Wednesday, June 2, 2021

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Is there a word or phrase that describes something created for sharing?

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 09:32 AM PDT

I am looking for a word that describes something that was created specifically to be shared (as opposed to kept by the creator, or sold). But not necessarily given away, like a gift, but potentially owned by the creator and shared or given to someone else to be shared.

Likewise is there a word that describes the act of creating in this context.

Is there any ambiguity in the listed expressions? [closed]

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 09:22 AM PDT

Is there any ambiguity in the following expressions:

  1. Providing your future
  2. Take everything from tech
  3. Keep up with tech
  4. Bringing better from tech
  5. Ensure success by using the best

What does "by" mean in the sentence "I have the room all to myself by July"? [closed]

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 08:08 AM PDT

I understand the idea, but I'm struggling with that two letter word. Here's what I'm questioning:

  1. The room is all to himself before July? (Before July begins)
  2. The room is all to himself after July? (After July begins)
  3. The room is all to himself during July? (From the first day, untill the last day of the month)

What's a better choice for "a variety of mediums"?

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 07:57 AM PDT

I read the following in a workplace communication this morning:

We plan to communicate our re-entry strategies and schedules throughout the summer (using a variety of mediums) to help everyone plan accordingly.

I know what's meant, but "a variety of mediums" puts me in mind of a tag-team séance. Although "media" might be the more correct plural in the intended sense, it has the [recent?] implication of "mass media", which is not what's meant here.

What might have been a better way to write this?

meaning of "Going into worldwide syndication"

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 08:04 AM PDT

Regarding this text:

Then we'd die and go into worldwide syndication like all good American families.

I know "go into worldwide syndication" is used for TV programs. Why should a simple ordinary family go into worldwide syndication after their death?

From The Sellout by Paul Beatty.

How should I analyze this sentence?

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 07:57 AM PDT

The following is a line from Wordsmith by Pamela Arlov.

For all we try to show our kids and tell them how we believe people should act, how we hope they will act, it still comes as a shock and a pleasure — a relief, frankly — when they do something that suggests they understand.

I think the first part of the bold typed phrase should be analyzed as

For all (that_i) we try to show our kids [_i]

But, the second part

tell them how we believe people should act, how we hope they will act

also have to have a gap [_i] in it for the whole of the bald typed phrase to be an adverbial. But, I can't find it.

How do you describe this way of wearing the jacket? [closed]

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 07:06 AM PDT

He wore this jacket [with the front open].

How do you describe this style of wearing the jacket? Preferably with simple words or sentences.

I actually couldn't find a simple way to describe this, even in my native language, which is really strange. I've been wearing jackets like this for a long time and just wondered this.

Guy wearing a jacket

Idiom on a person who sleeps late at night and wake up early in the morning [duplicate]

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 07:09 AM PDT

We use the "night owl" idiom for a person who go to sleep late at night, and the "early bird" for those who wake up early in the morning.

Is there any idiom for a person who goes to sleep late at night (2 AM) and wakes up early in the morning (6 AM)?

Dog vs dawg pronunciation [closed]

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 06:54 AM PDT

What is the difference in pronunciation between dog and the slang dawg ? Does it has one ?

Or only the context can make the difference ?

Other words that represent pairs of related family members? [duplicate]

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 03:57 AM PDT

Concerning the attached image, do specific words exist to complete the table?

As in "As two sons are called brothers, a father and a son are called _______"

enter image description here

IELTS Writing task 2 structure [closed]

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 03:09 AM PDT

In IELTS writing task 2 if the question asks that 'the best way to improve health is to do exercise regularly. TO what extent do you agree?'. Should I mention the disadvantage of exercise like doing exercise excessively in body 1?

"Customer Eccentric Approach" [closed]

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 02:45 AM PDT

The company I work for recently released some social media posts describing our approach to business as "customer eccentric".

At first glance, this looks to me like someone just misspelled "customer centric", or misheard someone else say that.

