Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

is the phrase "Leading To" a coordinating conjunction?
"There are advantages of traveling such as widening our horizons and associating with people" [closed]
Another word for "due" which implies that it must be at that date [closed]
What's difference between net and night in pronunciation? [migrated]
When does inconsistent become hypocritical? [closed]
When does repetition become cycling?
What word describes someone I know exists but have never met?
What does it mean when someone say "you have attitude"?

is the phrase "Leading To" a coordinating conjunction?

Posted: 26 Dec 2021 01:09 AM PST

I read that it is a rule of thumb, to use a comma before any coordinating conjunctions that link two independent clauses (I have issues with knowing when to add a comma).

for example, I have the sentence:

...If the government refused to invest any money in the arts, there would be much more leftover from public service fundings, leading to improvements in education, healthcare, and welfare.

There is a comma before the leading to, does that mean leading to is a coordinating conjunction

"There are advantages of traveling such as widening our horizons and associating with people" [closed]

Posted: 25 Dec 2021 10:45 PM PST

Below is the conclusion of my essay about the advantages of traveling that I just submitted.

To summarize, there are certain advantages of traveling such as widening our horizons, associating with new people, enjoying specialty food and finding happiness.

Is it a true sentence? How should I correct it?

Another word for "due" which implies that it must be at that date [closed]

Posted: 25 Dec 2021 05:47 PM PST

When a teacher hands out an assignment and tells their students that the assignment is due in 2 weeks, it means that the students should submit their assignments no later than 2 weeks from now. I.e., they could submit it after exactly 2 weeks, or before 2 weeks.

What if I hand out an assignment and I'm expecting the submission to be made after exactly 2 weeks, not before or after. Would I still use the word "due"? Is there a more accurate word to use?

What's difference between net and night in pronunciation? [migrated]

Posted: 25 Dec 2021 05:27 PM PST

My english tutor told me that I pronounced net as like night.

But, I can't tell the difference between "net" and "night". I searched them in google, still felt they were pretty similar.

When does inconsistent become hypocritical? [closed]

Posted: 25 Dec 2021 05:06 PM PST

When does inconsistent become hypocritical? (I don't know what else to add.)

When does repetition become cycling?

Posted: 25 Dec 2021 04:58 PM PST

When does repetition become cycling?

I've looked up several sources for definitions and there's nothing I see that helps tell me when to use one over another.

For example, is operating a light switch repeated or cyclical? I'm assuming cycle doesn't have to mean periodic else cycle is redundant.

(For that matter is 'periodically changed' the same as repeated?

What word describes someone I know exists but have never met?

Posted: 25 Dec 2021 07:30 PM PST

Strange Acquaintances

Goal

I am looking for a word to describe someone I know exists but that I have not yet met in person or virtually.

Example

I have an acquaintance named Bob whose mother is named Mary. I know Mary exists but we have not yet had any interaction and Bob has not mentioned me to her, so Mary knows nothing of me or at best the same, that my name is Jeff and I am Bob's acquaintance. We are strangers to each other but I know something of her that, in my mind at least, removes her from the 'stranger' category, namely, that her name is Mary and she is Bob's mother. People I know of from media would fall into this category for me, e.g., Kevin Bacon, Abraham Lincoln, and Lorena Bobbitt.

Baseline

I tend to think of strangers as people I do not know and do not intend to know but whom I have been made aware of by circumstance. To me, strangers remain strangers unless we learn each other's names, run into each other again, or have spent enough time together that I should know their name but for some reason I did not learn or remember it - at which point we become acquaintances; an acquaintance being someone I have met physically or virtually whom I would be expected to remember and who would be expected to remember me.

Intended Usage

I am writing a little address book app and would like to classify people I have been made aware of, like Bob's mom, Mary, so that I can exclude them from things like reminders to get their phone number or email address. I want to remember that Bob's mom's name is Mary so I can remember to ask him about her next time we meet. I have no intention of contacting Mary but would like to store her in my app as I do Bob and everyone else so I can capture her phone number, etc., should that ever become a necessity or convenience.

Sample Sentence

"Mary is a(n) <insert word here> since her son, Bob, is an acquaintance of mine and I merely know of her, having been told of her by Bob five minutes ago."

Dictionary & Thesaurus Searches

Stranger (Most likely candidate)
Acquaintance

Notes

Bob and Mary are fictitious people concocted in service of this question.
I do not foresee a need to store Kevin Bacon, Abraham Lincoln, or Lorena Bobbitt in my app.

What does it mean when someone say "you have attitude"?

Posted: 25 Dec 2021 08:16 PM PST

I've heard many people say

He/she has attitude

What they really mean is that the person has ego or something like that. I googled and find this Yahoo answer, which also suggest the same.

Are they correct in saying that?

e-techbytes

Sunday, December 26, 2021