Sunday, June 6, 2021

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

How can I learn English language in depth? [closed]

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 09:05 AM PDT

I'm a first year college student from India. English is my second language. I want to become a writer (author, playwright, & poet) so that is why I want to learn English language (Old English, Middle English & Modern English) in depth. My current level of speaking and writing in English language is below average. Could you please help me by telling a complete procedure (from very basic to most advance) so that I can start working towards my goal? Please also tell which dialect I should choose (British, American, Indian, or any other).

Thank you so much! :)

Three verb term for joining in order to neutralize

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 09:16 AM PDT

I'm trying to recall a three word term used to describe joining an organization, committee etc. in order to neutralize or disrupt it. For example, by changing the scope, insisting on arbitrary standards that prevent moving forward, that sort of subterfuge.

The term is in the form "a. b. c." where a, b, and c are verbs.

Suggestions would be appreciated.

the use of "that" after a dash

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 08:57 AM PDT

It is common to assume that creativity concerns primarily the relation between actor(creator) and artifact(creation). However, from a sociocultural standpoint, the creative act is never "complete" in the absence of a second position — that of an audience. While the actor or creator him/herself is the first audience of the artifact being produced, this kind of distantiation can only be achieved by internalizing the perspective of others on one's work.

Q. In the above, what does the bold-faced "that" refer to? Is it "the absence" or "a position"? I think here dash is used as the same meaning as "in other words", but I'm not sure whether it refers to the head noun in the preceding NP or just the noun that precedes "that".

What is the correct usage of future past in these examples?

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 05:55 AM PDT

Here are two sentences:

  1. He didn't know that this would be the last day he sees her alive

and

  1. He didn't know that this would be the last day he would see her alive

Are they both correct? And if so, what is the difference?

How did the meaning of the word «play» spread from games to things that are not games?

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 09:37 AM PDT

You can play a role in a film (movie), you can play a musical instrument in an orchestra. However, these activities are more work than a game. In ancient Roman theaters, slaves played, and it is difficult to say that it was entertainment for them. It was rather their job.

According to etymonline.com:

Meaning "to take part in" a martial or athletic game is from c. 1200. It has been opposed to work (v.) since late 14c.

Did the word "play" begin to refer to activities that were not considered work?

What is the etymology of the word "play" in meanings unrelated to games? For example: to play in the theater or in a film (movie), to play a musical instrument.

What is the meaning of "an executed purpose"

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 03:38 AM PDT

What does it mean by "an executed purpose" in this context?

So far as you are wholly concentrated on bringing about a certain result, clearly the quicker and easier it is brought about the better. Your resolve to secure a sufficiency of food for yourself and your family will induce you to spend weary days in tilling the ground and tending livestock; but if Nature provided food and meat in abundance ready for the table, you would thank Nature for sparing you much labor and consider yourself so much the better off. An executed purpose, in short, is a transaction in which the time and energy spent on the execution are balanced against the resulting assets, and the ideal case is one in which the former approximates to zero and the latter to infinity. Purpose, then, justifies the efforts it exacts only conditionally, by their fruits.

Questions) An executed purpose, in short, is a transaction in which the time and energy spent on the execution are balanced against the resulting assets.

What does it mean by "an executed purpose?" My first guess is the purpose of an execution is a transaction. That is, the aim of an execution is a transaction.

The second guess is the execution of a purpose is a transaction. That is, That people execute a purpose is a transaction is a transaction.

Plus, is "an executed purpose" ambiguous, awkward or not clear to even native speakers?

Can we say " I'm craving to see you all."? [migrated]

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 02:58 AM PDT

I'm craving to see you all. Is this a correct usage?

What does 'dissociated realities' mean?

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 02:42 AM PDT

Sorry my main language is not english. What does dissociated realities mean? I came across this phrase a couple of times when I read some articles and such. But, I don't think I really understand what that phrase means.

If we say Max's phones for example. Can we use the same for companies? Samsung's phones? Apple's phones? or we say without 's? [closed]

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 12:33 AM PDT

If we say Max's phones for example. Can we use the same for companies? Samsung's phones? Apple's phones? or we say without 's? I have searched but couldn't find it.

I am able to … VS I am good with … [migrated]

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 12:07 AM PDT

Being none native speaker can be very difficult especially when we get to hear the natives use certain expression or words which are not familiar to us; we sometimes blindly follow them as we expect them to be correct in most cases:

Are both sentences to be considered gramatically the same?

Do you have any problem with Ivy?

I don't have any problem with Ivy because…

  1. I am good with Ivy
  2. I am able to socialise with Ivy just great/good

Will number 1 not sound like 'you and Ivy actually are good' as in 'Me and Ivy are good'? Is it grammatical to say so when it comes to academic prose: please enlighten me.

Will number 2 or something similar to its contruction will be prefered?

How to use quotation marks when quoting more than one paragraphs? [duplicate]

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 04:47 AM PDT

When quoting on a website like Stack Exchange, we have block quotes:

like these

but if they aren't available, and I want to use "double quotation marks": "then the quote is enclosed in them like this". Now it is ok for a single paragraph, I can put "..." at the beginning and the end of the paragraph. For example, from English Language Wikipedia:

"The next period in the history of English was Early Modern English (1500–1700). Early Modern English was characterised by the Great Vowel Shift (1350–1700), inflectional simplification, and linguistic standardisation."