When I googled it, however, I did see some other uses of the phrase. They could all be mistaken, I suppose, or maybe that's just now a phrase people use in business. Wanted to check here first though.

With + noun+noun? Does this structure work? [duplicate]

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 04:19 AM PDT

"With cats and dogs the most popular companion animals around the world, it's no surprise that they are often compared to one another in the great cats vs dogs debate."

Please help me understand this part"With cats and dogs the most popular companion animals around the world"

I know how the nominative absolute works with with, however, the predicate here is a noun. Is it grammtically correct?

In chess lingo, should pieces be preceded with the "the" article? [closed]

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 07:14 AM PDT

I've noticed many native english speakers that are professional chess players saying things like:

In this situation I can capture with pawn.

This just "sounds" very unnatural to me and I would say

In this situation I can capture with the pawn.

I tried to go into whether it was countable/non countable but I couldn't find an answer by myself, I'm not even sure that's what would determine it.

My question is, do chess pieces need articles? Are there different situations where sometimes it's needed and sometimes not which I'm not noticing?

What does 'lukewarm pickles' mean here? [closed]

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 04:26 AM PDT

What does "lukewarm pickles" mean here? Does it mean that the guy's mouth smells lukewarm pickles? If so, why does she wish she was dead? This is the first time the boy and the girl are meeting each other in person, they'd been communicating via online platforms for a while.

Outside, he is double-parked. He leans against the car and remains like this as I come out, his eyes bright and still... [unimportant context is removed] I reach for his hand, trying not to swallow my tongue, and something feels strange. Of course there are nerves. In person he is a total daddy, his face alert and hard, softened only by the slight recession of his hair. But this strange feeling has nothing to do with that, nothing to do with me looking past his sensuous mouth and slightly askew nose for any indication that he is as nervous as I am. It is that it is 8:15 a.m. and I feel happy. I am not on the L, smelling someone's lukewarm pickles, wishing I were dead.

From 'Luster,' by Raven Leilani

What's a good way to say "the front right 'side' of a car"?

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 04:29 AM PDT

For context:

There was a collision and the front left side of A's car hit the back right side of B's car.

The "front right" of a car isn't really a side so much as it is a corner, yet corner doesn't really sound good in the above context.

How do I tell the difference between "two" and "too"?

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 04:26 AM PDT

If there's someone said "I'm twenty", and another person replied to him "I'm twenty too". But I heard it "I'm twenty-two".

Is there a way to tell the difference between the use of two and too in these two sentences?

What is the difference between “they” and “it” for people, especially for those people who choose to be identified as non-binary?

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 07:28 AM PDT

I've heard that they is used as a word to refer to people who are non-binary. Since English is not my first language, I'm not sure what the difference is between they and it in these usages.

Of course, I know that it is mainly used for things rather than people. But I've simply thought it is more neutral than they. In this context, is it possible to write it to a person? Could this be a rude act? Or is it because it is often not used as a personal pronoun, so it's confusing?

Just 'carry' for 'carry weapons' and just 'lift' instead of 'lift weights'. What linguistic phenomenon is it?

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 07:33 AM PDT

There are English verbs that can be used without an object while meaning a certain object. E.g.

  • Carry = carry weapons
  • Lift = lift weights
  • Use = use drugs
  • Possibly, 'investigate' (an incident, a crime, a statement) as well.

Some examples I saw:

California may issue permits to carry if a person meets the requirements.

For years I lifted just because I loved to lift.

The FBI was called in to investigate.

This is what I'm wondering:

  1. Any more examples that spring to your mind?
  2. Is there a word or a term in Linguistics for this sort of phenomenon?

I found and read a few articles about null objects / context null objects. They mention examples like 'Beat [ø] until stiff'. Are my examples the same phenomenon?

Thank you.

How should I use "play roles", "play many roles" or somethings else?

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 05:06 AM PDT

If A has an influence on B, one can say A plays a role in B.

If A has no influence on B, one can say A plays no role in B.

