Sunday, September 12, 2021

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

"Best of the City" or "Best of City"?

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 10:36 AM PDT

I have a question about the usage of the definitive article in a context like "...named Best of [City name]". In the case of Chicago, I would write "best of Chicago," but in the case of the North Bay, for example, "best of the North Bay" is more common. As a person from a non-English-speaking country, I can't figure out what rule to use to know exactly when to use the article and when not to.

What means ^^ at the end of a phrase?

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 10:23 AM PDT

I would like to know, after seeing it on the Internet, the meaning of the symbols ^^ at the end of a phrase.

What type of Conditional grammar is this?

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 09:30 AM PDT

In this sentence, if clause is present, but another clause comes with would.

I wonder what type of conditional is this.

If you're exhausted from the hustles and bustles of life, and you need to take a break, Thailand would be an ideal destination where you can recharge your batteries again.

What is the name, if any, of the act of equating two distinct definitions of the same word? [duplicate]

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 08:35 AM PDT

Sorry if this question does not fit this site. If it doesn't please let me know a better place to ask it.

Suppose Alice and Bob have a dialogue:

Alice: "I don't believe computers can write a story."

Bob: "Yes they can, you can create the program 'print("once upon a time...")' and the computer will write a story.

Now Alice and Bob's usages of the word "write" are distinct. Alice meant to create a story, like what a human author does, while Bob meant to physically mark down words which form a story, like what an inkjet printer does. Therefore they are talking at cross purposes. Is there a word or phrase to describe what Bob is doing, more specific than simply "misunderstanding"?

Hyphen and en dash usage in adjectives such as "human–animal"

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 07:09 AM PDT

I noticed a possible editorial error in Nature magazine concerning this. These two headlines here and here use en dashes and hyphens for the adjectives "human–animal" and "human-animal" respectably.

In both articles, the en dash version is used but in the headlines, there is a difference. Is this some kind of error? I'm guessing the en dash version is the correct one but could someone explain to me why that is?

What does "interest" mean in SIG (Special Interest Group)? [closed]

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 04:54 AM PDT

I am wondering what does the word interest mean in SIG (Special Interest Group), as in "Bluetooth SIG".

Do the people who are interested in Bluetooth, or people who benefit (get money) from Bluetooth, join the Bluetooth SIG?

What (will you/are going to) do if you win the lottery?

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 04:35 AM PDT

  1. What will you do if you win the lottery? Or
  2. What are you going to do if you win the lottery?

I chose (going to). I thought that "going to" is better than "will", because in this case you're certain about how you're going to spend your lottery money. However, It is incorrect.

Reason, Discourse and Language

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 07:56 AM PDT

Reason (as in the cognitive skill, human property, logic latu sensu, thought) is translated in Greek as Λόγος.

But Λογος is also the ability and the skill of persons to speak, write and word their thoughts (the ability and skill to translate thoughts, reason and Λόγος in the first sense, into words and language, the ability to give thoughts a form an external or intelligible substance)

Would we use Reason in English for the second meaning too; can we distinguish between the two meanings with 2 distinct words?

I don't know if discourse serves that purpose. Discourse analysis is translated as ανάλυση λόγου.

For example Λόγος και Γλώσσα would be Discourse and Language.

Which one is true: "getting education" or "getting an education"?

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 04:44 AM PDT

I saw examples of both of them. But I wonder which one is true.

Also, getting education abroad at university is my dream

or

Also, getting an education abroad at university is my dream

Usage of modal verb "should" [closed]

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 01:55 AM PDT

I have a doubt regarding the usage of modal verbs. Nowadays, I'm trying to understand more about modals and I came across a usage which confuses me.

used after "that" and adjectives or nouns that show an opinion or feeling: It's so unfair that she should have died so young.

Taken from Cambridge dictionary

What does this mean? Did she come back to life after a critical illness or the speaker is unaware of her condition now? I couldn't make out what they are trying to convey. Please do clear my doubt.

What's the meaning of the second part of this sentence? [closed]

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 12:20 AM PDT

Namespaced functions, unless declared "friend," have no access to the class' internals, whereas static methods have.

