Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

What, if anything, does 'neoplanastic' mean?

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 10:51 AM PDT

I came across this word in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:

one might hold that certain words simply have no semantic values, and so make no contribution to propositions. So-called neoplanastic 'ne' in French might be thought to be an example of this.

Searches have found only one other use, but there it is essentially just repeating the the same sentence.

Searching for 'ne'+'french' led me first here, where I learned that 'ne' is disappearing from spoken French, even though, etymologically, it is the 'ne' in 'ne...pas' etc. that expresses negation. This seemed promising, but then this article about 'ne' without 'pas' says

The ne in this sentence is called a ne explétif (also known as ne pléonastique). Instead of negating the clause (as it does when combined with pas, plus, personne, etc.), this ne emphasizes the general feeling that the clause expresses.

Pléonastique is translated as 'pleonastic', which is defined as

Adjective relating to or having the characteristics of pleonasm; needlessly wordy or redundant: pleonastic expressions such as "I heard it with my own ears."

'Redundant' would seem to make sense in the context of the source phrase, so is neoplanastic likely just a typo for pleonastic?

Could we use this sentence without using "respectively"?

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 09:51 AM PDT

Two tangents are drawn through points A and B

or

Two tangents are drawn through points A and B, respectively.

or

A tangent is drawn through point A and point B.

Which among these is correct to use?

What does "pick a lemon" mean? [duplicate]

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 09:18 AM PDT

I am struggling to figure out what the meaning of "lemon" or "pick a lemon" is in the following quote from P.G. Wodehouse:

...with each new book of mine I have, as I say, the feeling that this time I have picked a lemon in the garden of literature. A good thing, really, I suppose. Keeps one up on one's toes and makes one rewrite every sentence ten times. Or in many cases twenty times.

Phrase to describe an offhanded comment that has a big influence on another [duplicate]

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 08:46 AM PDT

Sometimes people make offhanded comments that others take very seriously. Person A says something that has a profound influence on our life, and then when we tell Person A the story years later Person A does not remember the incident at all. Person B talks about listening to a band and then that band goes on to become our favorite group. Persons A and B did not take those remarks seriously, but they influenced us a great deal.

This is related to the "ripple effect" but I am wondering whether there is a better term to describe verbal remarks that directly influence us in specific ways. "Ripple effect" also seems to have the connotation of a more indirect influence.

This is different than a person with great authority making an offhanded comment and everybody else taking it super-seriously: for example if Boss C idly muses about a feature in our software product and everybody dropping everything to implement it.

Is there a term or phrase for the phenomenon I am describing here?

Is "distance" an "amount" or a "quantity"?

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 08:45 AM PDT

Distance can be measured so it would make sense for it to be a quantity. But this is where I arrive at an issue.

I think it's better if you say

a small amount of distance

than

a small quantity of distance

I don't know which one is correct or which one is used more widely. The first phrase would make more sense to me but I'm not sure why. Could someone enlighten me on whether distance is an "amount" or a "quantity"

Why is definite article (the) used in this sentence?

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 10:00 AM PDT

"Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the near-surface air and the oceans."

I understand that the above sentence is the definition of global warming, so the nouns in this sentence such as (the) increase, (the) ... temperature, (the) ... air, and the oceans come with this definite article. However, some of my friends argued that this is a general statement. So, those nouns should not be used with 'the'.

Could you please explain? Thank you.

Is it hypocrisy to know something is wrong and do it anyway? [closed]

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 08:32 AM PDT

I'm confused by whether this is hypocrisy or if there's another word for it.

What difference does “the” make?

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 07:51 AM PDT

I design the pictures that make our world happy.

What difference does "the" make in the sentence? If we omit it, does the meaning stay the same?

What are "the dear years" in Redgauntlet?

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 08:33 AM PDT

"Wandering Willie's Tale" is a short story embedded within Sir Walter Scott's novel "Redgauntlet" (1824). It's written in Scots and/or Scottish English (I'm not certain where those lines are drawn!). The story begins by introducing the character of Sir Robert Redgauntlet:

Ye maun [must] have heard of Sir Robert Redgauntlet of that Ilk, who lived in these parts before the dear years.

What are, or were, the "dear years"?

Rules to follow to choose when to use the present participle and when to use the past participle

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 06:50 AM PDT

Mark, dressed in black, walked across the room.

Mark, dressing in black, walked across the room.

I think both sentences are correct but what's the difference in meaning between both of them?

Also, is there a set of rules to follow that governs when to use the past participle, when to use the present and when not to use any of them?

Example:

The girl who fell down the cliff broke her leg. (NOT: The girl falling down cliff…)

Who was the girl who dropped the coffee? (Not: Who was the girl dropping the coffee?)?

And other strange phenomena like why

A girl having black hair is wearing red is right. (NOT: The girl having black hair is wearing red)

How do we say we are not using a template?

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 05:36 AM PDT

What is the opposite of using a template for something?
For example:

Should I use a template for this or am I free to follow my own format?

I would like to put it more eloquently/elegantly.
Thank you!

Should I use the singular or the plural? [closed]

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 05:29 AM PDT

I create the machines that makes our world a better place.

Is the singular "makes" correct or should I use the plural form "make"?

I would think it's "makes" because if you reword the sentence into a question, we get: What makes our world a better place? The machines that I create.

Meaning of 'passage' [closed]

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 07:34 AM PDT

What does the below sentence mean?

He forced the passage of the bridge.

