Sunday, August 22, 2021

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Mentioning a physical unit after a series of values

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 08:50 AM PDT

I have problem deciding which one of the below sentences are correct considering the usage of second(s):

Computation times of the proposed algorithms are in the orders of 10^-3 and 10^-4 seconds, which are small compared to the sampling times of 0.1 and 1 second.

Computation times of the proposed algorithms are in the orders of 10^-3 seconds and 10^-4 seconds, which are small compared to the sampling times of 0.1 second and 1 second.

Both look strange to me regarding the usage of second(s). The first one looks redundant, and the second one seems inadequate.

Adverb vs. Adjective use

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 09:01 AM PDT

We typically use adverbs to describe verbs, but there are exceptions. Would you rather say 'You glow different' or 'You glow differently'? Are both acceptable?

I want to explain my code [closed]

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 06:55 AM PDT

I want to explain my c code by English.

If(A) B = 1 else B = 2

Is this good expression?

A is choosing b value 1 or 2. A decides b value 1 or 2.

Do you have any suggestion?

If my English is wrong, please correct.

Thank you!

Digress? obfuscate? pivot? approach avoidance? pragmatic topic loss?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 09:01 AM PDT

Is there a name for answering a direct question with useless information as in: "what time is it?" ' oh -we have plenty of time.' "What time is it?" ' oh -the game starts at one' "Do you want a cup of tea?" 'Oh-are you having one?'

Digress doesn't cover it. Obfuscate isn't applicable. What is the name and what is the problem?

Besides my impatience.

How to use the word alias

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 05:47 AM PDT

How do I convey that the "Object" can be used instead of "ObjectInGroup"?

My current guess is: "Use the alias Object instead of ObjectInGroup". Is there any mistake in this sentence that I am not aware of?

Specifically, I'm unsure of the comma usage like "Use the alias Object, instead of ObjectInGroup"

Is "that"a conjunction or other grammatical function in the emphatic structure"It is .... that ..."?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 02:49 AM PDT

For example, in the following sentence

It is Mary that brought me this book.

Does "that" serve as a conjunction or pronoun or any other grammatical function? And Why?

Meaning of 'with' [closed]

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 02:42 AM PDT

What is the meaning of 'with' in the below sentence? What relationship does it indicate?

The story begins with the meeting of two businesswomen.

What is the history of the phrase "figure it out"?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 10:10 AM PDT

Just trying to establish the time when the term came into popular use in the US or elsewhere. Google didn't tell me.

What does "sampled surfaces incontinently" mean, exactly?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 01:58 AM PDT

In their Story of Civilization, Will and Ariel Durant have this to say about Wellington's early years:

Like Byron, he proposed to a noble lady, was rejected and sampled surfaces incontinently. In 1796 he went to India as a colonel under his brother Richard ...

What do they mean, exactly?

What does Old English "-gean" mean?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 02:12 AM PDT

What does Old English "-gean" mean?

axian and axigean both mean "to ask". Does the suffix -gean have a particular meaning, or is it actually an infix -ge- (and what does that mean)?

Indianisation of "Thank You, M'am" written by Langston Hughes [migrated]

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 02:24 AM PDT

Thank You, M'am

To Indianise the story, along with the name of the character & place, the story has to be adapted in an Indian context and style. Both style and context are critical here.

Langston Hughes's Thank You, M'am takes place in New York in the 1950s. The characters are unmistakably African-American, but it is not a story about African-Americans. Skin colour is present and well represented in vernacular, but that is not the story's point. It tells us the story of a boy who tries to steal a woman's purse, a woman who tries to make the world a better place from her small corner, a tale of love, trust, kindness, forgiveness and dignity.

So, I need help in conforming the story to the Indian context. How can I add an Indian background to this story without changing the central theme?

What's on the recruiters mind ? And How should I approach ? What should I do? [closed]

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 12:12 AM PDT

Scenario: I am not a fresher, I am a 5+ years experienced professional. I spent 5+ years in a branded company without any job change. Recently I wanted a job change and I cracked an interview in one of top big MNC(It's also a brand). I was approached via the company's Recruitment team and not via any consultancy. Since I am an immediate joiner and my notice period in previous IT company got over I am actively looking for a job change.

