Monday, June 14, 2021

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

What is an old English cultural word for a person who is sexually liberated or has looser sexual morals? [closed]

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 08:40 AM PDT

I am looking for a word that used to describe sexually liberated or sexually open or promiscious people in a cultural period of United States. I do not remember which period, but anywhere in the 1700-1920. The word may have been related to a specific subculture, or maybe the elite. I think the word was similar to the word "liberated", but I am not sure.

without infinitive [duplicate]

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 07:58 AM PDT

I am wondering why there is no infinitive before the word plan in the sentences below.

  • Thanks for helping me plan this out.

Is it the same rule with the words make and let? Or, it is about other rules? Let me know it, please. Thanks in advance.

Please help me to correct these paragraph. Thank you! [closed]

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 07:10 AM PDT

1. Foreword This is my first article, I write about my English learning process from the time I was a student in Vietnam until now, the year 2021. There are many reasons why I write this, but the main reason is that I want to save the information and keep the memories that I spent after such a long time. Besides, I'm also want to save and improve my English skill, because I know it's very important for my future. I spent time to studies abroad and English is the only thing I have and give hope on it. In this article, will share with you how my English going until now such as: what do I have to face and solve it or how do I feel about English through different periods. It also includes some techniques, self - opinions that may useful for someone who has a similar situation likes mine. I hope, this article is useful for you, or at least you can feel the empathy on it.

2. My English before studying abroad What I did to learn English is just to pass the exam, so of course, I did not get a high mark and it was haunting me during that time. I feel shame whenever my parent's friend or any cousin in my family talk about their child's English skills.

My parents were looking for teachers to teach me at home, they will help me to review the old lesson, guide me to do the exercise, and learn a new lesson before coming to school. How do you think about it? So cool right, but Ya! My English still nothing better. Let me tell you about one of my best memory learning English.

I still remember that one day, my father asked me to take a School English book that I studied before summer came, to show him. It's a thick book with many Chapters inside, each Chapter has many parts in it such as Dialogues, Readings, Listening, Vocabulary, Excercise, and even many Review Chapter too. Do you know what my father wants me to do? He wants me to copy it and write it down in another notebook. He doesn't need I have to understand what does it mean, what does it talk about or I don't have to do the exercise too, all I have to do is copy it correctly, write and submit it on time to my father.

I will talk about this situation a bit more. Ok, Frist, I felt that my father just didn't want me to have free time while my friends and other persons busy with their studies and also because I was a lazy girl who doesn't like to study. So sit down and write something that may help me. Second, I thought: Why my father don't ask me to write a new book which I will study next year? Why the old one? And I thought that the book had many Chapters on it, so hard to complete on time, but anyway I promised him to do it because I thought this mission is so easy, just copy and write and maybe my father will forget about it soon. Ha…ha…

First few Chapters, I was a hardworking child, write it down nicely and follow it every day, I can see this mission is so easy, nothing pressure. But actually, there is something wrong, you know what? Whatever I wrote from that book was so new to me, I mean I have learned and done the exam about it, but didn't remember anything, it's still so new…Wow, such a smart girl, right? At that moment, I did my mission as a robot I guess, cause I could listen to music or watch cartoons, movies while I'm doing my work.

Unfortunately, one day my father gets home soon and he found out that, so he was very angry, and he checks my notebook, but I had just finished two Chapters in a week, which means I did it too slow and because I did not focus on it. What was happening after that, you may guess but my father gave me the answer that why did he want me to do this.

He knew that my English was not good, I don't like to study it and if kept going like that I would not able to follow the course or may fail it and because English was very important for my future. He could not teach me, so he looking for many teachers to help but no result so he wants me to do something and he hopes that while writing it down could help me to attend it, so it may help for next years.

Alright, I was sad, of course, but I know it's my fault and I need to fix it. I was stop write like a machine and try to focus but it's not easy to concentrate so I read it while writing words by words and I've done it on time. Do you know what happens to me later? I thought I started to like English, I felt that English was so luxurious and sparkle language, sound crazy right? But that what I felt and I want to have it.

