Wednesday, May 5, 2021

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Shalt vs. Shall

Posted: 05 May 2021 09:26 AM PDT

related to this I think.

I'm trying to understand the distinction between "shall" and ""shalt" but only in a specific case:

In the final line of John Donne's Holy Sonnet, "Death be not proud" he writes,

And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

He uses both forms. I can guess at all sorts of possibilities, including biblical allusion, but all I have is guesses. Is there any difference in meaning between the two on a grammatical level, or should I be posting this on a literature board for poetic interpretation?

Very good lesson we had yesterday

Posted: 05 May 2021 09:20 AM PDT

Page 513 of Practical English Usage reads

Very good lesson we had yesterday.

Is lesson after fronting treated as an uncountable noun?

If so, is this a productive grammar rule?

Inversion with present perfect

Posted: 05 May 2021 09:17 AM PDT

Can I say " Has he got this job , he will be able to buy a new car " or I have to say " Should he get this job , he will be able to buy a new car " ? Someone told me we can't start an inversion sentence with has he got ! Is that true ? Thanks in advance !

Is the sentence grammatically correct? "There are some people nothing in life is more satisfying than seeing smile."

Posted: 05 May 2021 08:40 AM PDT

Is the sentence grammatically correct?

"There are some people nothing in life is more satisfying than seeing smile."

syllable stress in pronunciation of frequently used expressions [closed]

Posted: 05 May 2021 09:38 AM PDT

I think that the first case in which stress in a frequently used expression starting to gnaw at my mind occurred after hearing someone pronouncing a noun adjunct in a way deviating from the way I was used to, defensibly correctly. The expression was "world trade center". My investigation of further cases in which the wrongly placed stress is nonsensical or confusing yielded quite a few. And today I hit upon another, having erred myself for four months, doing "functional programming" (in a computer language) and pronouncing the latter expression wrongly all the time (however, being not altogether sure about it this time). The other examples of are in the expressions "public relations", "human trafficking", and "objective function" (from operations research).

The correct stresses should be, in my view, with the stressed syllable preceded by an apostrophe ('), 'world trade center, 'public relations, 'human trafficking, ob'jective function, and 'functional programming. But one all too often observes the pronunciations world 'trade center (suggesting a global center of trade, whereas "world trade" is term for a special kind of trade), public re'lations (having sex in the roundabout?), human 'trafficking (as opposed to aliens driving our buses?) -- and, well, objective 'function may have existed in my mind only. I could not find any critical comment on the exemplified kind of mispronunciation, or any other place except the present to ask for one. My question is: How come? Do we witness acquiescence to majority behavior here?

Active or Passive sentences [duplicate]

Posted: 05 May 2021 04:47 AM PDT

Grammarly flags passive sentences for consideration to be changed to active as default. Why is this? Is there a rule advising active rather than passive when writing? Does it apply to certain types of writing (academic, formal, etc.)

What's the meaning of "Took a cut of the fees off the top"? [closed]

Posted: 05 May 2021 04:09 AM PDT

Morgan Stanley took a cut of the fees off the top and provided him with office space, furniture, and support staff.
-The Big Short by Michael Lewis

What does "took a cut of the fees off the top" mean?

A folk-wisdom metaphor / mental image [duplicate]

Posted: 05 May 2021 03:18 AM PDT

What's a word that describes a useful metaphorical precept? "Money is time" might be an example of a _______.

For some reason I am associating these (wrong) words with this one: allegory, syllogy, anecdote—so maybe it is similar to these.

"Analogy" might be the closest synonym I have thought of so far, similarly "analogue" almost works.

Bruce Lee's "be water" isn't an instruction to literally become water, but a metaphor to encourage flexibility and adaptability.

If I said "I am water" I would be using a _________.

Somehow I associate this word with sages and wise masters in the mountain. Like _______s could be used for expressing comprehensions about the Dao. "There is no spoon" kind of resonance.

place-place-time

Posted: 05 May 2021 03:38 AM PDT

Could you please tell me which one of the following sentences is correct grammatically?

  • I am giving a talk at the International Congress on Mathematical Physics in Berlin, Germany, in July 2021.

