the understanding of the plot. - Encyclopedia Britannica

I looked into this thread and came to know about the meaning of such construction and also came to know that not all nouns are allowed in place of "help" in such construction and mostly in that matter this construction is kind of "an idiom".

In A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language by Quirk et al on page no 732 Section 10.11 I found some little discussion about this construction:

Some prepositional phrases are semantically similar to adjective or noun phrases functioning as complement:

That is of no importance.

Furthermore, unlike clear instances of obligatory adjuncts, they can be used as complementation for copular verbs other than BE, a characteristic of adjective phrases functioning as subject complement:

That seems of no importance.

Now I tried to change the modifier before "help", like instead of "great" I tried to use "a lot of" but came to know that the following is ungrammatical:

He would be of a lot of help. [INCORRECT]
He would be a lot of help. [CORRECT]

Now my question is why "He is of great help" is correct but not "He is of a lot of help"?

What’s a great word for someone who wants the best for everyone? [closed]

Posted: 22 May 2021 11:59 PM PDT

I'm trying to find the mot juste for someone who exudes that they wants the best for others?

A word for 'monotonous' or 'repetitive' with a positive connation

Posted: 22 May 2021 08:16 PM PDT

For some time I have been looking for a word that describes a repetitive or monotonous task in a positive light. In particular, some people find simple tasks like grocery shopping, counting pennies, or making highly detailed drawings to be soothing. The closest thing I've found to such a word is the phrase 'comfortingly repetitive.' Synonyms for 'monotonous,' 'comforting,' 'soothing,' and 'repetitive' have turned up nothing close.

A vaguely related word might be 'stereotypy,' though this word is a noun that (negatively) describes a pathological behavior, whereas I am looking for a positive adjective. Maybe someone with a stereotypy would describe the tasks they do using the sought-after word.

A noun for a 'comfortingly repetitive task' would also be helpful, so long as it had a positive connotation.

"A might bit" or "a mite bit"?

Posted: 22 May 2021 05:05 PM PDT

"That's a might/mite bit excessive, no?"

"He's more than a might/mite bit shy around the opposite gender."

"It just seems a might/mite bit offensive, is all."

Which of these is the proper spelling of the expression? I would expect it to be "mite" meaning "small," but I can't find any explicit discussion online, Google Ngrams isn't conclusive, dictionaries don't list either "might" or "mite" as potential adjectives, and internet searches seem to indicate the "might bit" usage is slightly more widespread.

What is the plural form of Lesser, but in reference to someone as part of a group [closed]

Posted: 23 May 2021 12:20 AM PDT

For instance:

They are our lessers, and beneath us. It is with great pride and dignity that we hold them down, for they are indeed our lessers.

"Tables sizes" - why is it wrong?

Posted: 23 May 2021 09:42 AM PDT

For example, "Tables sizes" as far as I know, is wrong. Correct is "Table sizes". But it may mean either "sizes of the one table" or "sizes of many tables". How to specify that I want to say about many tables?

What rule is used there? Where can I read more about it?

Is there a word or phrase to say that someone's opinion carries more weight because they aren't biased to say it anyway? [closed]

Posted: 23 May 2021 08:36 AM PDT

For instance, it's easy to dismiss Larry Summers' worrying about inflation because he is always worried about inflation. On the other hand, Jerome Powell expressing concern about inflation would be considered more alarming because he's more balanced about things.

Is there a word or phrase to express this in English?

Why does "appropriate" (and also "duplicate", "deliberate" etc) have a difference vowel in their adjective/noun and verb forms?

Posted: 23 May 2021 02:49 AM PDT

TL;DR

There are adjectives/nouns--verb pairs in which the adjectives/nouns have weak vowel in the last syllable and the verb has strong for example:

  • duplicate (adj): /ˈdjuːplɪkət/
  • duplicate (v.): /ˈdjuːplɪkeɪt/

why?

