Saturday, December 18, 2021

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Questions about my university application essay regarding the grammar

Posted: 18 Dec 2021 02:32 AM PST

I'm an international student applying to UBC and as a part of the application, we have to write some long-form answers. I'll share the parts I'm not sure about in terms of grammar, hopefully someone will answer them.

  1. "I liked the web pages design and C++ course, but the sheer fun and gratification I felt during the Python course was magnificent." Should I change 'was' to 'were'?

  2. "Conditions and the judges were set against visiting teams in order to grant Mashhad's team their fifth consecutive 1st place." Should I remove the 'the' before 'judges'?

  3. "knowing if I were born in a different family my life could've been unspeakably rough, I would feel ashamed and remorseful if I don't utilize the privileges I've had in order to try and create more opportunities for the deprived." **Is this grammatically correct?

  4. "I grew up seeing the modern world get built not by politicians or oil tycoons, but by people like Steve Jobs, Mike Zuckerberg, and Bill Gates who would traditionally be called "nerds"." Should I change 'get' to 'getting'?

  5. "After the course ended, based on what I had learned in and out of class, I decided to make a game." Is 'in and out of class' ok, or should I use inside and outside?

  6. Is this sentence correct? "In my opinion the most worthwhile way to attain something you want is to be surrounded by people who want or have the same thing."

  7. Is this sentence correct? " I didn't want to set aside my interest in engineering for becoming a doctor throughout the last three years of school."

Interpret a metaphor

Posted: 18 Dec 2021 02:13 AM PST

As I have often told keen readers of this column, fishing is, for those of us intelligent enough to see it, really the best way to understand humanity in all its glory. As a famous angler, writer and dare I say it, philosopher, I'm used to the perils of celebrity. Once, while signing an autograph for a polio-stricken youth in Kuala Lumpur, he asked me my thoughts on fishing while it is raining. "Why, that's the best time to fish, little fellow," I laughed heartily, slapping him on the back and causing him to cough mightily and, quite frankly, embarrass both of us. Poor little chap. Life can be very unfair. Fishing taught me that. I always say that some of the deepest introspection into a man's soul happens when he stands in a torrential downpour. I was fishing in the rain using live bait near Scarlett Meadows and hooked a monster Bluegill. And yet, even I didn't land him, so there's a metaphor, pretty much for everything.

In the above text, can anyone interpret what is the metaphor referred to by the author in the last sentence?

Predicate genitive

Posted: 18 Dec 2021 12:01 AM PST

Can anyone give me a syntactical description for this of-construction, does it imply possessiveness or the characteristic of something?

The lunatic, the lover, and the poet, are of imagination all compact;

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Is "obtain from X a Y" correct in grammar?

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 07:47 PM PST

I'm reading this document, and quote

To modify the definition of a class, the users must first obtain from a ClassPool object a reference to a CtClass object representing that class. get() in ClassPool is used for this purpose.

"obtain from a ClassPool object a reference" does not seems to be correct, shouldn't it be "obtain a reference from a ClassPool object" instead?

during in over the past xxx years, present perfect

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 06:46 PM PST

During /In /Over the past xxx years, someone has done something.

During /In /Over the past xxx years, something has happened.

Does the usage of during /in / over the past xxx years in the present perfect often lead to two interpretations:

the action started in the past and continues to the present;

the action started in the past, and finished before the present.

Message system or messaging system?

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 05:27 PM PST

In a reading passage in our ESL textbook it says:

Kublai Khan made use of a fast and simple message system. Horse riders spaced every 40 kilometers allowed messages to cover 500 kilometers a day.

The exercise that follows on taking notes asks the reader to fill in the following blank:

KK had a fast ----- system w/horse riders.

The teaching manual mentions "messaging" as the correct answer. What is the difference between "messaging" and "message" here? Is one better over the other?

Should I use "Latinx" to describe people of Latin American ethnicity in the absence of a guideline? [closed]

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 05:01 PM PST

I have recently noticed that more publications are using the word "Latinx" to describe the ethnicity of people of Latin American origin. Is there a reason for this?

Is the term Latinx considered nonstandard in English? When is it preferable to "Hispanic" or "Latino?"

In the absence of a style guide, is Latinx the word I should use in my writing to describe people of Latin American ethnicity?