Here is the extract I based this sentence on:

He [Sauron] had these two additional objects: to capture or kill Gollum, or at least to deprive his enemies of him; and to force the passage of the bridge of Osgiliath, so that the Nazgûl could cross, while testing the strength of Gondor.

From Unfinished Tales (Tolkien), p. 344.

Ways to talk when a kid hurts himself? [closed]

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 04:15 AM PDT

Hi what can we say when a kid hurt himself or make himself injuried or fall down? (just as to relieve him in English s hw is bilingual) .

The "-ing" form of a verb and indefinite article [closed]

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 04:32 AM PDT

If celebrities visit public places, such as malls and bars, people will crowd them demanding for a picture or autograph.

1: Why did the writer use the "-ing" form of the verb "demand"? Is there any rule for this?

2: Why there was no article before the word "autograph"?

Ways to say i love you to a kid [closed]

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 03:45 AM PDT

Hi what are some expressions and slangs when talking to a kid regarding I love you and Darling??

Singular “makes” or plural “make”? [closed]

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 03:42 AM PDT

I create the machines that makes our world a better place.

Is the singular "makes" correct or should it be the plural "make"?

Indefinite article + noun + that + be + adj [closed]

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 02:23 AM PDT

" On top of their fees, the famous have the potential to earn huge amounts of money from promoting luxury brands. A type of wealth that is possible because celebrities are often seen as role models, and so people want to copy them and buy what they have."

Does " a type of wealth that is possible" mean " that type of wealth is possible"? Why did the writer use that "grammar structure"?

Word that means “unburnt”

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 04:28 AM PDT

If it was raining, I might say "stay dry!" If it was cold, I might say "stay warm!"

If there was a wildfire and I wanted to say "stay not burned up!" then what word would be best?

Not sure how to handle "doctor" - as an honorific or as a noun

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 02:16 AM PDT

I understand that "doctor" would typically only be capitalized when referring to a specific person with that title, and otherwise is a regular old noun without capitalization.

Would its use in the following sentence be capitalized or not? I feel like it's incorrect to be in lowercase - or maybe it should be in italics?

"I haven't had the title of doctor taken from me, but I have a feeling it is forthcoming."

"They told each other they had better leave" [reciprocity and distributivity]

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 08:02 AM PDT

Following the lead of Higginbotham (1985), Andrew Barss (1986) notes that examples like (1) are ambiguous.

(1a) They told each other they had better leave

(1b) John and Bill told each other they had better leave

Let's focus on (1b) for simplicity. Specifically, what is being claimed is that (1b) may convey both the distributive reading in (2a) and the collective reading in (2b).

(2a) [J told B that B should leave] & [B told J that J should leave]

(2b) [J told B that J&B should leave] & [B told J that J&B should leave]

I am not a native English speaker, but I wonder whether the availability of the distributive reading hinges on the fact that the embedded clause subject they is number-neutral, i.e. it may denote both an individual and a plurality of individuals. (Note also that each other is formally singular.)

My impression is that (3) lends itself less to such construal.

(3) We told each other we had better leave

What do you guys think?

Would you say, "She was quiet after she'd been back from school," or "She was quiet after she'd gotten back from school"?

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 10:09 AM PDT

I don't know if these two choices are just preference or not.

On a side note, would it sound better if you say "ever since" or "since" in place of the word "after"?

thanks

Why is "-ber" the suffix of the last four months of the year?

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 09:58 AM PDT

  • September
  • October
  • November
  • December

Presumably something Latin, but my (admittedly brief) search sees only mention of the number-based root words.

More specifically, what does "-ber" mean?

Usage of "specific number(s) of ~"

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 04:10 AM PDT

Let's say you have a sentence:

  • These presents are only for the people who have 2, 4 or 6 coins.

How can I paraphrase the sentence using "specific number(s)"?

(1)"Presents for the people who have specific number of coins"?

(2)"Presents for the people who have specific numbers of coins"?

(3) Both above are wrong and here is the answer!

Thanks in advance!

Difference between participal adjective and relative clause

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 10:13 AM PDT

I saw someone explained that participal adjectives have the same function as relative clauses. If that is correct, what is the difference between them?

for examples,

  1. a bill requiring approval of the committee
  2. a bill that requires approval of the committee

1 is a participal adjective, 2 is a relative clause.

Do those sentence have the same meaning?

What are the possible metaphorical meanings behind the word "lithium"?

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 05:50 AM PDT

I am aware that the lithium is a chemical element (a metal, more precisely), but I was wondering if it is commonly used as a metaphor in English language? Maybe to describe a situation or a sentiment or in some other way..?

What made me think about this is that two of the song that I like are named "Lithium" (by bands Nirvana and Evanescence), without any apparent connection to the literal meaning of the word.

I just want to point out that I am not asking the explanation of the lyrics of the songs, I am just wondering about the metaphorical usage of the word "lithium" that you are familiar with, since I couldn't find anything googling.

What does "compare at" mean in ads?

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 10:36 AM PDT

A product priced 60$ is advertised by "compare at 100$". What does that mean? Why should I compare it like that?

Looking for a word that describes this emotion: I'm amused, but ashamed to be amused at the same time

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 07:47 AM PDT

For example: you laugh at someone getting hurt on America's Funniest Home videos, and then are ashamed that you laughed at their pain. Or you want to laugh at an off-color joke, but are ashamed that you found it funny in the first place. Or someone tells you a story about a personal misfortune, and you find it funny, but you are trying not to laugh and are disappointed with yourself for finding it funny.

Sample: I was [word] when my boyfriend caught his privates in the zipper of his jeans.

Anyone?
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