Explanation

There are adjective/noun - verb pairs that have the same spelling and origin but the adjectives/nouns have weak vowel in the last syllable while the verbs have strong. While deliberating the pronunciation of the adjective "deliberate", I noticed that the verb form and the adjective had different vowels in the last syllable. I don't know if it happens in other words, but the words that I've noticed mostly end in -ate:

Word Adj/noun verb
deliberate /dɪˈlɪb(ə)rət/ /dɪˈlɪbəreɪt
delegate /ˈdɛlɪɡət/ /ˈdɛlɪɡeɪt/
appropriate /əˈprəʊprɪət/ /əˈprəʊprɪeɪt/
approximate /əˈprɒksɪmət/ /əˈprɒksɪmeɪt/
duplicate /ˈdjuːplɪkət/ /ˈdjuːplɪkeɪt
separate /ˈsɛp(ə)rət/ /ˈsɛpəreɪt/
estimate /ˈɛstɪmət/ /ˈɛstɪmeɪt/

The above words can be adjectives/nouns or verbs.

I understand that in other noun-verb pairs such as protest, the stress varies and the strong/weak vowel is because of that:

  • protest (n.): /ˈprəʊtɛst/
  • protest (v.): /prəˈtɛst/

But in this case the main stress in both words (adjectives/nouns and verbs) fall on the same syllable, but the last syllable in verb has the diphthong /eɪ/, while the adjectives/nouns have schwa /ə/, so the word "appropriate" have two pronunciation in the title sentence:

Why doesn't "appropriate" /ə/ appropriate the pronunciation of "appropriate" /eɪ/?

While looking up their etymologies, I found out that most (if not all) of these words entered English in the 15th century. Etymonline doesn't explain why the adjectives/nouns and the verbs have different vowels.

Googling didn't help and I'm unable to find any information on this topic,

Question: Why are these pairs pronounced differently? What is the origin of this distinction?

Word for one too many items

Posted: 22 May 2021 05:57 PM PDT

Perhaps this word doesn't exist. I'm looking for the word to describe the last final thing you want to put in a container but it won't fit. There is always one of those. You have ten items but always only nine will fit into the container you have. Often occurs with a toolbox which has one too many tools to go into it.

Subordinate clause with "would" + present perfect

Posted: 23 May 2021 12:00 AM PDT

Is the following sentence correct, in particular, is the subordinate clause correct?

You will visit places you would otherwise have never visited?

If it is wrong, how would you say it then?
If it is correct, what is the explanation, i.e., what grammar rules are involved here?

To specify my question: What grammar rule/s explain using future tense (in the main clause) with present perfect tense (in the subordinate clause)? For instance, is the following sentence also grammatically correct?

You will visit places you would otherwise never visit

And if so, what is the difference between these two sentences?

Is the phrase "stone-throwing devil" actually a slur?

Posted: 23 May 2021 08:47 AM PDT

Inspired by this question.

What is the etymology of the phrase "stone-throwing devil"? Is there any evidence that it has been used as either a racial or religious slur historically or in modern times?

Googling the term leads to results related to the controversy being discussed in the thread linked above; however, I can find no hard evidence of the term actually being used as a slur. Various theories pop up (and I'll list some here), but none of them provide citation.

A user on TappedOut claims that it is a derogatory allusion to the Stoning of the Devil. A search through Twitter finds similar claims like this one asserting the term's origin in the Victorian era, but the linked Wikipedia article doesn't include any references to Muslims who participate in the Stoning of the Devil being characterized as "devils" themselves or to the insinuation that participating in the ritual is considered barbaric by outsiders.

This tweet claims that it is a slur for Palestinians. My preliminary research on this proposed origin would suggest that "stone thrower" is often used in news reports about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict to refer to (usually children) literally throwing stones, but I was unable to turn up any derogatory uses. Obviously, the word "devil" has been used to refer to non-white people historically, so the combination could conceivably be used in a racist manner.

Other allusions can be found - such as Lithobolia, a 17th Century story about what is now New Hampshire - which are clearly unrelated to Islam. Additionally, MTG Wiki suggests that it is a direct quote from an English translation of "One Thousand and One Nights," but again, no reference seems to be provided. This tweet asserts that literal stone-throwing devils appear on an island in one story but doesn't specify which story that is.