However, the thing you know and want does not mean you can have it. Years later, I'm still can not improve my English, so it's still haunted me. I didn't know why I tried my best to learn vocabulary and grammar but still could not understand and remember it, I'm still learning to cope, it's a waste, isn't it?. Anyway, I'm glad that I passed the exams and graduated.

Lately year, education in Viet Nam has changed a lot, student can learn vocabulary in many ways, they can use many apps to support their English skill, and many tips to learn English were sharing. At the school, their teacher also updates with many teaching styles and the condition to studying and communication with a foreigner are also more convenient than.

There were times when I was envious and thought that if I had had such conditions and environments in my time, perhaps I wouldn't have had to work so hard. But why some of my friends or other students still could get higher marks than me, even they also participate in many national or international competitions? So I was thinking wrong, learning conditions was not the key factor determining your success only, then what is it? What made my English skill became so bad and hard? The answer is ME. Yes, it's me. I did not take seriously on my study, that was my dependence and unknowingly thinking that my study is my parent's responsible because they want me to study, and I did not see any interest in them. Another thing that I didn't realize whenever doing anything, anyone would need to patiently pursue and wait for it.

The patience creates the cumulative and building process, it's like when you see someone have a delicious cake and you want it too, so instead of making it kneading the dough and learning how to make one, you're just looking at other and wish; or you also dive into learning how to bake, but without any determination, patience, and willingness to learn, then as soon as the first batch of cakes doesn't go right, you will throw it right the way and stop making cakes.

I had no real determination, no patience, and no willingness to learn to conquer. You may surprise and not believe that I have just realized and attended this argument only one year back. There is a bit of regret, but I think it's not too late to change my previous defective thinking. The proof is that I am patiently building this article and if you are reading it that means I have successfully built my small project.

I'll re-organize my life step by step and I need to be persistent in doing that.

Next is a difficult problem and I think I still haven't improved on it, that is my mind, my brain even. I could not manage it, what I need to remember, it won't remember, things I need to keep, it disappears quickly, things I want to forget, it keeps bolt. I mean, even a sentence that has just been said, sometimes I will forget it immediately, or during a talk with someone, I seem to be listening, but I heard nothing. Maybe many people have the same problem as me, but with me, it a regular higher level and my brain sometimes very poor with some very elementary problems.

Problems with memory and calculation ability make me missed a lot of opportunities and it prevent my personal development very much. With a person who has poor memory and can not concentrate like me, learning anything is difficult much less learning another language, it's not easy. Come back to what my father asked me to do. Now I grew up, I contemplated and realized its positive side – Copy and Write it down gave me a few benefits:

  • Forging handwriting

  • Don't waste time

  • There were many words dwelling of many Chapters, that inadvertently helped me to remember the vocabulary or phrase even without pressure or the feeling of being forced to learn the vocabulary by traditional style. At the present, it is called an unconsciously learning method.

  • I became familiar with English without feeling forced.

If only I have a copy and write for the next few years, I think my English could be improved faster. But anyway, now I got an experience, valuable memory to contemplate and grateful for it. Of course, I don't say that you should apply this way to be successful learning English because maybe you don't have much time to sit down and give your wholeheartedly to do it as a meditation, or it's not quite suitable anywise to everyone, but I think no matter what method it is, we still need to focus on ourselves: Search and follow the positive direction, determination, patiently pursuing, willing to learn and fixes, because whatever is it still need a process, time to wait for what you want.

Must attributive nouns always be singular in form? [duplicate]

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 06:53 AM PDT

I want to speak in English that I have a list with car names. Should I say "cars list" or "car list"?

What if I have more than one attributive noun. Should all be singular? For example I have two lists with commands. Each list has a different language and I want to merge them. Should I say

  • merged two different language commands lists or
  • merged two different language command lists?

What is the grammar behind this type of sentence structure?

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 06:30 AM PDT

Taylor described this danger to the Huffington Post; "I see clients for whom food has become problematic, and they struggle to go out and not have food be the key element of all social interaction: what they eat, when they ate, when they are going to eat again."