That's OK. But what if I quote multiple paragraphs? Should I use "..." at the beginning and end of each paragraph separately?

Example:

"The next period in the history of English was Early Modern English (1500–1700). Early Modern English was characterised by the Great Vowel Shift (1350–1700), inflectional simplification, and linguistic standardisation."

"The Great Vowel Shift affected the stressed long vowels of Middle English. It was a chain shift, meaning that each shift triggered a subsequent shift in the vowel system. Mid and open vowels were raised, and close vowels were broken into diphthongs."

"English began to rise in prestige, relative to Norman French, during the reign of Henry V. Around 1430, the Court of Chancery in Westminster began using English in its official documents, and a new standard form of Middle English, known as Chancery Standard, developed from the dialects of London and the East Midlands"

Is that the correct way? Or is there any other way to do so?

Why is the word "Pockets" used when referring to certain sections of places in a large area

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 12:10 AM PDT

Recently, I was reading about some thing related to geography. And then, I came across the word "Pockets" which actually refer to some small areas in a larger area.

But can anyone tell me, why is the word "Pockets" used when referring to certain sections of places in a large area

Acceptable verbs used with a comparative adverb in present perfect [closed]

Posted: 05 Jun 2021 11:53 PM PDT

In the past tense, this is correct:

"She felt stronger than she did a day ago."

In present perfect, which of these forms are acceptable?

"She felt stronger than she have felt a day ago."    "She felt stronger than she have done a day ago."

Motivation for this question: I recently came across

"The juxtaposition between them made her feel even more slovenly than she had done five seconds earlier."

in Haig's The Midnight Library. This sounded "off" to me, so I'd like to clarify.

That Grow or That Grows [duplicate]

Posted: 05 Jun 2021 09:54 PM PDT

The pineapple, a fruit THAT GROWS in tropical climates throughout the world, is native to parts of South America.

OR

The pineapple, a fruit THAT GROW in tropical climates throughout the world, is native to parts of South America.

Q: Which one is more correct and why?

My answer is the first one because pineapple pronoun is "it" so it must use "s" but somehow it sounds odd? Please do tell me if I'm correct or wrong thank you.

how to parse "as suggested is your best option"

Posted: 05 Jun 2021 11:03 PM PDT

Consider the following sentence:

As suggested is your best option.

In case the sentence is difficult to understand, consider a context as follows:

Although further opportunities may arise later, I think, for now, as suggested is your best option.

The structure seems natural, at least to me, even if uncommon, but also poses a question I find challenging.

If the sentence is accepted, then it seems to follow that the phrase "as suggested" functions as a noun. Is this inference correct?

If so, which rule or principle of grammar directly would support this function? Otherwise, how does the phrase integrate successfully with the overall structure of the sentence?

Is it ever grammatically correct to say "And you, my."

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 07:50 AM PDT

If it is acceptable to answer

I love you.

with

And I you.

which we could represent as:

And I love you.

Would it be acceptable to answer:

You're my hero.

with

And you my.

in other words:

And you are my hero.

  1. Why is the gap allowed in the first response?

  2. Does this allow for gaps in the second response too?

  3. If not, why not? (in relation to each gap)

Is 'Pious' an antonym of itself?

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 05:47 AM PDT

I met a person recently who challenged my use of the word 'pious' for I thought it meant a devout and 'as unpretending as' humanly possible toward religion, yet the other person thought I was speaking of a 'pious' person who was a charlatan or a lazily devout person.

I read Merriam Webster, thinking if both definitions have popularity, there will be evidence we are both correct, of course my choice would win, being the first ranked. Yes and no. Mine is first; it's 1a, and hers is second labeled 1b!

What?

Have I found a word that is an antonym of itself? How often does that happen? How does that happen? And what does it all mean?

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

Posted: 05 Jun 2021 11:50 PM 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.

It is + demonstrative pronoun these

Posted: 05 Jun 2021 08:06 PM PDT

what would be the correct usage and difference in meaning in the sentences below:

  1. It is these small steps that let us ...

or

  1. These are the small steps that let us ...

Is there a symbol to indicate a fraction normalized to the unit interval (0 to 1)? [closed]

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 01:00 AM PDT

I'm looking for a symbol/character that quickly conveys to the reader that the number that follows is to be understood as a decimal fraction in the range from 0 (minimum) to 1 (maximum). So for example "humidity: 0.4<symbol>" would represent the same idea as "humidity: 40%".

This would be analogous to the % (per cent) and ‰ (per mille) signs. When you read a table column labeled as "% humidity" or "% unemployment" you understand well and immediately that the numbers that follow below are relative to the range 0 to 100.

I want to use this in in table headers, function annotations, on UI buttons, as boilerplate text, and so forth. I.e. anywhere where there isn't a lot of space and it's better to be succinct. It would appear alongside other shorthands such as Σ for sum, ⌀ for average, Δ for difference, # for ordinal, etc.

