Thursday, July 22, 2021

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Preposition question: should I use 'from' or 'in'? [closed]

Posted: 22 Jul 2021 08:11 AM PDT

Fans will delight in this character Tonie jam-packed with popular songs from the well-loved adventures of/from/in/depicted in? the animated series, Mr Bean.

Not sure which preposition is best here, without overcomplicating things... Using 'from' twice sounds wrong to me...

Any help is so much appreciated. Every day is a school day!

For adding some information about the subject in the sentence in a way that the sentence doesn't change which one would be true? [closed]

Posted: 22 Jul 2021 08:12 AM PDT

I'm about to write a literature text and I wanna describe the subject without adding more sentences two ways come to my mind but I don't know which would be more appropriate the first one:

David, the third child of the king, had taken the control of the army after his father.

Second one:

David who is the third child of the king, had taken the control of the army after his father.

I don't know which is true or maybe I should generally say it differently?

What does the universe mean when it comes with a "d" at the end? universed [closed]

Posted: 22 Jul 2021 07:34 AM PDT

In the Doppelgangers episode of "How I Met Your Mother", there's the following conversation:

Marshall: Baby, were you serious about the whole fifth doppelganger thing? I mean, having a baby is a pretty big thing to leave up to the universe.
Lily: Yeah, I know it's crazy. It's just so much easier to let the universe decide. Why do you ask?
Marshall: Boom! Universed!

We all know the universe is a noun, so what does it mean when they say "universed"?

Is this correct - period of the order of several thousands of days?

Posted: 22 Jul 2021 08:44 AM PDT

Is this correct, please?

an orbital period of the order of several thousands of days

Sentence

This is a binary star system with an orbital period of the order of several thousands of days.

I'm interested in knowing if the prepositions are appropriate.

An alternative valediction for sailors to “fair winds” [closed]

Posted: 22 Jul 2021 05:56 AM PDT

I'm looking for an alternative to signing emails to sailors. I feel the commonly used "fair winds" and "following seas" are overused.

What is the reason for skipping the preposition "on"? [duplicate]

Posted: 22 Jul 2021 04:59 AM PDT

In Goggle Ngram Viewer I found these sentences:

  1. How are you enabled to say it was Monday that you saw him?

  2. It was Monday that I was sworn as a witness.

  3. It was on Monday that he called at my house.

  4. It was on Monday when I met Mrs. Surratt at Unlontown.

  5. It was Monday when I picked the report up.

I have to questions regarding it:

  1. The first thing is that I can't figure out when to use "that" or "when" in such cases.In other words,in what situations should I lean towards "when" and when - towards "that" if we speak about time?
  2. And the second thing I don't understand is why the preposition "on" can be omitted before "Monday" in some of these sentences. We can't say "I did it Monday" or "I met her Tuesday". So what's the reason for skipping the preposition?

Noun-clause beginning with "what" involving infinitive [closed]

Posted: 22 Jul 2021 08:58 AM PDT

I have a question about noun clauses beginning with "what" involving infinitive. First, consider the following group of sentences.

(1a) What does it take to learn from the past?

(1b) It takes [quality X] to learn from the past.

(1c) We do not have what it takes to learn from the past.

Now I want to make another group of sentences following the same pattern.

(2a) What is important to learn from the past?

(2b) It is important to learn [lesson Y] from the past.

The question is what should (2c) be? The sentence

(2c) We have not learned what is important to learn from the past.

sounds natural, but the sentence

(2c') We have not learned what it is important to learn from the past

seems more grammatical. In fact, my question arose because I came across a sentence of the type (2c') in reading a translation of old theology text:

"By the knowledge of God, I understand that by which we not only conceive that there is some God, but also apprehend what it is for our interest, and conducive to his glory, what, in short, it is befitting to know concerning him."

One word for light turning on and off regularly [closed]

Posted: 22 Jul 2021 04:07 AM PDT

When light turns on and off IRREGULARLY, the right word is flicker. Is there a word for light turning on and off at a regular rate?

which one must be used with "lately" in THIS question? [migrated]

Posted: 22 Jul 2021 01:35 AM PDT

I saw this test ==> Why ....... any good news lately?

and doubted between these two choices:

  1. hasn't there been
  2. there hasn't been

which one must be used here, with lately?

It made or it was made [migrated]

Posted: 22 Jul 2021 02:38 AM PDT

He was not in there when the song made . He was not in there when the song was made .

Above the two sentences which one seems more appropriate?

"There are things I can't give up either", correct or not?

Posted: 22 Jul 2021 03:38 AM PDT

I'm wondering whether I can use "either" or "too" in this sentence, or both?