  • I am giving a talk at the International Congress on Mathematical Physics in July 2021 in Berlin, Germany.

Solved or Fixed [closed]

Posted: 05 May 2021 02:20 AM PDT

What is right solved or fixed? Which should I use?

What do you call the grandpa's new wife after he and grandma divorce? [closed]

Posted: 05 May 2021 04:18 AM PDT

After grandma and grandpa divorce, grandpa marry another person, what do you call the grandpa's new wife? Do you call her grandma?

What are adjective phrases exactly?

Posted: 05 May 2021 02:42 AM PDT

I've been under the impression that "adverbial phrases" are phrases that function adverbially and "adjectival phrases" are phrases that function adjectivally. My understanding is PP and AdvP can overlap, and so can PP and AdjP. A prepositional phrase could be an adverbial phrase or adjectival phrase.

But information on Wikipedia is contradictory in this regard. The Wikipedia page for "Adjective phrase" says: (by the way, that page is slightly messy, possibly vandalized)

An adjective phrase (or adjectival phrase) is a phrase the head of which is an adjective

Per this definition, adjective phrases are defined in much a similar way to noun phrases and prepositional phrases. However, another Wikipedia page has this line:

She's [the woman with the hat]. (adjectival phrase, in this case a prepositional phrase, modifying a noun in a noun phrase) (source)

Clearly "with the hat" is a prepositional phrase with no adjective head. So which definition is correct? Can prepositional phrases also be adjectival phrases?

How can I tell if a prepositional phrase is a complement to a noun or a modifier? And how are these two different?

Posted: 05 May 2021 09:37 AM PDT

In the NP "mines in wartime", "in wartime" modifies the head "mines".

that nice tall man from Canada whom you met

"from Canada" modifies "man".

But why is the prepositional phrase "of Education" a complement to "Ministry" in "the Ministry of Education"?

How can I tell if a prepositional phrase is a complement to a noun or a modifier? And how are these two different?

Origin of “race to the bottom”

Posted: 05 May 2021 08:07 AM PDT

The idiomatic expression "race to the bottom", generally used in economic and financial contexts, refers to:

A situation in which striving to have the lowest possible prices in order to attract the highest number of customers also drives down standards of the product or service, worsens conditions for workers in the industry, and ultimately leads to problems for everyone.

According to Wikipedia the idiomatic figurative usage of the expression is from the late 19th c.:

The concept of a regulatory "race to the bottom" emerged in the United States during the late 1800s and early 1900s, when there was charter competition among states to attract corporations to base in their jurisdiction. Some, such as Justice Louis Brandeis, described the concept as the "race to the bottom" and others, as the "race to efficiency".

Actually Google Books clearly shows its usage only from the late 1970's/early 80's and the very rare usages from the 19th century have a different, more literal, meaning.

When and possibly by whom was the expression actually coined? Is there evidence of late 19th c./early 20th c. usages? What spurred its increasing usage from the late 70's?

Is there a right and wrong way to use double negatives?

Posted: 05 May 2021 04:59 AM PDT

Somewhat related to How can double negatives "has a respectable history as a rhetorical device for emphasis" when they're harder to understand? I am noticing that that there is an increase in use of double negatives in speech.

"I didn't say nothing" or "I don't want nothing" is very common. One friend of mine who keeps doing this has the mickey taken out of him by returning with Oh, so you did say something then".

I hear it a lot in pop and R'n'B songs. Take for example, If I ain't got you by Alicia Keys.

The chorus has "But I don't want nothin' at all" in it, and the outro has "Said nothin' in this whole wide world don't mean a thing".

So, with my friend's predicament in mind, is there a right and wrong way to use double negatives?

Where is the verb in " The need to fetch water for family, or to take care of younger sibling while their mothers goes"

Posted: 05 May 2021 12:55 AM PDT

I got a bit confused after reading the following sentence that from a book:

"The need to fetch water for the family, or to take care of younger siblings while their mother goes".

In this sentence, I can't find out the verb after "The need". This is the first time I face this one. My question is whether "to" sometimes can play a role as a verb or there is any special grammar point in this case. Can anyone help me explain? Thanks so much for your help!