I know what Taylor means is that if some of her clients don't see food as the key element, they feel reluctant to go out. How to explain this usage of two "negatives?"

How to identify if a modifier is misplaced in a sentence?

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 05:18 AM PDT

Is "Unifying the master brand" in the following sentence a misplaced modifier?

Unifying the master brand, each icon also functions as a workhorse.

what is suggested about / what is suggestion about [closed]

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 02:38 AM PDT

what is suggested about? question from TOEIC reading part Why not "what is suggestion about"?

Verb for mathematical induction [closed]

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 03:15 AM PDT

The development of mathematics unfortunately chose "induction" as a name for a proof technique -- mathematical induction is not inductive, but a kind of deductive reasoning! I have seen in numerous mathematical literature that "induce" or "induct" is used as a verb meaning "to do mathematical induction". But the dictionaries I've consulted gave little useful information on this matter. Is using "induce" or "induct" appropriate? Are there better options?

In this question, the use of "induction" as in "induction of electric current" or "induction of topologies" are discussed. In these cases "induce" seems appropriate.

Heavily raining or Raining heavily?

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 10:15 AM PDT

Sentences :

  1. It is/was heavily raining here.

Or

  1. It is/was raining heavily here.

In a conversation with my friend I said that "Oh! Its heavily raining here".But he/she has corrected me as have to use "raining heavily" instead of "heavily raining".He/She corrected me to latter usage due to the common usages from daily chats with the people.So which usage is correct or more correct and why?

Which sentence is grammatically right "There are many number of apples" or "There are many number of apple"? [migrated]

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 01:06 AM PDT

Which sentence is grammatically right "There are many number of apples" or "There are many number of apple" ?

cheers

Joee

Addition of an "s" after a gang/organization/group's name to indicate its members? [closed]

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 04:41 AM PDT

I'm aware of the usage of adding an "s" after a surname to address the family members, but was just wondering if the same rule applies to gang/organization/group's name as well?

For example, if there's a group called "Dark Angel", is it okay to refer to the members as "the Dark Angels"?

I stand by you vs I'll stand by you [migrated]

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 12:34 AM PDT

Is the phrase "I stand by you" grammatically correct on its own? I know there is a song called "I'll stand by you" and understand the implication of "will". I want to use the phrase "I stand by you" so that it doesn't infringe on a potential copyright issue. Many thanks

Explain me thier differences [closed]

Posted: 13 Jun 2021 11:51 PM PDT

Which one is correct and Why it is correct ? I didn't know until you tell me OR I didn't know until you told me

What would you call the company that 'owns' or oversees a mutual fund or index fund?

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 05:21 AM PDT

They don't own it, the investors do, and 'manages' would be inaccurate since the specific people within that company responsible for the fund are listed as the managers.

Edit - More specifically, how would one say xxx mutual fund company 'oversees' yyy mutual fund?

The missing "to" in the phrase "subject to"

Posted: 13 Jun 2021 11:59 PM PDT

I learned that when referring one thing is subject to another thing, a "to" should always be there next to "subject" or before a which/that, etc. However, in the below language, there is no such "to", but the sentence is still correct. Can anyone tell me why? Many thanks!

"It is required to do so by law or by the regulations of any relevant stock exchange or other regulatory authority the rules and regulations of which he or it is subject."

Jack

Is there a phrase for expressing something is 'very red'?

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 03:00 AM PDT

My native language is Dutch, and in my language you can say something like:

"Ik kom uit een bloedrode familie" which then literally translates to "I am from a blood red family". Meaning my parents were very left wing. I wonder whether or not I can say the same in English, or if 'blood red' in English just means red as the colour of blood, without a sort of extra emphasis. If the second, what would be better? Maybe: "I am from a scarlet family background"?

What does Merriam-Webster mean by "being such in practice or effect"?

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 07:15 AM PDT

I was looking at the definition of "practical" and found a phrase that I couldn't understand.

