Tagged Questions
1
vote
2answers
382 views
“I wouldn't ever” vs. “I would never”
The two expressions from the title, “I wouldn't ever” and “I would never”, are very similar. But are they completely equivalent or do they bear any subtle differences? If so, how do they differ in ...
0
votes
3answers
284 views
Semantic difference between “if I did not want” and “if I wanted”
I was reading My Antonia and came across this line:
[She] asked me if I did not want to go to the garden with her (12)
And was wondering why Cather chose if I did not want over if I wanted. Are ...
1
vote
3answers
521 views
Difference between “boundary” and “limit” [closed]
Is there a difference between the semantics of the two words boundary and limit?
Is it possible that only one of the two has an inclusive meaning regarding the set we want the limit/boundary of? ...
5
votes
4answers
1k views
“Postfix” or “suffix”?
Wikipedia and The Free Dictionary were not much help — is there a practical difference in the semantics of suffix and postfix, except that the latter is more rare?
File name extensions are well ...
7
votes
2answers
438 views
Is there a clear delineation between the usages of 'this' and 'that' in American English?
One of my linguistics professors speaks English as a second language, and remarked that she never knows which of the two is appropriate. Given a list of examples, all native speakers in the classroom ...
1
vote
2answers
556 views
What is the distinction between terms 'where', 'while', 'whereas' and 'whenever'? [closed]
It seems all of these four words can denote 'at the same time' or 'if and only if', but do the meanings of them identical?
Update:
e.g.
Day comes where the sun rises.
Day comes whereas the sun ...
0
votes
1answer
3k views
“Query” vs. “Inquiry”
What is the difference between the words "inquiry" and "query?" I tend to associate the latter with technology (e.g., search engine queries), but I'm not sure what the actual meaning is.
3
votes
3answers
99 views
“Mysterious” vs. “Perplexing”
Is there a difference between 'mysterious' and 'perplexing' when used with regard to some unexplained phenomena?
5
votes
3answers
465 views
What is the semantic difference between “encipher” and “encrypt”?
What is the semantic difference between encipher and encrypt?
