Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange |
- Find error in this sentence?
- What is the part of speech of the phrase "between the market caps of these three companies?"
- Two hyphens or one?
- How to use the word "underpin"? [closed]
- What is the part of speech of "over the past two quarters?"
- Use of a phrase : debt of one year
- Past or perfect tense [migrated]
- What's the difference between print and write?
- What does "s/w" mean in text?
- River city - a city with a river running through it?
- What is the term for when a person lies in front of the group during a picture? [duplicate]
- Why is this noun singular?
- Can "a thin strip of Texas leather" be used in several situation? Or are there any similar expressions?
- Synonym for accepting turn of events?
- Looking for the right word to describe a chainsaw revving underwater in a menacing way
- is there a general rule related to "not" being incompatible with phrases like "There are clouds"?
- Did Dwight Eisenhower say "Never let yourself be persuaded that any one Great Man, any one leader, is necessary to the salvation of America"?
- Possible meanings of “[they] are forming a procession in the square” in context
- The good/better/best part of
- Is there a specific word for glasses that come apart at the bridge?
- Word for someone who remains calm (and taunts) in arguments
- Best word to describe “historically used formally but no longer acceptable”?
- What are buyers and sellers (or customers and suppliers)
- “Price of goods” vs “Prices of goods”
- What do you call a person who doesn't like/hates traveling?
- comma or semicolon before "that is" and repeating 'that'
- “The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm but because of those who look at it without doing anything”
- If the English language is always evolving, why do we need to learn and follow grammatical rules?
| Posted: 04 Nov 2021 11:05 AM PDT
I am studying College Composition and found this practice question. Each of the bold sections are possible errors in the sentence. The answer key states that "their" is incorrect, but I don't understand why.  |
| What is the part of speech of the phrase "between the market caps of these three companies?" Posted: 04 Nov 2021 10:43 AM PDT What is the part of speech and the function of the phrase "between the market caps of these three companies" in the sentence below?
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| Posted: 04 Nov 2021 10:32 AM PDT Should I leave out the first hyphen? Which one is correct -- "reading-comprehension-based testing" or "reading comprehension-based testing"?  |
| How to use the word "underpin"? [closed] Posted: 04 Nov 2021 10:30 AM PDT I don't quite understand the examples shown on Google when I searched for this word. Could anyone tell me how do you use this word and its other form "underpinning"?  |
| What is the part of speech of "over the past two quarters?" Posted: 04 Nov 2021 10:01 AM PDT What is the part of speech of "over the past two quarters" in the sentence below? Is it an adverb? If so what is it modifying?
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| Use of a phrase : debt of one year Posted: 04 Nov 2021 10:15 AM PDT
Is use of "of" idiomatic in this sentence or should I use different preposition? I mean for example, someone borrowed a money from someone one year ago, and now he has decided to re-pay that debt of one year. Can we express this situation using the phrase "debt of one year" or should we say something else? As I am not a native speaker, I think it would be impossible for me to say a phrase like "his debt of one year's standing which my teacher said." This is why I wondered if my phrase, "debt of one year", can be understood easily by a native speaker or anyone who knows English.  |
| Past or perfect tense [migrated] Posted: 04 Nov 2021 07:37 AM PDT Which is the correct one: "I've missed my flight" or "I missed my flight"?  |
| What's the difference between print and write? Posted: 04 Nov 2021 10:39 AM PDT The specific example comes from a Sherlock Holmes story:
What is the difference between print and write in this case? Could writing possibly employ the use of a pen, while printing a pencil?  |
| Posted: 04 Nov 2021 06:46 AM PDT Somebody made a comment about my writing. s/w tasks should be indicated with one font. I see different ones. What does s/w mean? And, 'one font' means I should use the same font?  |
| River city - a city with a river running through it? Posted: 04 Nov 2021 07:54 AM PDT On Wikipedia there is a page called River city and there is a list of cities located on a river:
Does this mean there is a river running through the city? What exactly does it mean to be "on a river"?  |
| What is the term for when a person lies in front of the group during a picture? [duplicate] Posted: 04 Nov 2021 05:18 AM PDT What's the term for when someone is lying down in front of the group during a picture? For example: During the group photo, Ben decided to (lie in front).  |
| Posted: 04 Nov 2021 08:21 AM PDT Why is the "performance" singular in "Analysis of authentication and identification performance" since it is basically the shortened of "Analysis of authentication performance and identification performance" so there are two performances?  |
