The register tag has no wiki summary.
0
votes
1answer
90 views
Goodbye - is it very formal?
I'm writing about cultural differences - not for scientific purposes - and am trying to find out about more and less formal ways of saying goodbye in English.
On a scale of formality (from least to ...
0
votes
0answers
44 views
When to use “programming's” vs. “programming is” [duplicate]
My sentence can be said as:
Programming is fun.
and it can also be said as:
Programming's fun.
Both seem to be correct. When should I use one instead of the other?
2
votes
2answers
62 views
“this represents” vs “this is”
I want to explain to one of my students why this usage is so common in scientific or academic reports but not (as far as I can see) elsewhere:
This represents the best evidence to date of ...
3
votes
3answers
228 views
Is “ain’t” slang, or is it colloquial instead?
Does using the word ain’t in a song make it slang, whereas using it in a speech make it colloquial?
0
votes
0answers
95 views
What effect do polysyllabic words have on register and why? [duplicate]
Why does the register differ from using mostly monosyllabic or mostly polysyllabic?
Also, in which circumstances may each be more appropriate?
7
votes
1answer
6k views
Sign up or Signup
When we have a button in a website for creating an account for a website.
Should it say 'sign up' or 'signup'?
I've seen 'sign up' on most of the places, but which is the correct one?
-1
votes
1answer
55 views
Account registration phrases [closed]
An applications asks user to provide a phone number. When the number is wrong, the application displays a message. There can be two cases:
1) the phone is correct, but another user already used it ...
2
votes
2answers
2k views
Is there a plural of “metropolis”, not “metropolises”, that would sound better in a less formal register?
I am aware that the plural of metropolis is metropolises, but to me it sounds stilted and to be honest I cannot recall ever hearing it used.
Is there an irregular plural of metropolis that would be ...
2
votes
2answers
225 views
Is ‘misunderestimate’ a received (American) English word?
I found the word ‘misunderestimating’ in the article written by Peter Catapano under the caption 'Don't stop believing' in Opinionator’s Column section of New York Times (April 29).
The word is not ...
5
votes
5answers
2k views
Why is “ain't” not listed in dictionaries?
Google finds 52,000,000 matches for ain't but non-natives simply can't look up this word. Wiktionary isn't helpful.
Is it some kind of 'wildcard' for am/is/are not?