Compact writing of "1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 24 and 36-month survival was analysed"

Posted: 05 May 2021 02:00 AM PDT

I have an academic paper abstract to write and it has very limited word count (150 words). I have to say that we analysed 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 24 and 36-month survival of the included patients in this paper.

Which of the following examples has the desired meaning?

(a) Patient 1- to 36-month survival was analysed.

(b) Patient survival up to 36 months was analysed.

(c) Patient survival was analysed within 1 to 36 months.

(d) Patient survival between 1 to 36 months was analysed.

(e) Patient survival until 36 months was analysed.

Or are there better ways for saying this?

Etymological origin and earliest recorded occurrence of 'saunter' in English

Posted: 05 May 2021 09:27 AM PDT

Someone just sent me a quotation from the explorer/naturalist John Muir, in which he makes the following etymological claim:

Do you know the origin of that word saunter? It's a beautiful word. Away back in the middle ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, they would reply 'A la sainte terre,' 'To the Holy Land.' And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers.

The quotation goes back to Albert Palmer, The Mountain Trail and Its Message (1911), who reports that Muir said it to him in a conversation they were having about hiking. Palmer withholds judgment about "whether the derivation just given is scientific or fanciful"—but Merriam-Webster seems inclined to view it as the latter. From Merriam-Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary (2003):

saunter vi {prob. fr. ME santren to muse} (ca. 1667) : to walk about in an idle or leisurely manner : STROLL

The Online Etymology Dictionary likewise appears to be unimpressed by the "sainte-terre-er" explanation:

saunter (v.) late 15c., santren "to muse, be in reverie," of uncertain origin despite many absurd speculations. Meaning "walk with a leisurely gait" is from 1660s, and may be a different word. Klein suggests this sense of the word derives via Anglo-French sauntrer (mid-14c.) from French s'aventurer "to take risks," but OED finds this "unlikely."

In an interesting extended discussion of the Muir quotation, Etymology Online traces the "à la sainte terre" origin theory to Samuel Johnson's 1755 Dictionary of the English Language and beyond. Johnson has this entry for saunter, which he augments with instances of the word (in various forms) in literary use by L'Estrange, Dryden, Locke, Prior, Tickel, Gay, and Pope:

To SAUNTER v.n. [aller à la sainte terre, from idle people who roved about the country, and asked charity under pretence of going à la sainte terre, to the holy land, or sans terre, as having no settled home] To wander about idly ; to loiter ; to linger.

Etymology Online then traces the roots of Johnson's proposed etymology back to Nathan Bailey, An Universal Etymological Dictionary, second edition (1724), which actually proposes two possible derivations:

To SAUNTER, {of Sauter or Santeller, F. to dance, q. d. to dance to and fro, or of Sainte-Terre, F.} to go idling up and down. See to Santer.

Bailey's etymological entry for santer is quite elaborate:

To SANTER, {of Sancte Terre, F. or Sancta Terra, L. i. e. the Holy Land, because when there were frequent Expeditions to the Holy Land many idle Persons went from Place to Place upon pretence they had taken the Cross upon them, or intended to do so, and to go thither} to wander up and down.

I have three questions about the etymology of saunter:

  1. What is the earliest source in English to make the connection between saunter and sainte-terre?
  2. What is the earliest recorded instance in English of saunter/santer in the sense of "to wander or go idling up and down"?
  3. What is the likeliest etymology of saunter?

You have the watches, but we have the time

Posted: 05 May 2021 09:05 AM PDT

This quote is associated with the Taliban in reference to the US occupation of Afghanistan.

I understand the metaphorical meaning of the quote — i.e. the point that it makes.

But I am intrigued by the literal meaning. In particular, I can't work out what it means to "have the watch", nor what the "watch" refers to metaphorically.

Anybody know?

For the record, I've done some searches, but have only turned up explanations of the metaphoric meaning, nothing about analysis of the literal meaning.

