Monday, July 5, 2021

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

"Me too" or "I too"?

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 09:54 AM PDT

On the club channel, someone has asked who will come on Wednesday. One of the members replied: "I will be there on Wednesday.". Which form is correct: "I too" or "Me too" ?

combine epiphany and cathartic into one word [closed]

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 09:44 AM PDT

combine epiphany and cathartic into one word

What is a "musset"?

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 08:00 AM PDT

I came across the word "musset" in Gregory Maguire's Wicked--

Her green traveling gown with its inset panels of ochre musset suggested wealth, while the black shawl draping just so about the shoulders was a nod to her academic inclinations. (p. 84 in my edition)

Does anyone know what exactly the word refers to? It plainly has something to do with clothing, but what in particular? Is it just an invented word? It's not in the OED, and my Google searches led to naught, but I'm wondering if it might be a recondite technical term for something.

A less derogatory alternative for "epithet"

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 08:21 AM PDT

An epithet is a nickname or descriptive term that's added to someone's name that becomes part of common usage. For example, in the name Alexander the Great, "the Great" is an epithet. The definition of epithet has changed more recently and has come to mean something negative or derogatory; however, in general an epithet is a glorified nickname.

Source: https://literarydevices.com/epithet/

"Epithet" has unfortunately come to acquire negative connotations, as we often use it to mean "term of abuse" in the modern usage of the word.

The following alternatives were considered but weren't suitable:

  • appellation,
  • cognomen,
  • title.

Any other synonyms you can suggest?

Edit: I'm after a synonym for "epithet" in its traditional sense, to describe titles like "Julius the Merciful", "Jordan the Irresistible", "Mike the Mightiest Mascot", etc. But importantly, I seek a synonym without the negative connotations of "epithet" which can be conflated with "term of abuse" in modern usage.

Which one is correct: to get or getting?

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 07:24 AM PDT

Which one is correct?

  • it will require to get them imported
  • it will require getting them imported

Context: Unfortunately, it won't be possible to get the plushies for free and it would require to get/getting them imported from Japan.

What do you call a person who keeps talking to someone despite they're clearly not interested in talking with that person? [closed]

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 07:12 AM PDT

What do you call (a noun or an adjective) a person who keeps talking to someone despite they're clearly not interested in having conversation with that person? The most typical (but not the only) case I can think of is when a man is making advances to a woman who is not interested in him and thus he keeps trying to initiate a conversation with her over and over again.

grammar question sat march 2016 num 12 [closed]

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 06:52 AM PDT

As I enter the central gallery of the Arms and Armor collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, an imposing array of heraldry flags flies above me, each flag _____ a coat of arms.

The answer options that fits in the blank is?
a) is bearing
b) are bearing
c) bearing
d) bears

The answer is c) and I really do not understand why it is c).
Plus I do not understand the structure of the sentence. I know that As to City is the dependent clause but what is an to me? Is it the non-essential clause? Is each to arms an independent clause?

nationality - Mexican ? Mexico? [closed]

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 06:05 AM PDT

Frida Kahlo was from Mexico.

Q. What is her nationality?

I know the answer is Mexican. But is "Mexico" right in the question above as well?

Any tips on using definite articles vs indefinite articles? [migrated]

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 06:07 AM PDT

Let's say I wanna say something like

  1. If you want more detailed information please refer to (a or the) relevant document A.

  2. I met Julia in (a, the, or no article) Walmart in my neighborhood.

  3. Sorry I can't help you right now. I'm at (a vs the) gym right now.

My native language has no article so it's super confusing for me. Any tips on general rules for something similar to what I wrote?

when to use "the" [migrated]

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 04:27 AM PDT

In this sentence,

"This site made organizing and viewing "the" photos in groups a snap."

is the use of "the" correct? (assuming that there are no specifically mentioned photos in the context) Or should it just be "photos"?

I think the "the" can be used to represent photos in general, but was not so sure.

I would greatly appreciate any thoughts!

