Thursday, November 25, 2021

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Word order in titles (in general, and in IT specifically)

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 02:21 PM PST

I want to know once and for all what is the correct word order in titles, used in different environments. I will break my examples into two parts.

1. Word order in titles of books, movies, paintings, webinars etc.

These are mostly used in daily life, conversation, news etc.

1a) The book "How to become a millionaire in just a week" is incredibly interesting.
1b) The "How to become a millionaire in just a week" book is incredibly interesting.

2a) Have you seen the movie "300 spartans"?
2b) Have you seen the "300 spartans" movie?

3a) The famous painting "The Birth of Venus" has been stolen.
3b) The famous "The Birth of Venus" painting has been stolen.

4a) The webinar "10 easy steps to become a better yourself" starts today.
4b) The "10 easy steps to become a better yourself" webinar starts today.

2. Word order in titles of buttons, menus, categories, sections and other elements of a web-site or application.

This part is even more important. When I work with documentation made by native English speakers, I often encounter these elements described in this order: common noun first, "title" second (for example, the button "Register" / the menu section "Manage Your Contend and Devices").

However, some IT companies from a non-English speaking country state that there is the one and the only correct way of describing program elements in documentation, which is: "title" first, common noun second (for example, the "Register" button / the "Manage Your Contend and Devices" menu section).

I've also added examples of bug reports written following these two rules.

common noun + "title"

Summary: The landing page of the web-site is opened after clicking the button "Yes" in the pop-up window "Show all items"

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. Open the site
  2. Click the menu button
  3. Click the category "Toys that every grown-up man secretly wishes"
  4. Click the subcategory "Quadcopters"
  5. Click the link "Show all items" at the bottom of the page (pop-up window opens)
  6. Click the button "Yes"

Actual Results: the landing page of the web-site is opened

Expected Result: the page with all quadcopters is opened

"title" + common noun

Summary: The landing page of the web-site is opened after clicking the "Yes" button in the "Show all items" pop-up window

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. Open the site
  2. Click the menu button
  3. Click the "Toys that every grown-up man secretly wishes" category
  4. Click the "Quadcopters" subcategory
  5. Click the "Show all items" link at the bottom of the page (pop-up window opens)
  6. Click the "Yes" button

Actual Results: the landing page of the web-site is opened

Expected Result: the page with all quadcopters is opened

Important!

What is the correct word order? Is the rule the same for examples from part 1 and 2? Whatever the answer is, I need confirmation from authoritative sources that I can securely rely on.

Is this the correct usage of "could have"?

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 01:53 PM PST

I was reading this article and this line threw me off.

It should be "could happen" instead of "could have happened". "Could have happened" suggests that it did not actually happen but it could have happened.

  1. Losing to England is the best thing that could happen to the Boks.

Am I correct?

Where does the phrase "That's a wrap" come from?

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 12:17 PM PST

Where does the phrase "That's a wrap", meaning "we are finished" come from? I suspect it is from the movie making process, but I couldn't find much information on its origins.

"brothers in her bag"

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 10:30 AM PST

in the film The Maltese Falcon (1941) the private detective Miles said "They have brothers in her bag."

context: the client, beautiful women Wonderly gave him two Dollar bill and after she left he examined one bill and said that.

what actually does he mean? can anyone have any clue?

plural or singular noun

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 09:46 AM PST

My sentence is:

The article presents a comprehensive study of Polish literature of the Positivist and Young Poland period.

Is this sentence correct? When listing two periods together, should I use 'periods' instead of 'period'? For the record: Positivism and Young Poland are names of movements/literary periods in Poland.

I am not a native English speaker and I've been staring at this sentence for so long...

How do I write an email to request a MacBook for work? [closed]

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 09:03 AM PST

It is right?

Dear (Name)

May I ask if it was possible to get a MacBook to use for work. I definitely feel that having a MacBook can help me with my work, my productivity and also improve my service to the company.

I hope you take this request into consideration

Thank you for your kind attention.

Are "as of writing" and "at the time of writing" both correct?

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 08:58 AM PST

I see that 'at the time of writing' is grammatically correct (Is 'at the time of writing' correct?).

Is this replaceable with 'as of writing'?