Is this English sound natural? [closed]

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 04:22 PM PST

everyone! It's been a while since I posted the last video. How have you been? I've got a lot thing going around lately. As you can see the thumbnail, I had to end up my journey to get my permanent residency in Canada for the some reason and go back to Japan. In this video, I would to share the reason why I chose not to get permanent residency, but going back to Japan. And also I would like to talk about what I will do in Japan. This topic that I'm going to talk about has a lot to do with those people who are thinking of studying or working in overseas, so I would like you to watch till the end.

"And" or "or" omitted in this sentence?

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 05:43 PM PST

In the following sentence, is it correct to assume that "and" or "or" is omitted before "through our online services"? If so, is such an omission grammatically acceptable, or is it just an error by the writer?

This Privacy Policy describes why and how we process the personal data we receive over our websites, through software and applications, through our online services, when we provide services, when we license our products, when we handle inquiries about our products and any other means, such as, when we obtain your data at an exhibition.

How is the door opened?

Posted: 18 Dec 2021 02:05 AM PST

"Slamming open the door".

In British English, does the phrase denote a flung open door that slams into something? Or, does the phrase's meaning stretch to violently opened doors in general?

How direction of a word should be written in comparison to other words?For example,in a group of words and symbols i.e. "word is....".Here if I [closed]

Posted: 18 Dec 2021 12:36 AM PST

How direction of a word should be written in comparison to other words? For example,in a group of words and symbols i.e. "word is...." Here if I write 'is' is written right or after to "word" then it is not clear because right or after can be upper than the place where this 'is' is written or even below so how should I describe the position of this 'is' with respect to this 'word'?

as much as my place is worth

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 07:00 PM PST

Quote:

"Bless you, sir, if any one is about he will be, for he is always the first stirring. But here he is, sir, to answer your questions for himself. No, sir, no; it is as much as my place is worth to let him see me touch your money. Afterwards, if you like."

Question:

I guess "it is as much as my place is worth to let him see me touch your money" can be paraphrased as "to let him see me touch your money means to get fired" ?

Is "as much as place is worth" is a modern and common expression?

That-clause as a subject and an object

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 06:04 PM PST

  1. I wrongly wrote that I was gay.
  2. It was wrongly written by me that I was gay.
  3. That I was gay was wrongly written by me.

All of these sentences mean that I should have written another but I wrote that I was gay or I should have written that I was gay but I wrote another?

If the former is right, 'I wrongly wrote why that I was gay,' 'it was wrongly written by me that I was gay,' and 'that I was gay was wrongly written by me' mean in the same way?

Words to use to confirm an amount for a task

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 04:04 PM PST

Someone wants a task to be done by me. And before picking I want to quote an amount say 50$ for it.
So some ways to quote an amount is :

  1. Are you fine with 50$ for this task ?
  2. Will 50$ work for you ?

Are above lines correct ? Any better way to convey the same ?

Civics: word for a representative's constituent who voted or will vote for them

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 03:04 PM PST

In the U.S. as an example, a senator represents constituents -- the people in her area of representation. What's a word or short term for those constituents who voted for her?

As a more concrete example, what political term could we use to describe the Californians who voted for and elected Nanci Pelosi, the Floridians who voted for and elected Marco Rubio, or the Connecticuters who voted for and elected Richard Blumenthal?

I'd be quite happy if such a term also included people who currently intended to vote in the next election for the politician in question.

meaning of "none wiser"

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 05:07 PM PST

His Majesty of Prussia — grim and old —

Sadowa's King — by needle guns made bold;

With Bismark of the royal conscience, keeper,

In dreams political none wiser — deeper.

In this quatrain, what does 'none wiser' mean?

When the adjective 'suited' is followed by a verb, should this verb be in the infinitive or in the -ing form?

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 10:04 PM PST

Here are some example sentences from different dictionaries.

With her qualifications and experience, she would seem to be ideally suited to/for the job. (Cambridge online dictionary)

This was a job to which he seemed well suited. / He is not really suited for a teaching career. (Oxford Learners' Dictionary online)

Satellites are uniquely suited to provide this information. (Collins online dictionary)

Why not to providing?

He is not suited to teaching. (Le Robert et Collins, dictionnaire français-anglais, paper version)

Why not to teach?

When followed by a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun, the adjective suited must be followed by the preposition to or for, that much is clear.

But when it is followed by a verb?