What is the right adjective to describe something to which a warranty applies? [closed]

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 02:58 AM PDT

What is the right adjective to describe something to which a warranty applies?

Warrantable seems to describe something to which a warrant applies, not a warranty. And it doesn't seem like warrantyable is a valid word.

What is the meaning of 'arch' according to Merriam-Webster dictionary? [migrated]

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 02:47 AM PDT

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of the word 'arch' is

a typically curved structural member spanning an opening and serving as a support (as for the wall or other weight above the opening)

I explained the phrase which is not in parentheses in a simpiler form as "a curved structure that bridge across an opening". I don't understand the word "typically" (what is typical about a structural member being curved?), the phrase "serving as a support" (what does it support?) and the phrase in parentheses (is the wall/weight above the opening the arch itself? how does it relate to the phrase before?).

Please help me explain it. I'm not a native speaker.

When use adjectives like correctly-classified? [closed]

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 02:18 AM PDT

I am trying to write an idea, but I dont know which sentence is correct grammatically:

  1. The most frequent correctly-classified words are proper nouns.
  2. The most frequent correctly classified words are proper nouns.
  3. The most correctly classified words are proper nouns.

What is the difference between sentence 1 and 2? When can I use adjectives like correctly-classified?

The context of the example sentences: I have a system, which classify words into 3 classes: proper nouns, adjectives, and verbs. The system received 1200 words (400 word for each class). Of 400 proper nouns, the system correctly classified 390.

Is dare a modal or main verb in this sentence and how to identify it? [migrated]

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 01:31 AM PDT

I can identify "dare" as modal in negative and interrogative sentence but find it difficult to identify in assertive sentence. for example

John dare to call a spade a spade.

What is meaning of dimension in English? [closed]

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 01:09 AM PDT

I came across a wiki page Strategy, in the right-hand box there is a sub heading "Major dimensions", does it mean sub-types or branches?

I have also seen usage of dimension in "Dimension of poverty", does it mean types of poverty?

When, where and why is this word used?

The Egg video by kurzgesagt comment joke [closed]

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 12:30 AM PDT

Can someone help break down this youtube comment joke to me? My friends understand it and I'm the only one who doesn't seem to know its context. Here is the video: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6fcK_fRYaI) . (TL;DR: basically it shows that we humans reincarnate into each other and we are everyone.)

The comment said this:

"I'm the queen of England? No, she was when I got here."

Someone please kindly explain to me what the joke's about, that would be really helpful for me thanks.

Omission of articles in job titles [duplicate]

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 12:13 AM PDT

In reading academic papers, I frequently see

Person X is Assistant Professor at University Y

Why is there no article (e.g. a or the) before the job title? I would expect the sentence to read, Person X is an Assistant Professor at University Y.

What is the grammatical rationale behind omitting the article?

Can 'nowhere' be used as a subject?

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 05:00 AM PDT

I am utterly confused... The thing is I was helping a friend do an exercise in which she needed to put some words in the correct order to form a grammatical English sentence. The words in question were:

in / my / Nowhere / shop / than / ice cream / town / sells / else / our / uncle's / better

I was at a loss because I could not find a way to make a proper sentence using those words. My proposal was Nowhere else in town does ice cream sell better than in my uncle's shop, but in that case I would need an extra preposition and an auxiliary for inversion.

The plot thickens. When my friend asked her professor, he said that the correct answer should be Nowhere else in our town sells better ice cream than my uncle's shop. This sounds completely wrong to me. Am I losing my mind?

'What is important is ...' vs 'What is important are ...'

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 09:33 AM PDT

Which number does be want to agree with? Is it with important or customer relations?

What's most important is good customer relations.

What's most important are good customer relations.

Which one is correct, and is there a rule for this type of construction?

How should I describe text that is inappropriate on Stack Exchange? [duplicate]

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 08:43 AM PDT

I'm a fairly active curator on one of the Stack Exchange sites, and I do some curation on the other sites as well. In accordance with Should 'Hi', 'thanks', taglines, and salutations be removed from posts? I remove the following phrases when I come across them in posts:

  • Hi, how are you doing?