"There are things I can't give up either"

"There are things I can't give up too"

Please explain why/why not, thank you!

Cynicism: Is one usage-sense close to pessimism?

Posted: 22 Jul 2021 01:32 AM PDT

I think I have come across uses of cynicism in modern contexts where it seems close to pessimism. The dictionary definitions available are pointing towards cynics being ones who make judgements on peoples' motivations; but then there are usage guides out there that are making much closer comparisons with how pessimism is used, namely a certain kind of judgement about life or circumstances in general.

So should cynicism only be used in terms of a view on people's motivations (namely, that they are guided by self interest or mal-intent)? Or can I say something like: the recent economic and security situation has made me cynical about this country's future?

re-explain or reinterpret?

Posted: 22 Jul 2021 06:51 AM PDT

I'm having a little confusion when typing these words to my customer. So we talk about things that I don't understand what they are saying/ what are their instructions? So, I kindly ask them to explain it again. The issue I'm having here is should I use re-explain or reinterpret?

Please help me with this issue. Thank you guys.

Several people sharing the same title...is the title plural?

Posted: 22 Jul 2021 10:42 AM PDT

If you have a sentence that is referring to several people who share the same title, does the title become plural?

  • We are pleased to announce the promotion of John, Bob, and Joe, to the position of Associates.
  • We are pleased to announce the promotion of John, Bob, and Joe, to the positions of Associate.
  • We are pleased to announce the promotion of John, Bob, and Joe, to the position of Associate.
    		•

    What is a word for one-third? [closed]

    Posted: 22 Jul 2021 04:23 AM PDT

    Quarter denotes one-fourth. Is there a word like quarter but denoting one-third? I googled it but do not have answer for this question.

    Indentation following a Zareba

    Posted: 22 Jul 2021 03:26 AM PDT

    Is there an indentation following a section break that indicates a time lapse? I know if you double-space in fiction to indicate a break in thought, there is no line indentation in the first line following. Is that also true with a bank of asterisks that indicate a temporal break?

    Which pronoun is used for Spirit or Ghost and is there a rule that says we must use certain pronoun for the Spirit? Is it a common gender noun?

    Posted: 22 Jul 2021 12:08 AM PDT

    Which pronoun is used for the Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost) in Christian theology? Is there a rule that says we must use certain pronoun for the Spirit? And is it a common gender noun?

    The controversy pertains to the evolution of English Bible translations, started using "He" for the Holy Spirit. I know in Greek, the word for spirit 'pneuma' is neuter. The underlying assumption given by the modern as well as the old English translators is that in order to maintain the personhood of the Spirit, we must change the neuter pronoun to masculine.

    I am under the impression that Spirit or Ghost is always a person or personal. My spirit is not a separate person than myself, however it is not an inanimate power. If my ghost leaves my body, I should use "it" to describe it, not "he".

    I want to know the basis of this popular assumption among the translators that in English, a personal noun has to have a gendered pronoun. Is their assumption linguistically accurate? Do we have historical references of pronouns used for the Spirit or Ghost?

    For reference, I know of the common gender nouns which have the neuter pronoun, and Spirit or Ghost should count under it. Formal gender is the linguistic gender which has nothing to do with biological gender. English tends to follow natural gender, and has no formal gender.

    Examples of personal common gender are – baby, doctor, player, neighbor, friend, parent, anchor, pupil, teacher, cousin, reporter, etc.

    Some definitions:

    • Grammatical (formal gender) vs. natural gender The natural gender of a noun, pronoun or noun phrase is a gender to which it would be expected to belong based on relevant attributes of its referent. Although grammatical gender can coincide with natural gender, it need not.

    • common gender: (linguistics) A grammatical gender in some languages, formed by the historical merging of masculine and feminine genders. (grammar) In some languages (e.g. Latin, Lithuanian), a gender applied to a noun that can be either masculine or feminine.

    What's the word for someone who knows what you need in advance?

    Posted: 22 Jul 2021 04:08 AM PDT

    An adjective that describes someone who knows what you need in advance and do for you.
    It is more than flexible and adaptable.

    For example, My father used to watch news on a phone after he had dinner. So my mom knows that and she charged his phone in case there will be no batteries when he needs them.

    In this time, how can I describe my mom?

    Are there historical examples of "unchartered territory" used correctly?

    Posted: 22 Jul 2021 10:45 AM PDT

    People have been mistakenly saying "unchartered" instead of "uncharted" when speaking informally, but now even major news networks are doing it. E.g.: CTV News — 'Unchartered territory': Ont. adds 4,227 new COVID-19 cases, second-highest ever - YouTube.