Is it to be suited to do something (full infinitive, preposition to or for dropped, Collins's example sentence) or to be suited to/for doing something (gerund, preposition maintained, Le Robert et Collins's example sentence)?

Does the type of subject – person (he) or thing (satellites) – have an influence on the structure one should use, or not?

It is not obvious that the adjective/verb-followed-by-noun and the adjective/verb-followed-by-verb structures should match, as is NOT the case in

to be scared of something / to remind someone of something

versus

to be scared to do something / to remind someone to do something

but not

to remind someone of doing something *!

However, note that

to be scared of doing something

is possible, but with a change of meaning from intentional to accidental – I suppose – as in to be afraid to do something (to choose not to do something which is in your willpower, to avoid doing it – intentional, voluntary) versus to be afraid of doing something (to try to avoid something unpleasant happening to you – if it did happen, that would be accidental, involuntary).

These things are much more complicated than either the dictionaries or the grammar books make them out to be!

Unfortunately, many monolingual dictionaries not aimed at foreign learners do not give example sentences of adjectives/verbs followed by verbs because they do not even realize that choosing the form the verb should be in IS a difficulty!

if and because in compound-complex sentences

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 08:02 PM PST

I am confused about compound-complex sentences that begin with if and because. In general, if a compound-complex sentence begins with an introductory phrase and contains two dependent clauses, all three are separated by commas. For example, I might say, "I would have gone to the park yesterday, but it was raining, and I dislike going to the park in the rain." In this case, the placement of the commas does not change the meaning of the sentence (I think). But I am not sure whether this is the case for sentences that begin with if and because

For example, suppose I were to say, "If every observation is the same number, the mean equals the observation, and there is no spread about the mean." I am not sure whether there should be a comma between observation and and. It seems that there should be a comma since "the mean equals the observation," and "there is no spread about the mean" are independent clauses, but I also want it to be clear that both statements--that the mean equals the observation and that there is no spread about the mean--are conditional on every observation being the same number. I feel like the comma could make it seem as though there are two statements: (1) "if every observation is the same number, the mean equals the observation," and separately, (2) "there is no spread about the mean." Essentially, I am concerned that the comma makes the sentence read like this: "If every observation is the same number, the mean equals the observation. And there is no spread about the mean."

The same situation occurs if I say, "if the observations are all one constant, then the probability that X equals c is one, and the expected value of X is c." Again, both statements are conditional on the observations being one constant, and I do not want to make it seem as though "the expected value of X is c" can stand on its own, apart from the if statement.

Lastly, suppose I were to say, "because the average cost curve is above the average variable cost curve everywhere and the marginal cost curve is rising where it crosses both average curves, the minimum of the average variable cost curve, b, is at a lower output level than the minimum of the average cost curve, a." Should there be a comma between everywhere and and in this example? I feel like there should be one since "the average cost curve is above the average variable cost curve everywhere," and "the marginal cost curve is rising where it crosses both average curves" are both full sentences. But I am concerned that adding the comma might confuse readers since the comma might make it seem as though the two are two separate conditions.

I hope this isn't too confusing. Thank you.

"rendered mute" vs "rendered moot"

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 09:24 PM PST

I have seen both, and now I am unsure when to use which. To the best of my knowledge "rendered mute" is roughly equivalent to "rendered speechless" and "rendered moot" to "rendered irrelevant". But I have also seen usage that contradicts this. Help?

Does it make sense to apply the quality of "Identicality" to one or multiple objects?

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 11:39 PM PST

I'm writing a script which involves the comparison of two objects. I keep finding myself referring to this sort of test as an "identicality" check. From my preliminary research, "identicality" does not seem to qualify as a word. Also, the more I think about it, the less sense it makes to me. A single object should not be able to posses the quality of "identicality", since it requires that a second object exists for comparison, yet makes no reference to said object.

Does it make any sense to refer to the "identicality" of two objects? Should it instead be "identicalness", if that makes any more sense?

I'm not sure if "identicality", or even "identicalness" is etymologically sound either, or if it is just my mind kludging things together.

How do you describe this particular way of sitting?

Posted: 17 Dec 2021 04:33 PM PST

In Japanese, there's this thing called 横座り (yokozuwari, lit. "side-sitting") that looks like this:

yokozuwari

Basically, you sit on your knees, but then partially swing your legs out to one side. Is there a concise way of describing this in English? A short phrase or a single word; either one would work.
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