Thursday, June 30, 2022

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Is there more difference between European and American English than between European and American Spanish?

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 11:00 AM PDT

As a Spanish (Spain) speaking person I can notice the differences between European and American Spanish. Is there also such a big difference between European and American English?

What's the proper way to start a sentence with the word "think"?

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 01:02 PM PDT

For example, when trying to describe a product or service on a landing page, how do you arrange the commas and quotes?

Concrete example:

[clip art describing your product here]

Think, 'Uber meets laundry'!

Does any part of that sentence belong in quotes? Should there be a comma after the word 'think'?

Meaning of "he'd been had" in this song [duplicate]

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 11:07 AM PDT

There is a song which starts with

Juno was mad, he knew he'd been had
So he shot at the sun with a gun
...

But I'm having trouble trying to understand the expression "he knew he'd been had" in this situation... or any situation for that matter. I believe it must be some idiom.

Song is "Ruler of everything" from Tally Hall.

Do we hyphen ordinal numbers written in letters?

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 11:08 AM PDT

Knowing that we hyphen compound numbers under 100. Do we do the same for the ones used for ranks? Every website I've looked at teaches how to hyphen cardinal numbers (67, 82, 34,...) but does not say what to do with ordinal numbers (67th, 82nd, 34th,...).

As an alternative, I've tried to deduce a rule by looking up examples from Reverso, however what I've seen does not relate to what I look for.

So how should I hyphen these:

  • twenty(-)second

  • eighty(-)first

  • five(-)hundred(-)and(-)sixty(-)fith

I'm just guessing but, if the principle is the same as for cardinal numbers, then this is how I would hyphen them, though I could totally be wrong:

  • twenty-second --> Because the cardinal would be "twenty-two"

  • eighty-first --> Because the cardinal would be "eighty-one"

  • five hundred and sixty-fith --> Because the cardinal would be "five hundred and sixty-five".

If possible, could anyone provide me with a link to a website that covers this?

How should I hyphen decimal numbers written in letters (that contains the word "point" and "and")?

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 06:24 AM PDT

All the wesites I've looked at says to hyphen numbers when you are describing compound numbers between 21 and 99 (except 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90). A compound number is any number that consists of two words; for example, eighty-eight, twenty-two, forty-nine. Numbers higher than 99 do not need a hyphen.

--> https://www.vappingo.com/word-blog/when-to-hyphenate-numbers/

But the problem is that none tells me what happens when we encounter decimal numbers.

How should I hyphen these numbers that contain "point" and "and"?

  • three(-)and(-)a(-)half.

  • three(-)point(-)five.

  • five(-)hundred(-)and(-)thirty(-)six(-)and a half.

  • five(-)hundred(-)and(-)thirty(-)six(-)point(-)five.

Can someone perhaps provide me a link that explains this?

Non-defining relative clauses: use 'who' or 'which'

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 07:32 AM PDT

We don't use 'that' in non-defining relative clauses, so we need to use 'which' if the pronoun refers to a thing, and 'who' if it refers to a person.

Is there any grammatical explanation why not to use 'that'?

Is it ok to place "better" like this?

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 05:00 AM PDT

Can these two sentence be considered as having the same meaning? Also, is there any grammatical error in the latter one?

Because he's keeping an eye on his dark side, he's better able to keep it in check.

Because he's keeping an eye on his dark side, he's able to keep it in check better.

Future in the past with the word "then" [closed]

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 03:27 AM PDT

When we use the word "then" something changes in grammar or not. Is it correct?

For example:

If we decided to hit on girls on weekends, then we would do it like that, otherwise, we all would do it on weekdays

What does "a paper of sandwiches" mean?

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 05:14 AM PDT

I am quoting from the TV series "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes" (episode 3, "The Naval Treaty"):

After leaving at the station I went for a charming walk through some admirable Surrey scenery to a pretty little village called Ripley, where I had my tea at an inn, and took the precaution of filling my flask and of putting a paper of sandwiches in my pocket.

Should I use commas for this list or semi-colons?