Verb for attending a lecture without registering

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 09:03 AM PST

In other words, going to a lecture at university that you didn't pay for.

I clearly remember there was a specific verb for that.

Should you capitalize run-in sentence? [duplicate]

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 06:37 AM PST

So I come up with a question in narration, and here's a few example:

I know from her smile that she was saying "you look like an idiot" to me.

She was more likely than not dishing me out with "do this fool even know how to make a golem?" sarcasm.

At that moment, I heard someone shouting "Kill! Kill! Kill!" and saw that a crazy person running rampant on the street and stabbing the pedestrians.

Two of the nearby men complied and quickly grabbed the insane man down screaming "Let go of me!" over and over.

I don't know what this thing is called, but I'm confused in whether capitalizing them or not. So if you can help, I will be the most grateful.

I know for a fact that a normal construction like this, He raised his eyebrows, saying, "Hey, that hat is mine." Is capitalized.

Usage of nourish vs nurture [closed]

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 06:07 AM PST

What is the difference in meaning between the following sentences? Do they both read well?

These conversations will nourish your relationship.

These conversations will nurture your relationship.

Any difference between "testing out" and "testing"? [closed]

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 07:18 AM PST

Is there a difference (in the meaning) between

I've been testing out cameras...

and

"I've been testing cameras..."

How (if at all) does the word "out" change the meaning of the verb?

And which one to use for describing when you have being doing tests of different cameras.

When and why did English stop pronouncing ‘hour’ with an [h] like its spelling still shows?

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 08:19 AM PST

As a non-native speaker, I had been pronouncing hour in the literal, letter-by-letter way as ［ˈhaʊə(ɹ)］. Then I learned that its written h is silent in speech, and that you therefore needed to say an hour instead of a hour.

However, I also noticed that during the 18th century, some British media such as The Literary Gazette used to use a hour not an hour in their printed publications of several hundred years ago, indicating the word started with a consonant sound at that time:

photograph from the 1700s showing "a hour" used several times

I am not sure why but I suspect that the now-silent h in this word is a really modern change to English, and that not so very long ago hour was pronounced exactly the same way as it is still written today: ［ˈhaʊə(ɹ)］.

Or had the system of writing a for the indefinite article before a vowel sound and writing an for the indefinite article before a consonant sound not yet become standard during the 1700s?

Or is this just an incorrect and repeated typo in that page from The Literary Gazette from the 18th century? If English really ᴅɪᴅ pronounce it ［ˈhaʊə(ɹ)］ once upon a time, then when and why did this hypothetical change ɴᴏᴛ to pronounce it with ［h］ occur?

"Give this work to whoever looks idle." or "Give this work to whomever looks idle." [duplicate]

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 04:19 AM PST

I was under the impression that any object, compound or not, following a preposition such as "to" must take the objective case; therefore, "Give this work to whomever looks idle."

However, in the classic book, The Elements of Style, the following passages states otherwise:

Give this work to whoever looks idle.
In the last example, whoever is the subject of looks idle; the object of the preposition to is the entire clause whoever looks idle.

What am I missing here? Wouldn't the fact that the clause is the object to the preposition "to" make whomever the right choice?

Word or idiom for suggesting someone to do something that damages said person

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 08:36 AM PST

I am looking for a word or short idiom that describes the situation when suggesting, or even slightly persuade, someone to do something that hurts that person himself. An example of such an act can be found in the TV show "house of cards", where Francis Underwood places a razor blade on a bathtub's rim while his colleague Peter Russo takes a bath.

My first idea of a matching phrase was "to hold a pistol to someones head", but I don't think it properly describes such a situation.

"considered <adjective>" vs. "considered to be <adjective>" [closed]

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 03:38 AM PST

Is it correct to say

The thing is considered large.

or does it have to be

The thing is considered to be large.

?

One in ten Americans “think” or “thinks”? [duplicate]

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 03:55 AM PST

enter image description here

I wonder when actor is a 3rd person singular number in this sentence, verb should be ending with the suffix -s or -es or not.

Whats the rule?

Phrase for taking a group of people to a "higher culture"?

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 05:06 AM PST

In a story I'm translating, a character says this (literally translated).

I will bring idols to the heights of culture.