What if A has two different influences on B? Should it be: A plays two roles in B?

And what if A has many influences on B? Should it be A plays many roles or play roles?

Thank you in advance!

Idea and preposition

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 04:06 AM PDT

I just need to have a better understanding of when and how to use the following prepositions with their corresponding word:

  1. Idea about
  2. Idea of
  3. can you use the preposition "about" with the word "understand/understanding"?

Thank you!

Quoting multiple sentences in a short quote. No interruption

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 02:07 AM PDT

I've encountered this grammar several times while proofreading academic papers. There is a tendency among authors to use inline quotes with multiple sentences quoted. For example,

John cited Powell's belief that the search for 'life on other planets has been a disaster. Now is the time to cut funding to the programme.'

My question is two-fold. (1) Is it even possible to have two sentences within this kind of inline quote? And (2) if you can, how do you treat the punctuation in British English. In other words, should the full stop go inside or outside the quote marks.

I consulted the Chicago, APA and MLA handbooks/guides, as well as the punctuation guide and Butcher's copyediting book. None of these seem to address this issue, always showing how to quote for one sentence quotations or block quotes. This leads me to believe you can't quote multiple sentences in a inline quote couched in a sentence. But if this is the case (3) how does one punctuate/rewrite a sentence like this to convey the meaning of the author correctly?

The three options I've thought of is (1) an ellipsis and putting the final full stop outside of the quote marks

John cited Powell's belief that the search for 'life on other planets has been a disaster . . . now is the time to cut funding to the programme'.

or breaking the quote apart

John cited Powell's belief that the search for 'life on other planets has been a disaster'. 'Now is the time to cut funding to the programme.'

or, a third re-written option

John cited that the search for 'life on other planets has been a disaster', part of Powell's belief that 'now is the time to cut funding to the programme'

I don't feel the third option really reflects what was intended, and moreover, my question is more general and is intended to reflect multiple examples where this occurs.

Any help is appreciated.

What does "thrice-blessed" mean in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" Act 1 Scene 1?

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 09:01 AM PDT

There was a line in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" Act 1 Scene 1 that says:

"... Thrice-blessèd they that master so their blood

To undergo such maiden pilgrimage." (Theseus)

So, could anyone tell me the meaning of "Thrice-blessed"? Because I can't find it on the web. The meaning of blessed three times sounds strange, but if it is, what is the origin?

Thank you very much!

Edit: I searched on SparkNotes and the translation said:

People who can restrain their passions and stay virgins forever are holy.

So, "thrice-blessèd" means holy???

Use of the word sat vs sitting

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 09:31 AM PDT

Please help resolve a dispute between my partner and me.

The other day, I sent my partner a text explains that 'I would rather be sat in the pub drinking a beer' to which I was corrected that I should have used 'sitting' instead of 'sat'. I'm pretty sure both are proper English but she disagrees and says using 'sat' is lazy. Help!

"xxxx it is then!", what does it really mean?

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 07:07 AM PDT

Every now and then, I hear others say "xxxx it is then", e.g. "10:30am it is then", "$200 it is then", I myself sometimes say this too, as a means to confirm some arrangement I suspect I did not hear correctly.

Is confirmation actually the supposed use of such expressions?

Has there ever been a word for someone who has a thousand pounds?

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 09:48 AM PDT

If someone who has a million of a particular currency is called a millionaire, and someone with a billion is called a billionaire what do you call someone with a thousand?

I realise that nowadays this would mean almost everyone, so the word wouldn't be used much. But in the past owning a thousand dollars would have been more notable so perhaps there would have been a word in common usage.

Can I use verb "to ride" referring to a car?

Posted: 02 Jun 2021 03:26 AM PDT

If I'm behind the wheel, "I'm driving". But if I am in the back seat or the passenger front seat what am I doing? Am I riding in the car?"

"I rode 20 miles." (My Dad was the driver.)

"We are riding the through the tunnel."

Are the above sentences common and correct?
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