    Since "unchartered territory" does have a real meaning, it made me wonder, are there any historical uses of this expression being used correctly?

    I can't pinpoint what's exactly wrong with this corporate mission, but it feels really incorrect [closed]

    Posted: 22 Jul 2021 10:01 AM PDT

    I am currently looking over a local small-time company's corporate mission, and I can't figure out what exactly is wrong with it or how to fix it but it doesn't feel right. Would appreciate thoughts! Also - would this be considered a vision or a mission? What makes each?

    "Got an idea? We are ready to explore the possibilities.

    We have been behind the cameras crafting stories and concept videos alike for 6 years now. Always looking to work with and not for our clients, we end up putting out collaborations instead which we find, are where value lies."

    'at' or 'in' used in a phrase

    Posted: 22 Jul 2021 01:06 AM PDT

    I am having problems choosing between those two in a phrase I use a lot at work. I am gonna go straight to the example

    'Your order status has changed to 'At delivery site at CH 8060 Zurich'

    I work in logistics and I send clients updates like this for every job. Postcode and city name can be anything as I operate worldwide.

    Question is. Which one is better/corrext here for 'At delivery site in' or 'At delivery site at'

    Thanks for your help

    Grouping of "or" and "along with"

    Posted: 22 Jul 2021 04:01 AM PDT

    I was confronted with the following sentence

    Pass either exam 480 or 483 along with exam 486.

    and wonder, if the options for me are

    1. 480
    2. 483 and 486

    or this:

    1. 480 and 486
    2. 483 and 486

    Is this obvious to the native English reader? And if so, why? It is not obvious to some non-natives including myself.

    "Say" and "said" as transitive and intransitive verbs

    Posted: 22 Jul 2021 04:57 AM PDT

    I have an interesting question. Is "say" a transitive verb in the case of direct/reported speech? I understand that it can be a transitive verb in cases like "She said the phrase." or "She says the words quietly.". But what about:

    Bob looked at his fried and said, "You are my best buddy." Or, "I know that," said his friend.

    My thought process on this is that the direct/reported speech instance is not representing the use of the verb "say" as transitive, as it is a separate dialogue tag with no direct object. However, I think this all moves into the realm of what we believe the role of speech is in grammatical structure in the first place, which I don't know about you, but I have mixed thoughts on in the first place.

    Is there a word for when you are attempting to google something but can't find the necessary phrase/key words to return the results you're after

    Posted: 22 Jul 2021 03:46 AM PDT

    I occasionally run in to the problem. Generally when I'm attempting to achieve something in programming which I know to be possible and also is likely to have been accomplished before. I generally find my specific problem is obviously not going to appear but to frame the problem in general terms makes it almost unintelligible to a person, never mind google. As an example - "How to check relevance of changes in each attribute to changes in the result"

    Sadly attempting to Google the word to describe this phenomenon yielded no answer, possible in a very meta example of the described problem.

    Origin of the negative connotation of "boy"

    Posted: 22 Jul 2021 07:02 AM PDT

    Recently I stumbled on a discussion where the word "chico" in Spanish is translated to "boy". To my knowledge, using "chico" to refer to someone younger is considered normal. But in English, calling an adult "boy", even if younger, would be considered rude. I believe "garçon" in French is also rude.

    Can someone confirm my understanding of the connotations of these words in French and Spanish?

    • Did "boy" in English always have a negative meaning? (when used to refer to adults)
    • Is there a record of these words gaining/losing their negative connotations?
    • Why is it different between Spanish and French, despite both being Romance languages?

    The closest I've come to any answer here is the definition that Merriam-Webster has:

    boy
    2 - often offensive : a male servant

    and my understanding that "garçon" is an outdated way of referring to waiters.

    To hyphenate or not?

    Posted: 22 Jul 2021 07:23 AM PDT

    As a non-native speaker of English and an engineer by training, I always get confused about hyphenation and almost always end up referring to Google every time I need to make that decision.

    Does anybody know of a concise, comprehensive style guide to hyphenation that explains this rather complex issue, once and for all?

    Can "his/her" be replaced by "his"?

    Posted: 22 Jul 2021 09:05 AM PDT

    Yesterday, I asked this question on Web Apps:

    If a Facebook user dies, what happens to the account?

    Actually, I wanted to ask it this way:

    If a Facebook user dies, what happens to his/her account?

    I chose the easy way and used the instead of his/her. Could I use just his in this case?:

    If a Facebook user dies, what happens to his account?

    What would you recommend for similar cases? Which pronoun is more appropriate to be used?
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