Is "entitled to" the same as "entitled as"?

Posted: 22 May 2021 11:06 PM PDT

I was listening to a philosophy video from the university of Queensland (on four dimensionalism view on fission) and at the end there was a paragraph that says:

Since I am many, I survive as many, and while each successor of me is as entitled to the next to claim to be the successor of me, since after fission they are distinct from each other, they can't all BE the successor of me.

What does "as entitled to the next" mean here?

Is it the simply the same as "As entitled as the next successor"?

Is there any semantic difference between 'entitled to' and 'entitled as' here?

"Would there be an availability" vs "Is there an availability" for appointment scheduling?

Posted: 23 May 2021 04:07 AM PDT

It's my understanding that the first is a more formal version of the second phrase however I'm not quite certain that's the case or that they mean the exact same thing.

The state of not knowing and/or ignoring each other

Posted: 22 May 2021 10:02 PM PDT

I'm looking for a word that expresses the state of not knowing and/or ignoring each other.

In a blog post I've found the term Principle of Mutual Oblivion. This is supposed to be a rule in software engineering that states that two things should not know each other (to be more precise: Two modules at the same level of abstraction should not know each other).

The word oblivion feels strange to me here. I know two meanings of the word oblivion:

  1. the state of no longer being known (to sink/fall into oblivion)
  2. to be unconscious, sleeping or otherwise unaware of everything around (to drink oneself into oblivion).

Wiktionary, MacMillan, and Merriam-Webster support this.

Can oblivion be the noun that precisely corresponds to to be oblivious to something (in the sense of completely ignoring or not knowing something specific). It seems to me that it is meant in that way here.

If oblivion is not the right word in that context, what's a better word? In the concrete case it doesn't matter if the word expresses willingly ignoring something specific or the lack of knowledge of something specific. But it should not express being completely unaware of everything. It should also be a neutral term. I came up with ignorance, i.e. Principle of Mutual Ignorance. Is that better?

When did the word "guys" become popular as a gender-neutral word?

Posted: 23 May 2021 08:26 AM PDT

It's normal nowadays to walk into a room (men and women, boys and girls etc) and go, "Hey guys!". Has this always been the case, or what?

Is it more common for the noun "research" to be stressed on the first or second syllable among educated native speakers of American English?

Posted: 22 May 2021 08:35 PM PDT

Which of the two common pronunciations of the noun research is more common among educated native American English speakers?

  1. /rɪ ˈsɝt͡ʃ/ with the stress on the second syllable
  2. /ˈriː sɚt͡ʃ/ with the stress on the first syllable

Parenthetical sentence (double commas) followed by definition in parenthesis - where to put commas?

Posted: 22 May 2021 06:06 PM PDT

I am working with legal texts a lot and I was wondering about the following phrase that will show up in most US related prospectuses:

"according to the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Securities...."

However, if we define this as "the Act", where do we put the definition in parenthesis? In the parenthetical sentence with "as amended" (Version 1) or after the comma after "as amended" (Version 2):

Version 1: "according to the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Act"), the Securities...."

Version 2: "according to the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the "Act") the Securities...."

Can you please tell me which one you think is correct?

I can tell you now that Version 1 is the one I see everywhere, but to me Version 2 makes more sense.

For example, if I write "My house, which is adjacent to another house, is nice," then if I put the definition after the last comma, I define my house. If I put the definition between the commas, I define the adjacent house. ("My house, which is adjacent to another house, (the 'House') is nice" vs. "My house, which is adjacent to another house (the 'House'), is nice."). Please assume that these two options are the only options available to me.

The same would be in the case of "XYZ Inc., a company organized under the laws of India and with registration number 123456 in the local trade registry, (the 'Entity') is ...." If I place the definition on the wrong side of the comma, I am defining the registry instead of XYZ Inc.

Thanks for your help!

Difference between 'As compared to' and 'When compared to'

Posted: 22 May 2021 05:31 PM PDT

Is there any rule governing when the phrase "As compared to..." should be used, and when "When compared to..." should be used? Or, do they mean the same, in all contexts?
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