What does the sentence in a legal document mean, i have tried my best to understand, but I am unable

Posted: 05 May 2021 03:22 AM PDT

  • Hereinafter called the "FIRST PARTY/ DEVELOPER" (which expression unless there be anything inconsistent therewith in the context shall mean and include his legal representatives, executors and assigns) of the ONE PART:

difference between might and would in the past

Posted: 05 May 2021 09:17 AM PDT

However drunk he might come home she would always please him / however drunk he would come home she would always please him. Could a native speaker please tell the nuance I can't hear between might and would in the context. Both denote a habitual action in the past . But what's the difference. Thanks .

Why "faced" not "face"?

Posted: 05 May 2021 08:27 AM PDT

Could you please help me understand why the verb "face" is used in the past, in the following sentence, not in the present although the first part of the sentence is describing a future situation?

The sentence is : "You're never going to run in the Olympics. It's time you faced (up to) the facts."

Appreciate you help.

Is there a word for one who finds violence acceptable, but not to the extent of killing?

Posted: 05 May 2021 05:04 AM PDT

Lately, I've been playing the game Metal Gear Solid, which is a game focused on espionage. In the game, the way that I prefer to play is such that the playable character is fine with harming the enemy; for example incapacitating them with hand to hand combat, using a tranquilizer gun on them, or holding them up at gun point, but not fine with murdering them.

Is there a word that exists to describe an opinion that violence is fine to accomplish a task, but not murder? For one to be pacifist necessitates that one is against all forms of violence, including that which does not end the life another, so that didn't quite fit.

I'm looking for a word or phrase that can describe something familiar, but not quite the same

Posted: 05 May 2021 04:09 AM PDT

I'm looking for something that can describe a sense of familiarity, unfamiliarity, nostalgia, and bittersweetness. I've considered deja vu, but it doesn't capture the nostalgia or bittersweetness.

Maybe this will give a better idea of what I'm feeling, but it pertains to the chance that I'll be moving into an apartment that's attached to a former residency of mine. I'm looking forward to moving there since I have a lot of amazing memories from that location, but I have this weird anticipated feeling of familiarity and unfamiliarity since the apartment I will be living in isn't quite the same. To top it off, the bittersweetness comes from an unresolved problem I have with a former and incredibly close friend of mine, who used to live a few houses down from that apartment.

It's a hefty combination of feelings for one word or phrase to describe, I know, but it's really bothering me that I can't find a much shorter descriptor of what I'm feeling at the moment. (Also I'm sorry for being so wordy!)

Is there a word such as "Learnings"? [closed]

Posted: 05 May 2021 03:08 AM PDT

What is the plural of learning? Is learning always singular? For e.g., if I have done research on a number of topic and gained sufficient knowledge, do I call it as "my learnings" or "my learning"? Is there a word called "learnings"?

Or is "learning" always in plural form? Then what is the singular form?

Origin of "guy" as an interjection substituting for "gosh" or "golly"?

Posted: 05 May 2021 05:11 AM PDT

Is anyone familiar with, or know the origin of, the use of "guy" as an interjection at the beginning of a sentence, as a substitute for "gosh!" or "golly!" (or "God"?) ?

For example:

I had never encountered this usage before, so I consulted a half-dozen standard dictionaries of the English language; two slang dictionaries (including the most recent edition of Partridge); two books on word origins; and two books specifically on interjections.

  • These examples are from between 1965–1971; to me, this implies some sort of period slang, which may only have had a brief vogue.

  • The fact that major production companies were involved in making the material suggests that the writers employed language that they felt was common enough that it would be recognized by most of their intended audience — which in all cases consisted of native English-speaking Americans.

  • That neither I, nor several other Americans I've asked can remember ever encountering this particular usage before suggests that the popularity of this usage was short-lived, and possibly also regional.

Once/twice/thrice vs one/two/three times

Posted: 05 May 2021 04:23 AM PDT

Is there a difference in nuance when using once, twice or thrice instead of one time, two times or three times, especially when counting occurrences?

It has happened twice before.
It has happened two times before.

Are they always interchangeable? What about other usages (e.g. when comparing magnitude)?

The blue book is twice as heavy as the red one.
The blue book is two times as heavy as the red one.

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