The phrase that I'm talking about is

being such in practice or effect

And also, according to the information on the same page, this definition of "practical" is a synonym of the word "virtual". But I couldn't any definition of "virtual" that is same as the definition of "practical" that I was talking about earlier.

can chug be used with food, like chugging down my lunch

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 09:36 AM PDT

Everywhere I've looked, it seems chugging down has to be followed by a drink. But can I use it with food as well? Like "I was doing something (say, walking) while chugging down my lunch". Is it okay? If not, what's a better way to say it?

Edit: In the context I'm trying to use it, I don't want any pleasant connotations with it, or make it seem like the person is enjoying it or hungry even, or eating 'enthusiastically', as 'scarf' seems to suggest. In my context the person is doing it out of necessity, in a depressing/sad way. That's why 'chugging down' was the first solution that popped up--there's nothing necessarily pleasant about it, and one can eat in the same manner as he would chug down a drink (literally without chewing and finish it within the span of seconds). I'm also thinking about Yosef's comment under my question about what makes something okay and not okay, especially when it's a slang. Any thoughts on this?

To further clarify:

  1. Chugging down doesn't necessary imply enthusiasm or appetite (in my opinion).
  2. I do want the intensity / speed / mechanics / imagery of 'chugging down' to be there -- it's not merely the depressing aspect of it I'm trying to get at.

Placement of “anymore” with respect to other complements, as in "not possible anymore to …"

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 07:04 AM PDT

I often see sentences like this from non-native speakers:

?It is not possible anymore to cross the border without a passport.

To me, this sounds wrong, and I would write this instead:

It is no longer possible to cross the border without a passport.

Or this, which I think is grammatically correct but stylistically bad because it's hard to figure out what "anymore" attaches to:

It is not possible to cross the border without a passport anymore.

(Here "anymore" might be spelled "any more" in some variants of English. The spelling is out of scope of my question.)

On the other hand, I think the following sentences are equally idiomatic:

Crossing the border without a passport is not possible anymore.

Crossing the border without a passport is not possible any longer.

Crossing the border without a passport is no longer possible.

An Ngrams comparison shows that "no longer possible to" is the only common variant, but there are a few hits for the other variants which are not false positives.

I think there's a rule that "anymore" (when it's part of the construction "not … anymore" meaning "no longer") must be at the end of the sentence. Is this an actual grammatical rule? Is "not possible anymore to …" something only non-natives say, something that uneducated native speakers say but educated native speakers consider incorrect, or something rare but idiomatic (perhaps only in certain variants of English)?

Is the expression "North Star" (meaning a constant or guide) commonly used in the Southern Hemisphere?

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 04:50 AM PDT

Since the North Star isn't visible below the Equator, I'm wondering whether English speakers in, for example, Australia or South Africa, would typically use or understand this expression. If not, is there an equivalent expression involving the Southern Cross or any of its constituent stars?

Two 'x's in "anti-vaxxer"

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 08:56 AM PDT

I have always found myself impulsively and automatically spelling "anti-vaxxer" with two 'x's, and a Google search indicates that most other media sources did the same; however, I can't think of any other words in English that contain two adjacent 'x's, and I also can't think of a good consistent rule that would explain why it seems that the 'x' should be doubled in this case.

The person who reads is a "reader", not a "readder". However if I were to make up a word "to zif", then "the person who zifs" would probably be a "ziffer". In that case, you need the extra 'f' to distinguish the sound from something that rhymes with "lifer". Maybe the reason for the double-'x' is then that "anti-vaxer" might be mispronounced as "anti-vaikser"?

Anyone understand what is going on here? Are there other words that have an unusual but customary consonant doubling like this?

Update: another example: "doxxed"

Did the word "Crocodile" have a dreadful connotation in London 1600s?

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 08:54 AM PDT

I am writing a period-piece play based in London circa 1660s and wrote a poetic line that alludes to the crocodile as a "fearsome foe" or of much "danger and dread".

I examined every mention of the word "crocodile" in Shakespeare (not too-too before the play's set-period) and its etymology origin (which states it meant a large amphibious reptile) dates from the 1560s.