This particular character often talks about (and acts upon) revolutionizing the (Japanese) idol industry. Like bringing an industry in decline back to life. So in this sentence, he speaks of taking these idols from a state of decadence to something opposite of that and further. Is there a phrase, expression, or idiom in English that can describe this?

There's the term 'honest mistake', so what is 'dishonest mistake' synonymous to? [closed]

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 01:08 PM PST

In re the term 'honest mistake', would a 'dishonest mistake' be synonymous to something like irresponsibility, negligence or lazy/not doing due diligence?

Part 1. My thoughts

  • Thought 1.1: Honest mistake vs dishonest mistake

We apologise for dishonest mistakes. We don't apologise for honest mistakes. We can instead say like 'My bad' or 'My mistake.' Of course in everyday terminology we say 'my apologies' to mean 'my (honest) mistake' instead of course necessarily admitting to any guilt. Just like how we say 'sorry' for your loss (similar to condolences) or 'sorry' to hear that.

Quote from The Phantom Tollbooth:

You must never feel badly about making mistakes ... as long as you take the trouble to learn from them. For you often learn more by being wrong for the right reasons than you do by being right for the wrong reasons.

Presumably the mistakes that are being talked about are honest mistakes. For example for a student: Don't be (unreasonably) afraid of making a mistake on an exam to the point of cheating on the exam. But do be (reasonably) afraid of neglecting your studies by spending more than allotted recreation time.

  • Thought 1.1.1: I believe it boils down to whether or not you should have known better. I think it's like the difference between naïveté and ignorance. You're at fault for ignorance but not for naïveté. i think it's like fool vs student in the arabian quote that goes:

"He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool; shun him. He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is a student; Teach him. He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep; Wake him. He who knows, and knows that he knows, is Wise; Follow him."

  • Thought 1.2: Dishonest mistake vs intentional wrongdoing

Going back to the student example earlier, if a student extends allotted recreational time like 'Oh just 5 more minutes' and then ends up spending 1 hour more, then the student has committed a dishonest mistake through negligence of time management. If as a result of this the student decides to cheat, then this is no longer mere negligence but really intending something wrong. The 'Oh just 5 more minutes' did not have any intention of anything wrong, which in this case is losing a significant amount of time for study.

  • Thought 1.2.1: I kinda have this analogy in homicide legal terms:

  1. Manslaughter/humanslaughter <--> dishonest mistake

  2. Murder <--> intentional wrongdoing

Not the best analogy, but the point is I believe the idea why we have the concept of humanslaughter in the first place is that there are homicide cases where the perpetrator isn't 'not guilty by reason of insanity' but at the same didn't commit the act with forethought/premeditation/whatever. Like they just lost their temper (voluntary) or didn't do their due diligence (involuntary).

Part 2. What I've found about this on Reddit and even on Stack Exchange (not quite in the way I'm asking though):

2.1. https://www.reddit.com/r/Showerthoughts/comments/cowio8/theres_no_such_thing_as_a_dishonest_mistake/ewln90o/

2.2. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/93j5t2/what_is_a_dishonest_mistake/

2.3. Ignorantly dishonest → I notice here no one says anything like irresponsible, negligent, lazy/not doing due diligence. (So I decided to answer myself.)

Part 3. Some context

3.1. people may consider a dishonest mistake an honest mistake.

  • E.g., 3.1.1. parents fail to get the proper mental health treatment for their child who was diagnosed with a mental illness (say autism, ADHD or any mental illnesses diagnosed relative to how the child behaves/how the person behaved as a child) because they do not do their due diligence. Let's say they do their own reading about autism or ADHD and do not proceed with the suggested treatment by the diagnoser (eg psychologist or psychiatrist) without double checking their own readings with the diagnoser.

3.2. people may consider a dishonest mistake an intentional wrongdoing.

  • E.g., 3.2.1. Following (3.1.1) still: Here of course it's not exactly 'child abuse' since abuse, as far as I understand, is intentional, not negligent...or not. But I'd call it more like child neglect or child maltreatment to distinguish from those cases where parents who, say, rape their children). It's indeed a mistake in the sense that it's not intentional. But that doesn't mean the mistake was honest.

3.3. people may consider an honest mistake to be a dishonest mistake.

  • E.g., 3.3.1. Again, boredpanda or phantom tollbooth as above.