  • Hope you're having a good day.

  • Thanks for the help.

  • Thanks in advance.

  • Hope this helps.

  • You're welcome.

and so on.

When making these edits I like to explain why in the edit message. For some time now, I have been writing "Removed salutations". One definition of the word "salutation" in Merriam-Webster is:

an expression of greeting, goodwill, or courtesy by word, gesture, or ceremony

which seems to broadly cover what I want to say. However, I don't know if it's too specific, and whether it actually covers phrases such as "Hope this helps".

I have considered something along the lines of "Removed noise/clutter", but apart from the fact that this could be construed as slightly rude (users who add these phrases are doing it in good faith, after all), this describes why I'm removing that content more than describing what the content is that I'm removing.

So I'm looking for a phrase that conveys something along the lines of:

Removed extraneous text, which is perfectly reasonable in normal discourse, but is inappropriate for the Q&A format on Stack Exchange.

I'm not looking for a single word, but I also don't want the phrase to be longer than a few words. If there's an idiom that describes this, that would be great as well.

We vs there grammar help

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 07:04 AM PDT

In reference to the size of a class. Could you say "we were like ten people" or would it be "there were like ten people"? What is the difference between using we and there in this context?

"If I were born in 1920s, my name would have been Margaret" [closed]

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 04:14 AM PDT

Yesterday I heard someone saying

If I were born in 1920s, my name would have been Margaret.

and I was confused why she didn't say

If i had been born in 1920s

What's the difference here?

How to write from this, to that, to that, to that

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 06:02 AM PDT

For example, if I were writing the menu options for a restaurant, how would I write something like this?

Restaurant ABC offers many different dishes. From pizza, to burgers, to shakes, to fries, to hotdogs, to sodas, and more.

Is that the correct grammar? It seems like a lot of "to"'s.

"Either value can be higher"?

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 03:03 AM PDT

I'm writing a math paper and want to say that two quantities, a*b and (a-b), cannot be ranked in a unique way. Depending on the values a and b, either can be higher.

My idea is to say "either value can be higher" or "either of the two values can be higher".

As a non-native speaker, I check my ideas with google - whether I get many hits when search for the exact sentences. Surprisingly, though both sentences above seem very normal to me, and it seems the point I'm trying to make ("either can be higher") should arise in many contexts, I get zero hits with both above sentences.

So, what's the succinct way of saying that "For some values a and b, a*b higher that (a-b), and for some values, the reverse inequality is true".

Thanks a lot!

Conjunctions, coordinators [closed]

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 02:07 AM PDT

I really know that for the levels of studying English language, we had always said that "for" is a coordinator. However, I would like to know what for serves in this sentence

  1. For God so loved the world.

Is it still a coordinator or any word class?

What is the best abbreviation for supervisor in British English?

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 12:02 AM PDT

What is the best abbreviation for supervisor, if I were to write a letter to one in Britain?

e.g. a supervisor who works in UK Visas and Immigration.

If there is no such abbreviation, would saying something like "Dear Supervisor Blair" instead of "Dear Ms. Blair" sound awkward? It is unclear if the hypothetical supervisor is married or not, but she is a woman in this example.

Is there a prefix to denote neutrality?

Posted: 05 Jul 2021 09:03 AM PDT

English has prefixes to denote opposition as well as absence.

For example:

  • 'gnostic' vs 'agnostic' (having knowledge vs absence of knowledge)
  • 'social' vs 'asocial' vs 'anti social' (being social, not being social, being against society)

However there is a subtle difference between the absence of something and being neutral towards it. For example let;s say that I want to indicate that I am a little bit social, but not too social.

I am not 'asocial' because it's false that I am not social. But I am also not fully social. Rather I am something in the middle.

The above is just an example, it doesn't have to be the word 'social' I just want to know whether English has a prefix to explicitly convey the subtility of neutrality.
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