What's the meaning of the second part of this sentence, which is seen at https://stackoverflow.com/a/1435105/13611002.

What is the name for confusables of similar meanings?

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 06:02 AM PDT

In researching confusables, I have yet to come across a term that describes the type of confusable that is created by two words of similar meaning but different spelling and pronunciation. The term synonyms is defined as being words of the same meaning, but do they also apply to words of similar or related meaning? For example, less/fewer or imply/infer.

PS - Confusables is often referred to as an informal term. Does a form term exist for the concept?

What's the meaning of "ten-count'em-ten"?

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 08:42 AM PDT

That word is seen at http://www.gotw.ca/gotw/084.htm. I really can't find it in the dictionary.

Next, replace(): Truth be told, the ten-count'em-ten replace() members are less interesting than they are tedious and exhausting.

Confusion with “would” meaning on sentence

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 12:17 AM PDT

I am wondering about the meaning of "would be" in the below sentence, is this "would be= past tense of will" or it is "would be = guessing like 'could be'"?

"Do you ever think it would be a good idea to allow exceptions to rules? Then the adjective good would have an adverb goodly."

Regards,

Kiran

Constructions of the form 'He has committed I don't know how many crimes.'

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 10:10 AM PDT

What is the grammar (or syntax, if you will) of constructions of the form of the below sentence?

He has committed I don't know how many crimes.

In this sentence, for example, what is the grammatical role of the clause 'I don't know how many crimes'. Is it the object of the verb 'committed'? What type of clause is it?

"Something's wrong" vs "Something wrong"

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 03:06 AM PDT

I need this to provide a warning message in my software. "Something's wrong" seems more appropriate to my ear, but I have seen people using "Something wrong".

Are they both correct?

How would you describe a situation where you can only stop something by doing it first?

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 10:06 AM PDT

I'd like to know what this situation is called.

The gist is the only way you can stop something is by doing it first.

A real world example is a MS Windows feature called sticky keys. You can turn on sticky keys by pressing the shift key 5 times in quick succession. It will then make a beep. Every time the shift key is pressed another beep will occur.

Now someone says that the beep from pressing the shift key must stop (no speaker control) but the shift key must still be usable.

The only way to turn off sticky keys is to press the shift key 5 times in quick succession resulting in further beeps. The 6th press will not produce a beep.

Anyway, hope that makes sense.

I don't believe this is a catch 22 but correct me if I'm wrong.

Word order in a negative imperative sentence

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 05:01 AM PDT

The following are imperative sentences with subjects not omitted. (Emphasis on verbs.)

  • Everybody look!
  • Nobody move!
  • John sit down; the rest of you go home.
  • Somebody answer the phone!
  • You keep out of this!

These are negative imperatives:

  • Don'tV youS worry.
  • It's a surprise party so don'tV anybodyS mention it to Jim.
  • You allS, don'tV move!
  • YouS, don'tV move!
  • Don'tV youS move!
  • JohnS, don'tV speak!
  • Don'tV JohnS speak! (← not works)

In a negative imperative sentence having an explicit subject, when does the verb precede the subject, and when does it not? By "when," I mean it in terms of grammar and meaning ⸺ What kind of subjects can be used in the "Don't (subject)―" construction, and what kind of subjects in the "(subject) don't―"? And how would the order affect the overall tone of the sentence?

predicative complement vs predicative adjunct

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 04:02 AM PDT

The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (Page 250) has this passage: enter image description here Here, Od is Direct Object, and Oi is Indirect Object.

It seems that CGEL is saying that almost raw in [i-ii] and fiendishly hungry in [iii] are all predicative adjuncts, not predicative complements.

In [i] and [iii], I agree that almost raw and fiendishly hungry are adjuncts. But is almost raw an adjunct in [ii] too?

If it is, how about this?

He served her steak almost raw.

Here, is almost raw an adjunct too?

Do I include "that" or leave it out when used adjacent to "whatever, whereever, etc." such as in the following example?

