Monday, August 2, 2021

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

"The more you know..." - does this have a necessarily sarcastic implication?

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 10:11 AM PDT

Expression (retort): "The more you know..."

One finds the definition solicited in the sister Exchange, English Language Learners, as follows:

It was (is?) a television slogan from American broadcaster NBC. They show an educational announcement, and end it with the NBC logo and the words "the more you know".
It became a meme for when someone says something educational, typically used as a sarcastic response when someone mentions a fact that the other person considers trivial or unimportant.

However, I'm not convinced that the expression is necessarily dismissive or sarcastic. I thought it could be used in a matter-of-factly manner, to acknowledge that one has learnt something. What say you?

Is "sat" transitive verb or intransitive verb in the sentence - "He sat on the bench in the garden"? [closed]

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 09:49 AM PDT

Is "sat" transitive verb or intransitive verb in the sentence - "He sat on a bench in the garden" ? Here action of sitting is done on the bench but there is a preposition "on" between the verb "sat" and "bench". Could someone please explain? Thanks.

Is there a difference between "to protect" and "to increase protection"? [closed]

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 09:32 AM PDT

Is there a difference? "Protect" seems to imply a certain level of protection has been achieved, whereas to "increase protection" might imply something else. Is my intuition correct?

What word to use as adjective to describe a tracksuit worn with its front-chain open [migrated]

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 09:19 AM PDT

I've seen open-front shirt but it mostly describes a shirt that is supposed to be open in front, as in, it has no buttons. What I'm looking for is an adjective to describe when someone chooses to keep the buttons of their shirt or the chain of their tracksuit open. I thought about using open-chained but it reeks of incongruity ("open" and "chain" doesn't really go together).

So, is there an adjective to describe what I mentioned? An example sentence would be: The guy with the _______ tracksuit is the favourite to win this year.

Learning from book and I didn't get the sentence, anyone can explain it for me? [closed]

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 08:43 AM PDT

Before walking through any door—the door to your office, a party, a meeting, even your kitchen—picture a leather bit hanging by a cable from the frame. It is swinging just an inch higher than your head. As you pass through the door, throw your head back and chomp on the imaginary dental grip that first pulls your cheeks back into a smile and then lifts you up.

This is the paragraph from the book. Can anyone explain the sentences for me? I'll be very greatful for that.

What are the roots of the Greek word 'ouroborous'? [closed]

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 08:10 AM PDT

What is it's literal meaning? What did it signify originally,and who by? Which culture(s) influenced the Greek's concepts?

Which of the following sentences is correct: Can you not travel during this period? or Are you unable to travel during this period?

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 09:42 AM PDT

I came across the following sentence written by a supposedly native (British) English speaker in a text I'm currently editing and it immediately struck me as being odd:

  • We offer special discounts to people traveling with their pets during the holiday season. Can you not travel with your pet during this period?

Is "Can you not" used correctly in this sentence, knowing that the writer was supposed to convey the meaning that someone cannot travel/is unable to travel during the period concerned?

Unless I'm mistaken, "can you not" normally conveys the meaning of a request to do something or rather not do something, i.e. "please do not travel during this period". Wouldn't it be more accurate to say "Are you unable to travel during this period?" Is"can you not" as it is used here an instance of dialectal or regional variation (e.g. typical British usage) I am not aware of?

How is a value that's not a percentage referred to [using an adjective]?

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 09:54 AM PDT

A rating of 70 % is percentual (is that the correct English adjective for percentages!?). What is the value called when the rating is a 7 (out of 10)? I'm searching for the adjective.

A little background: The user can choose which type he enters on a website and I need to label the options in a dropdown.

Does "have yet to" imply expectations?

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 09:25 AM PDT

I just wrote an email saying "I have written to you several times recently with various corrections but have yet to receive a response".

I'm wondering now whether this differs in normative content from "... but have not received a response yet". I feel that it does; it seems to carry more of an implication that it's not OK and I would have expected to receive a response by now – in fact I think that's precisely why I wrote it that way.