3.4. (Also to clarify the issue of the term 'mistake') people may consider an intentional wrongdoing to be a dishonest mistake (or even an honest mistake!)

  • E.g., 3.4.1. As discussed a lot in comments: Adultery. I'd think if it happens once as a spur of the moment or getting drunk thing especially if it's just a kiss and not full blown sex, then I think it can be just a dishonest mistake. So it's still wrong, but let's not give a sentence of life imprisonment for murder instead of just 2 years for humanslaughter. (Well, I don't know. IANAL. Maybe divorce law in some parts of the world might consider a spur of the moment kiss as just as bad as full blown sex.) But if an adulterous act has forethought/premeditation, then this is now intentional and thus no longer a mistake.

A lot of times cheaters will say what they did was a 'mistake'. I think this is similar to the 'apologies' or 'sorry' thing above in that what is meant by 'mistake' is something altogether now.

This kind of 'mistake' they did has intent. So this is not the kind of 'mistake' I mean when I say 'dishonest mistake'. A 'dishonest' mistake has no intent, same as an honest mistake. Was I being unclear? I don't think so. What I mean by 'mistake' in 'dishonest mistake' should, I believe, be clear because it comes from what is meant by 'mistake' in 'honest mistake', where intent is, I believe, understood to not be present here.

Going back to the adultery, the issue here is I think those cheaters subconsciously/unconsciously lie to their spouses/partners or even to themselves in that when they say 'mistake', they mean it like honest/dishonest mistake instead of, well, intentional wrongdoing. Here's an example from a TV series

This wasn't a mistake, Michaela. This was you stabbing me in the heart.

Part 4. Appendix:

Re rejection of edit suggestion of smitenothing:

An edit proposed for me to ask 'antonym' of 'honest mistake'. I rejected in thinking that it might cause confusion in that like I'm trying to ask here what I might call (antonym-of-honest)-mistake instead of antonym-of-(honest mistake), which might turn out to be different.

What is the relationship between these two clauses?

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 01:21 PM PST

I came across this sentence:

Even as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan morph into shapeless struggles, they have given birth to an extraordinary outpouring of writing that tries to make sense of it all.

I looked "even as" in the dictionary and found out that it is used to express time, manner or that the clause is concessive. However, I am not sure which one (if any) it is, as none seems quite right in this case (the tenses confuse me the most).

Could anyone please explain it to me?

Jaw to Jaw (without expressing action)

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 10:03 AM PST

As the werewolf wrenched itself free of the manacle binding it, the dog seized it about the neck and pulled it backwards, away from Ron and Pettigrew. They were locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other -

Research: I fully understand that if two animals are locked, they are holding onto each other. And "jaw to jaw" means biting at each other snouts.

But for "jaw to jaw" to make sense, there should have been stated a verb as in "attacking, biting, etc."?

But simply "jaw to jaw" doesn't make sense, does it?

Where to put commas in a long sentence with multiple ands

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 09:06 AM PST

I am having a lot of trouble figuring out where to place commas in my long sentences and was hoping to get some guidance for this particular sentence so I can use it for reference.

  1. Specifically, our architecture takes as input the giver and receiver pose that we denote together as Pi, and the object label O in the form of a GloVe embedding, and forecasts both their poses Ph and the orientation of the object Or centered on the giver's grasping hand at handover

vs.

  1. Specifically, our architecture takes as input the giver and receiver pose that we denote together as Pi, and the object label O in the form of a GloVe embedding and, forecasts both their poses Ph and the orientation of the object Or centered on the giver's grasping hand at handover

A word or 5-6 word phrase for "an aliquot can only be a member of a batch one time"

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 03:06 AM PST

I'm a software engineer trying to come up with a word or phrase to describe that relationship in a way that future software engineers can look at the code I've written and either understand what's going on quickly or be a Google search away.

Aliquot - a portion of a larger whole, especially a sample taken for chemical analysis or other treatment

Where I work, batches have many aliquots associated with them.

Another way would be to say "a marble can only be a member of a grouping one time".