Shakespeare never considers the "crocodile" like an animal of dread but rather, according to its mention in Othello being the much older "crocodile-tears" reference, which I thus conclude that it must have been regarded as having a cunningness to it, but would it have been considered in any way of "exotic horror" or "dread"? Which I arguably will consider as the more accepted, modern-day connotation which lies in them.

O devil, devil!
If that the earth could teem with woman's tears,
Each drop she falls would prove a crocodile.
Out of my sight!

And furthermore, if my distinction and confinement of basing the connotation to London 1660s is much too specific, then any insight on the connotations of the word anywhere in the 17th Century would be most well regarded and thanked.

P.S. Since I am already asking on the basis of the "crocodile", anything on the timed connotations of the "alligator", which I know is attested to the mid-16th century origin, would be appreciated likewise.

Can we use a comma before "and" if it precedes a dependent clause?

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 07:00 AM PDT

Here is an example from Longman dictionary,

We are new to the London area, and would like to eat in restaurants or visit pubs with others.

My question is that since the second clause "would like to eat in restaurants or visit pubs with others" is a dependent clause, why add a comma before "and"? From my understanding, we do not use comma before a coordinating conjunction if it precedes a dependent clause.

I feel it's correct to write like this:

"We are new to the London area and would like to eat in restaurants or visit pubs with others."

OR

"We are new to the London area, and we would like to eat in restaurants or visit pubs with others."

What is the opposite of hermaphrodite? I.e., having no sex organs?

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 06:44 AM PDT

How could one describe an animal that is neither male nor female, because it has no sex organs?

But it could choose which sex organs to develop based on the environmental needs.

Not hermaphroditic because that means having both sets of sex organs, and not androgynous because (I believe) that describes solely appearance.

The _______ toad is...

A word/name for when multiple people are taking the blame to cover/hide another [closed]

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 04:11 AM PDT

Like the title.

Example

One kid did something from, and when the teacher asks who it was, all the kids begin to take the blame to cover/hide the kid who did it.

This also happened in the French Revolution.

What word do we use to say that something is so easily available or commonly prevalent?

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 08:19 AM PDT

If I have to say that:

"potatoes are so commonly available in that place that every random shop you visit has a store of them as if its their staple food."

Or if I have to say:

"it is so cold over there that rum is so easily available or commonly seen or prevalent everywhere inorder to withstand the cold."

Is there any single word or phrase or a better way to convey that something is very commonly available or seen almost everywhere or easily prevailing ?

Are the "umbles" etymologically related?

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 07:05 AM PDT

From Warning: In Bitter Cold, Beware The 'Umbles'

And we show telltale signs of early hypothermia, what the doctor and the National Institutes of Health and other cold-weather cognescenti call the "umbles."

First we lose some fine motor skills, McLaren says, "and we start to fumble. And tumble. And stumble."

Then our cognitive abilities are compromised. "We mumble and we grumble."

Are the "umbles", such as fumble, tumble, stumble, mumble and grumble, etymologically linked, either in terms of sharing a common ending, or entire words having a common ancestor?

Trying to do a search of the etymology of the umbles ended up giving the etymology of the word umbles instead.

Is the word assassinator legitimate? [closed]

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 04:42 AM PDT

I realize assassin is shorter and easier, but is assassinator a legitimate word? Is there any semantic difference between the two?

I realize in a historical context assassin can be used to refer to a member of the Islamic Assassin sect, I'm curious about the more common 'murderer' definition.

Why did Servia become Serbia?

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 03:13 AM PDT

Reading contemporary histories of the First World War, I noticed that at the start the nation in the Balkans is referred to as Servia, but in numbers published after the back half of 1916, it has turned into Serbia.

Is there any particular reason for this?

Consulting Google NGrams gives:-

enter image description here

which seems to correspond to my observation.

Edit Replaced Google NGram with version using capitalised names, as suggested by Steven Littman; the result makes rather more sense.

What are the differences between 'offer', 'propose', and 'suggest'? [closed]

Posted: 14 Jun 2021 02:06 AM PDT

What are the differences between offer, propose, and suggest?
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