But in other contexts, there seems to be no such implication of expectations. For instance, in "The theory predicts additional particles, but evidence of their existence has yet to be found", it doesn't seem to make much difference if we instead say "... but no evidence of their existence has been found yet". I don't feel that the first version expresses more of an expectation that evidence should have been found by now than the second version – if anything, it sounds a bit more like the evidence is bound to be found at some point than the second version does.

Can anyone throw some more light on this?

What is the meaning of the verb 'to get in the way'?

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 07:29 AM PDT

I am quoting from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Resident Patient by Arthur Conan Doyle:

"Mr Blessington came in from his walk shortly afterwards, but I did not say anything to him upon the subject, for, to tell the truth, I have got in the way of late of holding as little communication with him as possible".

I found a definition of "get in the way":

To obstruct or interfere with something.

but it doesn't seem to suit the meaning intended by the author.

What is meaning of you got me my tea set back? [closed]

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 03:24 AM PDT

Source: suits TV series, episode-shadow of a doubt?link

Which one of the following questions is grammatically correct? [duplicate]

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 02:25 AM PDT

1.The government want to increase taxes The government wants to increase taxes

Word for the relationship between parents and children and visa versa [duplicate]

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 01:55 AM PDT

This is a duplicate of this question which answers with "parent-child".

I am building an application and wanted to have a word that represents the relationship between parents and child and visa versa. It's to describe both the data and the graphical connection that forms these lines:

this is the part of the image I am trying to find the word for. I can not give a description yet, sorry

I thought familial wasn't quite right as that also describes the relationship between siblings. Ancestral and filial seem to suggest it's only going from child / children to parents and does not include the "child comes from parents" part. Lineage might be the closest but it's often used in a parents -> child direction and not really the reverse also.

The way to understand my request is to think of a spreadsheet. If there was a tab called familial then it might include information more broadly about the family, like number of children, family crest etc. Or if a familial tab for an individual then number of siblings etc.

If the tab was ancestral / ancestors, or filial then you could expect it would be from the perspective of a child / children going back in time to their ancestors, and the reverse for lineage.

"parents_child" is the "word" (description) I am using at the moment for this concept.

Indirect Question [grammar]

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 01:05 AM PDT

I was reviewing this article and had a question about some minor grammar issues.

The whole sentence is

"The current work attempts to solve this gap in CE knowledge by investigating how security affects the purchase decision, what personal factors are relevant in this scenario, and what effects does framing have on the purchase decision."

I was wondering what is wrong with the "and what effects does framing have on the purchase decision" sentence. I think the verb is wrong, but just don't know what other grammar issues it has. If it is wrong, may I have an explanation as well?

Thank you!

How to use 'for' as a conjunction [closed]

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 01:07 AM PDT

How to use 'for' as conjunction? and what sentence structure to use when writing?

I'm agreeing with you but

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 07:54 AM PDT

Good morning,in what circumstances could I use "I'm agreeing with you" instead of "I agree with you" in a conversation, a debate (animated for example)?

Why didn't the article 'a' appear in this statement "I know it is short notice"?

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 01:50 AM PDT

Why didn't the article 'a' appear in this statement?

I send you a shadow bartender request by email, let me know if it is possible. I know it is short notice.

I was expecting 'a short notice'. This was suggested by Grammarly.

What's it called when a factual account spins itself in "folklore" (e.g., refers to wildlife as "legendary creatures")?

Posted: 01 Aug 2021 11:58 PM PDT

We decided to watch a "documentary" about "legendary creatures" because they seemed like contradictory terms to us. What are these "legendary creatures"? Bigfoot, Nessie…the creature from the Black Lagoon, chupacabras, vampire bats? What exactly?

And the answer is—wilderness wildlife—wild boars, wolves, brown bears, salamanders, etc. I wouldn't consider those "legendary creatures." That lead-in seems misleading to me. But it's not just that; the narrator is almost whispering, like it's a bedtime story, and uses words like "folklore" while relaying factual information about wildlife in their habitat (and that's it, not any folklore, myths, etc.).

I don't know what you'd call this, but I don't think it's mysticizing (e.g., interpreting earthly events as alien) or mythicizing something or someone (e.g., a historical figure such as William Wallace). It's like the opposite of a mockumentary… I don't know; maybe it's just selling something.