| Posted: 04 Nov 2021 05:50 AM PDT I'm a Japanese. When I watched Netflix in English, I came across an expression "a thin strip of Texas leather." As I couldn't find the meaning on any sites (online dictionaries or search engines) on the Internet, I took a sneak peek at Japanese caption (from the beginning, I should have done it!) and got it meant "a born and bred Texan." The phrase is used in the show The Mentalist, in the episode "Copper Bullet." The context is:
Is this a peculiar expression for Texans? Or can it be used for any state residents where leather is produced? Anyway, I felt this is a very strange expression... why "thin strip" and why "leather"? Are there any other similar expressions for other states?  |
| Synonym for accepting turn of events? Posted: 04 Nov 2021 02:02 AM PDT Is there a word to describe how, initially, a person boldly accepting the unpleasant turn of events later sadly accepts it as fate and moves on?  |
| Looking for the right word to describe a chainsaw revving underwater in a menacing way Posted: 04 Nov 2021 08:22 AM PDT I am searching for the perfect word to describe a chainsaw sound. The chainsaw is revving under water (think Friday the 13th film). The actual sound is a boat motor but the receptor of said sound hears chainsaw motor thus invoking fear or dread. So I googled and was directed to this site where someone else was also trying to describe a chainsaw sound, albeit not submerged in water. Some decent suggestions were offered but not quite right or effective. The words I am searching for must be stronger than buzz but connote a similiar esthetic. The vibe needs to be fearful or menacing...cold dread. The sound also doubles as an innocous boat motor so it ideally would play both ways, danger or fun. I wanted to contribute to the original question found on here for feedback but I am new so I don't have points. Therefore, I will post the question again along with words I have come up with thus far. I have used the theasauras and dictionary for several of those listed below. The context the word will be used in is as follows:
All suggestions and/or feedback encouraged. Think menacing chainsaw motor underwater screaming imminent danger.  |
| is there a general rule related to "not" being incompatible with phrases like "There are clouds"? Posted: 03 Nov 2021 11:54 PM PDT The adverb "not" can negate a lot of expressions in a straightforward way. We can put it after a helper verb, after forms of "be" if it happens not to be a helper verb, and we can add a helper verb "do" if needed. For example:
But then I find I cannot use "not" as such with expressions like "There are clouds."
What just happened? Sure I could negate the sentence by saying "There are no clouds", or "There are not any clouds". But why do I need to do something different to negate this type of sentence? Is there a specific topic I could read about to understand this scenario more?  |
| Posted: 04 Nov 2021 07:09 AM PDT "Never let yourself be persuaded that any one Great Man, any one leader, is necessary to the salvation of America. When America consists of one leader and 158 million followers, it will no longer be America." The quote above is attributed to Dwight Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States. However, I can't find where the quote comes from, such as a speech or a book. I've tried searching the quote, but all I could find were websites sharing quotes or people quoting it, the latter only stating the quote is from Eisenhower and not when or where he said it.  |
| Possible meanings of “[they] are forming a procession in the square” in context Posted: 04 Nov 2021 06:40 AM PDT This is from Baltasar and Blimunda (1998, p. 3), a translation of José Saramago's Memorial do Convento (1982). Broader context: it's the 1700s, an Austrian princess married the Portuguese King to "provide heirs for the Portuguese crown"; it's been two years, and she hasn't conceived yet. The fictional narrator (warning: he holds deeply misogynistic views) goes on:
I'm asking this because it's not clear to me that the passage in bold conveys the original meaning. (If you want to think about the possible interpretations of the English translation with a mind uninfluenced by knowledge of the original meaning, pause your reading now.) I appears to me that it does not. But first I speak English as a foreign language only, and second I cannot be sure of what I would make of the passage if I didn't know the original; and lastly I find it strange that the translators should fail to convey the original meaning. The original is "e a procissão ainda vai no adro", or 'and the procession hasn't left the churchyard yet', a Portuguese saying meaning that things have barely begun, which applied to our passage means that the King has barely begun fathering children out of the wedlock―we then learn he is only 22. So my questions are:
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| Posted: 04 Nov 2021 09:03 AM PDT
What is the difference, if any? My research: According to the dictionaries, better/best part means the same thing, which I doubt. The good part definition is vaguely similar. And the nice part is something I have come up of my own.  |
| Is there a specific word for glasses that come apart at the bridge? Posted: 04 Nov 2021 09:45 AM PDT I have never seen this before, spectacles which come apart in the middle and can be clicked back together again. Is there a word for this?