Phenomenon, when a phrase (lit. trans. into English from other regional language) has obvious mistake(s) and still uncorrectable due to popularity

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 05:04 AM PST

Let me layout an example to make the situation, described in question more clear:

There is a popular road in a city of Gujarat, India whose name when literally translated into English means "Horse Racing" or for the sake of completeness, "Horse Racing Road". It's literal translation in Gujarati should be ""Ghoda Dod" Road" where "Ghoda" means Horses and "Dod" means running/racing.

But, the translation has become to "Ghod Dod" Road, maybe due to fast usage of words or maybe just laziness to complete the first(or one) word and then move on to next one during a continuous conversation, and then maybe no one cared to rectify it.

So, what is this type of phenomena or event called, are there more of these phenomenons in other regional/national languages too apart from english ?

Is there an adjective for "opportunistic" that lacks its connotation of amorality?

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 08:00 AM PST

A real life example might be that when a flight attendant asks this type of person whether they want pretzels or crackers, they ask if they can have both. If they can't, it's no problem. They just like to probe and see what they can get if they want more than what seems to be available to them. There's an audaciousness about them in that many people wouldn't do that, but this person still has morals and doesn't necessarily lie or steal to get what they want.

These are my opinions, but opportunism ("opportunistic") implies a lack of morals and evokes thoughts of graft. Self-indulgence ("self-indulgent") implies excess, and maybe gluttony. Immoderation ("immoderate") has a similarly "sinful" tone.

Taking another path, the best antonymic phrase I can think of for this concept is abnegation, but it also seems to have a moral connotation (this time positive) of sacrifice and self-denial. An example sentence might say that "one who abnegates denies themselves of things they could otherwise possess, whereas a ____ person seeks to get things they may not have otherwise had if they didn't probe for them."

Is there an adjective for this type of person with a more neutral "feel" and definition? I have tried looking at definitions and synonyms of the words mentioned above (and others) in Merriam-Webster and through Google.

What sentence adverb to use to introduce a sentence expressing the reason for something?

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 04:02 AM PST

I am trying to 'conjure up' a chart on result, reason, purpose, and contrast for my students, and I am really hard put to come up with a satisfying adverb to introduce the sentence mentioning the reason for something.

Result: I work hard. Therefore, I am successful. (adverb introducing the sentence mentioning the result)

Reason: I am successful. Naturally, I work hard. (adverb introducing the sentence mentioning the reason)

Is there an adverb other than 'Naturally' for reason, as obvious as 'As a result/Consequently/Therefore' for result?

I have thought of 'Obviously', 'Evidently', 'Of course', but they are hardly more satsifying than 'Naturally', aren't they?

Can I use "usually" to mean "not always"?

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 03:35 AM PST

I had a conversation earlier and something struck me as not being right. I will denote myself by M and the caller as C.

phone rings

M:"Hello."

C:"Hello, M. Is your grandfather there?"

M:"I am not sure to be honest. He usually answers the phone if he is here; that's why I let the phone ring for a while. Sorry."

C:"... or he could be out the back ..."

...

My question:

Given that I said "usually" does that cover the possibility that he could be here and not answer due to being out the back garden? If I said "always", that would mean that regardless whether he is in the house or out the back garden he would answer the phone.

Sounds like a trivial matter, just I had a look in the dictionary and got

Usually: Under normal conditions.

Has the person on the other end of the phone not interpreted what I have said correctly or am I misusing the word usually?

Is there a difference between “introduction to” and “introduction into”?

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 01:02 PM PST

"Introduction to" seems to be much more common than "introduction into", but is the latter an acceptable alternative? If it is, is there some difference in meaning, tone, or connotations? I was inclined into thinking that "into" suggests a deeper introduction, going deep inside the topic, but is it just me?

I mean specifically the use of "introduction" to mean an introductory presentation of a topic, such as in "Introduction to Linguistics".

Is "it is necessary be have" correct?

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 07:04 AM PST

How do you use subjunctive in such situations? Have I correctly written the following?

It is necessary to have a farm of your own

Is this right? If not, why?

It is necessary be have a farm of your own.

Of course, I have asked this question, considering the following:

It was his order that all forests be protected.

His order was that all forests be protected.

A quick Google search for "it is necessary be have".

Difference between addressing and answering a question

Posted: 25 Nov 2021 03:42 AM PST

"To address the question", "To answer the question". What's the difference?
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