I suppose it's a theatrical, albeit factual, storytelling technique referred to as _____, an attempt to turn a factual story into a compelling tale by cloaking it in nonexistent mystery.

What is the difference between "this" and "that" in "How much is this/that watch"?

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 08:49 AM PDT

I am studying English and I would like to know the difference about "this" and "that" at this phrase translating to Portuguese.

In the image, the subject held the watch and said "that", so I was in doubt.

  1. How much is that watch? - Quanto é esse relógio?

  2. How much is this watch? - Quanto é esse relógio?

I saw the difference about this and that here Difference between this and that.

Are phrases of the form "A <possession> of <name>'s" grammatically correct? [duplicate]

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 07:24 AM PDT

I recently found myself about to write "David, using a metaphor of Saul's, said...", with the intended meaning that Saul had coined the metaphor (rather than it being a metaphor involving Saul in some way).

As a native speaker of English (though not necessarily the Queen's) this came naturally to me, but then I had my doubts as to whether it is regarded as grammatically correct, and even if so, whether it would seem awkward to most readers.

In looking for examples and discussion of the issue, I found this:

"It's an academic book," Wolf said. "I'd like to think that a general reader could read it kind of encyclopedically. You know, they go to see a play of Shakespeare's and what is 'Hamlet' really about? That kind of thing."

This, however, is a direct quote of a spoken sentence, so I remain unsure as to whether this usage should be avoided other than in spoken English or in quoting someone's words.

Note that here, I am primarily interested in the grammatical and style take on this form of construction, rather than looking for alternative ways of phrasing it - I can do that myself - and nor am I seeking advice, though doubtless well-meaning, amounting to "I'm not sure, so you should avoid it", but by all means offer alternatives if they help illustrate your answer.

Is it correct to say, “justification for and reference to your answer”?

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 07:30 AM PDT

I want to shorten the words "justification for your answer and reference to your answer" by saying, "justification for and reference to your answer". Is this shorter form correct? If not, how should I say it?

Understanding a sentence

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 02:08 AM PDT

I have read a definition about "personal data" in an ISO/IEC document which states

Details of the personal or material circumstances of an identified or identifiable natural person.

I don't understand that. Can some one explain that? What does material circumstances mean here?

Word for a network of groups/societies

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 12:31 AM PDT

I'm looking for a word that means a strongly or weakly connected network of groups/societies. These societies can choose to be in communication or may not. The point is that a society or group is generally understood to be a somewhat cohesive and communicative whole whereas groups in this broader network have to be somewhat intentional about beginning communication with one another.

Kind of like "the world," but I'm looking for something that references the social fabric itself a little bit more than "the world."

I'm a native English speaker but I'm having trouble coming up with a word for this. Hopefully something that will be obvious to me when I think of it, and not something that sounds scientific.

What is a good transition word to establish or allude to a parallel?

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 06:05 AM PDT

I am looking for a word or phrase to replace "similarly" in the following sentence:

"The obligation from making a promise is an obligation to someone; similarly, the wrong in breaking a promise is an interpersonal wrong, specifically a wrong against the person to whom the obligation was made."

"Similarly" seems too imprecise and doesn't convey the meaning I am trying to establish. I am tempted to use a word like "therefore," but I mean to indicate that the halves of the sentence should be thought of as parallel and not necessarily that the second follows from the first.

Do you need a comma before "such as"?

Posted: 02 Aug 2021 08:06 AM PDT

For example ;

Ethical reasons such as religion, have a huge part in abortion.

“Everything is not…”

Posted: 01 Aug 2021 11:59 PM PDT

I keep hearing people say everything is not… which frustrating because it is ambiguous. It could mean either

Nothing is… (for the set of all things, no thing is…)

or

Not everything is… (for the set of all things, some things are not…/not all things are…)

I have been hearing it more and more in the past few years. In fact, when you Google the phrase everything is not, you get Selena Gomez's rendition of the Wizards of Waverly Place theme song which only further popularizes it with the youth.

Is this phrase grammatically correct/legitimate (ie, would an English teacher complain?), and if so, which is the correct meaning (if any)?
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)