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 08:12 AM PDT

"Advantages of whatever THAT happens always outweigh the costs"

Grammarly underlines THAT as red to leave it out. I know that when I say "whatever happens, I will be there for you" there is no need for "that. But when I use it after "of" I feel like a "that" is called for.

If you agree or not could you please ascertain why or when one uses "that" with "whatever, whenever,etc" if ever..

Thank you

Can we use a semicolon before "to"-infinitives?

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 01:08 AM PDT

I just read a sentence that goes like this:

I have woven the grief of your departure into amulets; to wear around my neck, until they dissolve into my skin.

So far I have learnt that semicolons can be used to join two independent clauses, but using it up there before to seems confusing because we could leave out the semicolon up there and it would still be meaningful.

Why was it used this way here?

"Since" being used in conditional sentences

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 06:04 AM PDT

I've come across this line in a movie:

Ever since she got her test results back, she'd get mad whenever someone asked her about it.

I've known about how "since" can only be used in present/past perfect tense but in this case, it's a conditional sentence.

Is it true that "since" is usable here? If not, how else should the sentence be rewritten?

"base documents" vs. "basic documents" for commonly referenced sources

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 08:03 AM PDT

As a non-native speaker, I might be mislead here. I tend to prefer base documents because I think base is a better word for something used as a foundation - and basic might translate to simple. However, when searching for both terms, it appears they are used almost interchangeably, and I have a hard time finding out if one of the two is preferred, or maybe just regionally preferred (AE vs BE or the like).

The exact context is a good term for documents like standards or laws used as references or sources for technical specifications. The term references doesn't seem to be exactly right, because a reference can be anything, and a base/basic document might be a better hint towards the fact that the documents are referenced similar to a tree structure, i.e. the specifications cite a standard, and never the other way round.

American equivalent of "Flabbergasted"

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 04:26 AM PDT

I love to use the word "flabbergasted" when writing, but I realize I cannot really use it when it's an American talking, as the word is primarily used by British people. I know there's words like "shocked" and "surprised", but I want something with more flavor. The sentence I intend to use it in is; "The taxi driver seemed flabbergasted when I refused to tip him". Any American-english words with the same definition and flavor as that word is desired.

"named" vs "that is named"

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 10:00 AM PDT

I want to describe my business and want to refer to it in a sentence.

I am trying to say:

"In 2015 we established a business (that is) named X".

Intuitively, the "that is" part is redundant, and makes the sentence more cumbersome. But I cannot think of a reason why we should be able to drop the verb.

Is the version without the "that is" part grammatically correct? How can it be explained?

Why is "success" spelled with double -S?

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 02:30 AM PDT

What is the function of the double s at the end of the word, success?

Do you need the “why” in “That's the reason why”? [duplicate]

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 08:32 AM PDT

I often hear people say things like "That's the reason why I...."

As far as I know, "That's the reason I..." would still be grammatically correct, but I can't find anything stating one way or the other.

Can someone please tell me whether I'm right or wrong?

"Haven't you?" or "don't you?"

Posted: 12 Sep 2021 05:09 AM PDT

What is the right question tag (in British English) when we use the verb have? I have interviewed a few native speakers and none of them could explain why sometimes they prefer "haven't/hasn't" and why other times they prefer "don't/doesn't". Here are 4 different groups of sentences. Which ones are correct and which ones aren't and why?

Group 1

  1. I've got a good voice, haven't I?
  2. You've got a dog, haven't you?
  3. She's got a new boyfriend, hasn't she?
  4. We've got very good friends, haven't we?
  5. They've got our address, haven't they?

Group 2

  1. I have a good voice, don't I?
  2. You have a dog, don't you?
  3. She has a new boyfriend, doesn't she?
  4. We have very good friends, don't we?
  5. They have our address, don't they?

Group 3

  1. I've got a good voice, don't I?
  2. You've got a dog, don't you?
  3. She's got a new boyfriend, doesn't she?
  4. We've got very good friends, don't we?
  5. They've got our address, don't they?

Group 4

  1. I have a good voice, haven't I?
  2. You have a dog, haven't you?
  3. She has a new boyfriend, hasn't she?
  4. We have very good friends, haven't we?
  5. They have our address, haven't they?
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)