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| Word for someone who remains calm (and taunts) in arguments Posted: 04 Nov 2021 10:03 AM PDT Is there a word that describes someone who remains calm in arguments, even when the other side is extremely angry? For example, someone who smiles and replies to angry remarks? I thought of taunting, but it doesn't suit the situation I'm thinking of. Example sentence: He was Note: It shouldn't mean calm, but more like taunting or sneering, in a calm way.  |
| Best word to describe “historically used formally but no longer acceptable”? Posted: 04 Nov 2021 11:04 AM PDT What is a good word to use to describe a word that was used in history but now is becoming obsolete in literature because of its racial, cultural, or ethical bias implications? For example, what is a good word to use to describe:
Thanks! EDIT: I want to edit this so that it's clearer that maybe "obsolete" is not the best word here, as simply "being driven out of usage by its traditional context in formal literature" may describe what I'm looking for better. The term may still be used in slang or whatnot, but would not be considered prudent or even be considered offensive in formal conversation or literature.  |
| What are buyers and sellers (or customers and suppliers) Posted: 04 Nov 2021 11:06 AM PDT I'm programming a simple software to manage products, buyers/sellers and sales/purchases orders. A product is simply a product, but what is the english word that refers to both the categories of buyers and sellers (or customers and suppliers)? I just cannot find the correct term (if it exists), not even in my own language. Some options I thought would be: ThirdParty, Person, Company. And finally, given the correct word, when I want to state if the ThirdParty is a buyer or a seller, what is it? A type? I hope my question is clear and pertinent to english.stackexchange. Thank you.  |
| “Price of goods” vs “Prices of goods” Posted: 04 Nov 2021 06:03 AM PDT I was just asked, in referring to the sentence: "The price of goods in big cities is usually higher than in small cities," if it's okay to swap "price of goods" for "prices of goods." I said that goods is a singular group, and prices would only be acceptable if you put a modifying adjective that breaks the singular group into multiple groups such as "the prices of various goods in big cities," but now I'm starting to wonder if that's correct.  |
| What do you call a person who doesn't like/hates traveling? Posted: 04 Nov 2021 01:18 AM PDT Example:
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| comma or semicolon before "that is" and repeating 'that' Posted: 04 Nov 2021 09:48 AM PDT In the following two sentences
Which one is correct or more natural? Phrase A and Phrase A' are two sentences that express the same thing. That they are the same are obvious to see and is not our concern. Add an example for sentence 1. (We are not going to show that "a+b=c is the same as a=c-b", which is trivial.)
Thanks a lot.  |
| Posted: 04 Nov 2021 02:50 AM PDT Yes, this is the original quote from Albert Einstein. I tend to put it this way:
which seems to have a more balanced structure. However, I do observe the original quote conforms to common English usage (i.e. commonly used in newspapers, books, etc.). I feel inclined to follow the language convention rather than make it subject to my own judgement. Any suggestions?  |
| If the English language is always evolving, why do we need to learn and follow grammatical rules? Posted: 04 Nov 2021 04:05 AM PDT Since language evolves over time — the best example I can think of is slang where it mostly doesn't follow grammar rules — why is there a need to preserve grammar or stress that proper grammar be used? My second question is if someone can get their exact point across to another person without using proper grammar, then why does grammar matter? Could the reason be that if grammar is used then it implies that there is a standard way of communicating, thus people would be able to spend the least amount of effort getting their point across? Wait! Doesn't slang already do this?  |
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