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 03:05 AM PDT

I have the following list, and I am wondering whether I should use commas or semi-colons to separate the list items.

Which is correct - list 1 or list 2?

List 1:

I need a portion of chips, two peas, one fish and chips, three gravys, three chips and scraps, and a pepsi.

List 2:

I need a portion of chips; two peas; one fish and chips; three gravys; three chips and scraps; and a pepsi.

Verifier or Verificator

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 06:02 AM PDT

We are building a software to verify the correctness and the safety of computer programs,

I would like to know the name of this software should be a "program verifier" or a "program verificator".

Idioms indicating symbiosis rather than conflict

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 08:04 AM PDT

In order to explain a situation in which it's better to compromise and set differences aside, I'm looking for an idiom.

In fact, I want to say, despite the huge and critical differences and problems (between two parties/things), it's better to select a symbiosis that helps both parties to take benefits of each others.

If it helps, the problem between them could not be settled in the early future and the context is technological.

Logical understanding of this sentence

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 01:04 AM PDT

I'm having trouble with the last sentence:

"My very first day wearing clipless pedals on a road bike I got run up on by a couple of big dogs. My instinct was to stop, as it disarms their chase instinct. Of course I fell over. The dogs looked at each other and trotted off. I guess they figured they couldn't do anything to me that I wasn't capable of doing to myself..."

Does it even make any sense?

Help me understand this phrase: growing base yield royalties over a long period

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 03:33 AM PDT

That phrase is the heading of a short section from The Invincible Company by Alex Osterwalder et al. (The book is about managing, updating and optimizing your business model and constantly reinventing your organization). I quote that section here in full to give you the context:

Growing Base Yield Royalties Over a Long Period

Licensing and royalty fees earn revenues over multiple years. In particular, the sales-dependent royalties constitute a sort of recurring revenue. License and royalty from new IP build on top of existing ones, creating a powerful long-term revenue engine.

Regarding the structure of the phrase, I think growing is an adjective and base yield royalties a noun phrase with royalties being the head. But then, I cannot understand what base yield is referring to and what it means. I searched it and did not find anything helpful or related to this subject (revenues made through intellectual property licensing and royalties). It is unlikely, but there may be typos in that phrase.

Is there a linguistic term that describes words that change pronunciation when combined together?

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 12:24 AM PDT

Examples of this include Breakfast which is just 'break,' and 'fast.'

Of particular interest to me is helicopter, which is a combination of 'helico,' meaning spiral, and 'pter,' meaning wing.

This is of special interest because helico would be pronounced 'heh-lee-kou,' while 'pter' would be pronounced 'tehr,'with a silent p. However, combined become 'heh-lee-kohp-tehr' instead of 'heh-lee-kou-tehr.'

Or even just copter, where the 'co' isn't even a proper prefix.

I suppose this could broadly fall under a portmanteau but I wonder if there's something more specific.

Word order in a sentence using 'that' [closed]

Posted: 29 Jun 2022 11:41 PM PDT

Can I change the word order whatever way I want? They all appear to make sense but are they grammatically correct?

  1. It was so hot yesterday that I went swimming.
  2. Yesterday, it was so hot that I went swimming.
  3. It was so hot that I went swimming yesterday.

"now that a brace of more able-bodied men were coming home" [closed]

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 04:24 AM PDT

now that a brace of more able-bodied men were coming home.

Brace doesn't make sence in this sentence. Is it used as a metaphor? Brace means:

  1. a device fitted to something, in particular a weak or injured part of the body, to give support.

  2. make (a structure) stronger or firmer with wood, iron, or other forms of support.

What is meaning of for in "for Christmas"? [closed]

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 07:03 AM PDT

What do you buy for Christmas？ We are going to buy a turkey for Christmas?

What is the meaning of for？Something for Christmas means something to celebrate Christmas?

I'm looking for the descriptive word of small group with a special language

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 12:15 AM PDT

This word refers to the special language a family or group of children would use to communicate with each other.

I thought it was sartorial, but that is about clothing choices or tailoring.

It was used to describe a large family's special language that others could not easily understand. For example in my family we used the word plogged up to describe a clogged or plugged drain and the like.