Problem: All my negotiations were completed in the MR round itself. Upon asking about the project the manager told it's a good project based on Java and Microservices for some client outside India which we can't reveal as of now. I am happy with what they have offered but this was only a verbal discussion. The offer letter is yet to be released.

I am a curious guy who ask questions to get things clarified and make a decision based on it. The problem is now with the recruiter, she is not interested in asking questions like whether the company have bonds or not, when will the offer letter release, whether I will be working from offices or client location(client locations are a bit tuff to handle, lots of pressure if you know). Every time I ask these questions she is like you ask lot of questions, did u ask these questions when you got recruited in your previous company. For offer letter she says I am trying my level best. Even the HR/Manager is not approachable as of now since am not into the company yet and I only have to speak with my recruiter.

Why she's not answering my questions is very suspicious to me. I am very worried and depressed about my current situation and don't know what to do. I know there are other websites like Quora to handle these discussions but I trust stack exchange more which made me ask these questions here. I know the recruiter/top MNC is not fake. The emails I receive are not fake but my questions are legal and I don't want to waste my career even if it is a brand in case if they handover some weird project with outdated technology. I can move on since I know I am a good developer but thinking it's a brand I plan to wait a bit longer. I am about to join a company and I have all the rights to query them.

Any suggestion will be very helpful. Do you guys find something fishy? Should I stop asking questions? May be she's not aware about bonds, projects hence she's is not ready to speak but I feel she is a clever person and intents not to answer. Does offer letter mentions all the answers to my legal question? And what if I get onboarded to the company and find things are not what I dreamt of can I say no to it within 15-30 days. Will it impact my career in any means?

Please, please help me out!

Proper forms "Whose", "Who's" "Who" & "Whom" in the sentence...? [closed]

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 12:05 AM PDT

I'm hoping someone can help me out here. I'm going to write out a sentence that will probably have incorrect grammar, but there's a chance it'll be right if I got lucky, and in that case I'd still like to know why. Ok? Good. Here goes:

Could someone tell me who's who in this group of people?

Specifically, I'd like to know which form of Who's vs Whose, and Who vs Whom in the beginning and ending of that sentence, and the many, many, many other similar sentences.

What is "almost-grown cologne"?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 07:23 AM PDT

And when I was thirteen

Shawn welcomed me into teenage life
with a spritz of his almost-grown cologne,
said my girlfriend—
      my first girlfriend—
would like it.

But she hated it
so I broke up with her,
because

to me

her nose was
funny acting.

— from Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, pub Simon & Schuster 2017

What does the phrase "almost-grown cologne" mean?

What is the idiom to criticize someone's speech, especially when they a make a lot of repetition? [closed]

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 02:00 AM PDT

What is the idiom to describe unreasonable repetition in someone's speaking or writing? For example,if someone says, wet water or salt is salty.

First person or third person? when referring to a group that you are part of without using pronoun? [closed]

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 06:17 AM PDT

Eg. You are part of America.

Third person: "America has many races of people." / "It has many races of people."

Or

First person: "America have many races of people." / "We have many races of people."

Is "America" first person or third person?

Function of genitive

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 01:20 AM PDT

What is the function of the genitive case in the sentence below? More precisely, what type of relationship between the two nouns does it imply?

The man's tale was interesting.

What's the word (adjective) for a person who's good at lying, deception, manipulation, politics?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 08:27 AM PDT

I can think of cunning, devious, machiavellian – but neither of those is exactly what I want. I'm wondering if there's some other word I'm failing to think of.

Practice and Practise

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 09:45 AM PDT

I recall that at school (in the late 1960s/early 1970s) in England I was taught how and when to use Practice and Practise. What I was taught was this:

  1. Practice, when used a a verb, means to do something repetitively in order to become better at it - e.g. "I am practicing on the piano".

  2. Practise, when used a s a verb means to work in a profession or vocation - e.g. "I am practising as a dentist".

  3. The noun form is always "practice" - e.g. "I have to do my piano practice". "my dental practice is in the middle of town".

But what I was taught does not seem to be reflected in modern reference works which simply give Practise and Practice as alternatives each one capable of bearing either of the two alternative meanings. See, for example

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/practise

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/practise

Am I misremembering what I was taught? Was I wrongly taught? Or was anyone else taught the same?