For now I'm using the unit interval notation [0, 1] or [0...1] as a prefix or postfix but it's not always well understood.

Edit: I should mention that I'm typically unable to modify the data itself, so I can't just change 0.4 to 40% and use the percentage symbol.

What tense is "would have been"?

Posted: 05 Jun 2021 09:04 PM PDT

This is used in Conditional Type 3. But no one knows what tense this is...

has been responsible vs was responsible

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 02:04 AM PDT

Here's the example sentence.

"There have been arguments about who was/has been responsible for the accident."

I'm not a native speaker. In my language(which is Chinese), when you cause an accident, and then you are immediately responsible for the accident. Additionally, responsibility lasts forever, so if I used "was" in the sentence, I feel weird, and "has been" looks like the more proper one. However, I really want to hear the opinion from the native speaker.

Which one is more correct in this sentence? What's the difference between them?

What is the proper way to cite a title of a poem, written in lowercase, from a book of poetry using MLA?

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 03:58 AM PDT

If the title of the poem were "apple and trees," would it be best to write it as "[A]pple and trees," or is there a preferred method?

What's a modern alternative idiom to 'Don't spoil the ship for a ha'porth of tar'?

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 05:05 AM PDT

What's a modern alternative idiom to 'Don't spoil the ship for a ha'porth of tar'?

Struggling to find an alternative to this idiom that would resonate with modern audiences.

How did nominal come to mean "within acceptable tolerances"?

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 02:28 AM PDT

The word "nominal" has a number of definitions.

For example, the Free Dictionary gives seven:

nom·i·nal (nm-nl) adj.

  1. a. Of, resembling, relating to, or consisting of a name or names. b. Assigned to or bearing a person's name: nominal shares.
  2. Existing in name only.
  3. Philosophy Of or relating to nominalism.
  4. Insignificantly small; trifling: a nominal sum.
  5. Business a. Of, relating to, or being the amount or face value of a sum of money or a stock certificate, for example, and not the purchasing power or market value. b. Of, relating to, or being the rate of interest or return without adjustment for compounding or inflation.
  6. Grammar Of or relating to a noun or word group that functions as a noun.
  7. Aerospace & Engineering According to plan or design: a nominal flight check. [...]

[Middle English nominalle, of nouns, from Latin nōminālis, of names, from nōmen, nōmin-, name; see nō̆men- in Indo-European roots.]

This consistent with the definitions in OED3 and other sources.

Most of the definitions are clearly from the sense of "names" and "nouns" - and from that idea of something being only in name, but not in reality.

However, the aerospace sense seems quite different. During a recent rocket launch, the announcer repeated phrases like "Height is nominal. Power is nominal." to mean these values were within the acceptable and expected ranges.

The OED references these sources [Hat tip @tchrist]:

6. (See quot. 1970.)

  • 1966 Aviation Week & Space Technology 5 Dec. 30/1
    The mission is to launch the 800-lb. Prime vehicle to effect a nominal re-entry at 400,000 ft. following injection at 26,000 fps.

  • 1970 N. Armstrong et al. First on Moon vi. 124
    An example of misuse is our use of the word 'nominal', which most of the English-speaking world interprets as meaning small, minimal-and we usually use it in the sense of being average or normal.

  • 1970 R. Turnill Lang. Space 94
    Nominal, a favourite word, meaning within prescribed limits; anything from 'perfect' to acceptable.

  • 1972 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 26 July 3/1
    As one engineer said, 'She is phenomenally nominal' — nominal being space jargon for operating-as-planned.

I wonder if anyone can explain that derivation. Is it derived from the other senses of nominal? Is it influenced by the word "normal"?

Where did "duck, duck, gray duck" come from?

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 04:10 AM PDT

Duck, Duck, Goose is a common children's game but a typical Minnesotan calls the game a slightly different name: Duck, Duck, Gray Duck. I have never talked to anyone outside of Minnesota that knows of this game as Duck, Duck, Gray Duck.

Wikipedia merely notes that it is a Minnesotan variant:

"Duck Duck Gray Duck" is a variant played by children in Minnesota. The core gameplay difference is that the picker taps the heads of the other players while calling out variant colored ducks and then calls "grey duck" in place of "goose".

There are no notes on why the game is named differently or why Minnesota seems to be the only region that uses Gray Duck.

My question is: When did Duck, Duck, Gray Duck diverge from Duck, Duck, Goose and is there a particular reason why it did?

Saxon genitive usage question

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 08:58 AM PDT

My colleagues are in the design department of a given product, and when asked to add that information to the e-mail signature, they have written:

ProductName's Design

I'm objecting that the usage of the Saxon genitive there is incorrect, because the product is neither a person or animal owning anything, and Design in this context is not even a property of the product (Maybe I would admit the Saxon genitive in a context like "I think ProductName's design is not fail-safe"), but an activity.

Am I right? ^_^

update:

After reading the answers and the comments, I think the issue has been clarified a little bit. In this case ProductName is acting as an adjective qualifying Design [Department], so that's the actual reason for not using the genitive case (rather than the product being a "weak entity" unable to possess things, that is merely an stylistic rule of thumb).
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