What do you call a person who tends to be assigned to a project when the project is struggling?

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 11:52 AM PDT

In my company, there are a few people that are assigned to a project when the project needs to be "saved". It can be miscommunication with a customer, which needs quick resolution. It can be that we were executing on the wrong path. It can be that we need to go "back to the basics", re-think the goal and re-prioritize action items.

What do you call such a person?

I thought about "firefighter", but it's not quite the nuance I am looking for. The project is pan-pan, not mayday. Another analogy from the Ground Proximity Warning Systems, the project is "GLIDESLOPE" or "SINK RATE", but not "TERRAIN".

How to write from this, to that, to that, to that

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 10:36 AM PDT

For example, if I were writing the menu options for a restaurant, how would I write something like this?

Restaurant ABC offers many different dishes. From pizza, to burgers, to shakes, to fries, to hotdogs, to sodas, and more.

Is that the correct grammar? It seems like a lot of "to"'s.

"Either value can be higher"?

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 06:04 AM PDT

I'm writing a math paper and want to say that two quantities, a*b and (a-b), cannot be ranked in a unique way. Depending on the values a and b, either can be higher.

My idea is to say "either value can be higher" or "either of the two values can be higher".

As a non-native speaker, I check my ideas with google - whether I get many hits when search for the exact sentences. Surprisingly, though both sentences above seem very normal to me, and it seems the point I'm trying to make ("either can be higher") should arise in many contexts, I get zero hits with both above sentences.

So, what's the succinct way of saying that "For some values a and b, a*b higher that (a-b), and for some values, the reverse inequality is true".

Thanks a lot!

English proverb or idiom for bad bargaining

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 11:02 AM PDT

I am looking for a proverb or idiom that indicates bad bargaining skills of a person. For e.g., a person might bargain for a kilo/pound vegetables, succeed but end up buying only a quarter kilo/pound. This would also indicate a foolish person.

Made in USA vs Made in the USA

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 05:52 AM PDT

As you may know the word "the" never appears on the label of products made in any country except the USA. I've found both "Made in USA" and "Made in the USA" on product labels, but which is the right one?

Headline for a subsection that refers to a summary for the whole section

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 11:47 AM PDT

I am looking for a subsection headline that describes that the subsection will summarise all the information given in the subsections before (within the larger section).

For instance,

  1. Section title
    1.1. Subsection title A
    1.2. Subsection title B
    1.3. Subsection title C
    1.4. Headline needed <- summarises all information from 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3.

For chapters I would probably go for Chapter summary. However, I am not dealing with a chapter at the moment and the equivalent Section summary sounds rather strange to me.

In German we have the word Zwischenfazit which can be used for summaries on the level of chapters, sections or even subsections. I looked it up and the most often given suggestions on http://dict.leo.org/ is interim conclusion. However, this also sounds somehow strange to me.

I also found Recapitulation and conclusion as a possible headline.

So my question therefore is: What do you think about the suggestions given above? And if none of them sound right to you, do you know a term that I could use for my purpose?

Can I use quotation marks to suggest that somebody should say something?

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 11:03 AM PDT

Simple question, can I use double quotes (") to suggest that somebody should say something?

For example, can I say:

You should say "Hello" to your neighbours

Is this grammatically correct?

“Everything is not…”

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 11:01 AM PDT

I keep hearing people say everything is not… which frustrating because it is ambiguous. It could mean either

Nothing is… (for the set of all things, no thing is…)

or

Not everything is… (for the set of all things, some things are not…/not all things are…)

I have been hearing it more and more in the past few years. In fact, when you Google the phrase everything is not, you get Selena Gomez's rendition of the Wizards of Waverly Place theme song which only further popularizes it with the youth.

Is this phrase grammatically correct/legitimate (ie, would an English teacher complain?), and if so, which is the correct meaning (if any)?

How to pronounce "tuple"?

Posted: 30 Jun 2022 10:12 AM PDT

A recent question has reminded me of something I've been wondering about for a while: what is the correct way to pronounce tuple?
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