Could you help me solve this phonetic riddle?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 02:07 AM PDT

From the position for normal breathing, you move your soft palate upwards and shut off the nasal cavity. Then you round your lips, leaving a rather close air passage there, and at the same time, you raise the back part of your tongue pretty high towards the roof of the mouth cavity, but not touching it, thus leaving a rather narrow air passage in the back part of your mouth cavity. You breathe out, letting your vocal cords vibrate.

Wait a minute! You've just pronounced a /__/ sound ! Then you lower the tongue, particularly its front part, to a very open position, never stopping the vocal cord vibration. Then, after about 60 msec. or so, you move the front to central part of your tongue towards the position which is just above the close-mid.

I'm not sure how this "quartering" works it the sentence

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 05:17 AM PDT

I'd like to ask on the sentence from The Noble Bachelor by Conan Doyle.

.. will not prevent our children from being some day citizens of the same world-wide country under a flag which shall be a quartering of the Union Jack with the Stars and Stripes.

I'd like to know what kind of flag the speaker (Holmes) is referring to? Can you picture it? I pictured one with quarter-sized Stars and Stripes being on the upper left side of the Union Jack background, as the same way Australian or New Zealand's flag has the Union Jack design on theirs. With this design, Holmes is implying the UK will be colonized by the US in the near future? Or is it the other way around? Quarter-sized Union Jack being on the Stars and Stripes? Or is this sentence simply refering the Union Jack with the Stars and Stripes share their pattern in one flag? No master-servant implication at all? I don't know. Could someone tell me what kind of flag will be completed by this description please? Thanks.

Lizard Lip nickname [closed]

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 08:11 AM PDT

I'm translating the titles of old black-and-white movie "Hard Luck" directed by Buster Keaton. His titles often contain play upon words and puns. One of the titles shows the poster on the wall:

$5000 reward for the capture of "Lizard Lip Luke",  bandit and train robber.

This bandit's nickname sounds confusing to me. Bandit Luke is played by a burly man, who has nothing common with lizard. Can this nickname have some idiomatic meaning? Or maybe this nickname emphasizes dry lips or thin lips of the character?
Or it is just 'lip of the lizard' without any concealed meaning?

Aim at verb+ING vs Aim to verb

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 05:13 AM PDT

In a book about the philosopher Collingwood, I have found the following statement about logic. At first glance, it seems to me that the change from aim to to aim at is merely stylistic, but I think that it could also be possible that there might be a certain either grammatical or logical explanation for the difference.

"On the one hand it is descriptive, and aims to give an account of how we actually think; on the other hand it is normative, and aims at giving an account of the ideal of thought, the way in which we ought to think."

Is the difference merely stylistic?

adverbs after linking verbs

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 08:22 AM PDT

They write we must use adjectives rather than adverbs after linking verbs. For example https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/taste_2:

Food can taste sweet like sugar.

But here's an adverb https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/smell_2:

The laboratory smelled strongly of chemicals.

"to smell" as "to have a particular smell" can be only a linking verb. Therefore we must say:

The laboratory smelled strong of/like chemicals.

I'm confused in what cases we must use adjectives after linking verbs and in what cases adverbs. Help me please.

Present and past participles at the same time

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 12:06 AM PDT

As part of my efforts to improve my English, I'm trying to paraphrase the following statement by the founder of Wikitribune and it turns out to be such a challenging job for a non-native English speaker because it complicatedly has "present and past" participle phrases in the same sentence:

This will be the first time that professional journalists and citizen journalists will work side by side as equals writing stories as they happen, editing them as they develop and at all times backed by a community checking and rechecking all facts.

Would you find these two paraphrases I came up with grammatically correct? Could there be any better or more versions?:

  • (A) "This will be the first time that professional journalists and citizen journalists will write stories as they happen, edit them as they develop and at all times be backed by a community checking and rechecking all facts as they work side by side as equals."

  • (B) "This will be the first time that professional journalists and citizen journalists will work side by side as equals as they write stories as they happen, edit them as they develop and ARE at all times backed by a community checking and rechecking all facts."

I would really appreciate any advice, desperately seeking answers.

Is there a rule for using commas with multiple adjectives?

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 08:12 AM PDT

Do these sentences take commas as coordinate adjectives?

  1. She had long black hair.
  2. She had long straight brown hair. (does this take a comma after "long"?)
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