How and why certain words are used in varying ways within various contexts.
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1answer
117 views
What kind of noun is 'splurge'?
I was reading a grammar book the other day, it was mentioned to omit articles "before names of substances and abstract nouns (i.e uncountable nouns)."
The nouns splurge and howler are abstract nouns ...
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votes
2answers
273 views
Usage of “make up my mind”
Can "made up my mind be used" in context like:
I made up my mind about quitting smoking.
I am being persuaded that resolved should be used instead, but it seems to me that both versions are ...
2
votes
1answer
141 views
How do you use the expression “to come out in front” (as in “to gain an advantage”)?
The usage of the expression "to come out in front", in the sense of gaining an advantage, or succeed in an endeavor (in spite of all odds?), isn't very clear to me. As far as I can tell people use it ...
3
votes
5answers
227 views
Is there any phrasal verb to mean “teeth are falling out because one is getting older”?
The sentence would be:
He is Xing now.
Where X means "losing teeth" or "teeth are falling out" because he is getting older. I am assuming such phrasal verbs or words exist because it would be ...
1
vote
2answers
129 views
Meaning of 'within' in “the task has to be submitted within a month” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“Within” and “in” when referring to time
if there's a sentence :
The task has to be submitted within a month
Does it mean that the task has to be submitted before ...
1
vote
2answers
82 views
When is “place” used as “home”?
Today, while chatting, I just made a sentence:
I want you at his place at 9.
But I am not sure when to use place with the meaning, home, or work place? Is it correct usage? What will be the ...
1
vote
1answer
88 views
Omitting “nothing” in “nothing but” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
The construction of “Known but to God”
Difference between “but” and “nothing but”
Is it acceptable to omit the word nothing in the following sentence?
Knowledge ...
4
votes
2answers
120 views
Usage of hain't
According to Dictionary.com, ain't has two meanings:
Nonstandard except in some dialects. am not; are not; is not.
Nonstandard. have not; has not; do not; does not; did not.
When I ...
1
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1answer
92 views
Usage of “without strain” word combination
Can word combination "without strain" be used in figurative sense, for example "He speaks English without strain." and is it literary?
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3answers
173 views
Usage of recommend?
I can’t recommend the book enough.
Does it mean that it’s not a good book or it’s a really really good book?
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3answers
227 views
Does “Smugness” imply “Having or showing low opinions of others”?
I have a little confusion whether "smugness" implies a "low opinion of others" in contrast to a "high opinion of oneself"
I have consulted ODO and wiktionary; they showed the meaning of "Smugness" is
...
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5answers
258 views
How many adjectives can be chained without sounding weird?
In spoken and written language, in colloquial and formal context. Is there a general rule to use in sentences like the following:
"How many broken yellow plastic toys?"
"All those old ...
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2answers
130 views
Pronoun “you” can be omitted as subject in imperative form, what other pronouns can be omitted, when and why?
The pronoun you can be omited as a general rule, but sometimes I’ve seen sentences that should have used I or it as the subject but it was omitted.
13
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3answers
192 views
History and usage of “dooryard”
I have been interested in the expression "dooryard stop" recently. This is an expression that is used to describe a short visit in someone's dooryard (driveway) that often means not staying long ...
2
votes
1answer
275 views
Mixing British English and American English [closed]
I'm a non-native English speaker and as such, I was taught one variety of English In school--in my case, American.
However, I've also been extensively in contact with British English, and now I ...
5
votes
5answers
125 views
Can et al. be applied to companies?
I am used to seeing this used to condense a list of authors; however, is it correct to apply it to a list of companies? For example, would it make sense to say:
Seminars being held by Google, ...
4
votes
1answer
291 views
Does “awe” have a colloquial meaning (similar to “awesome”)?
The meaning of awe is given in dictionaries as "an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime" (this definition is from ...
1
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1answer
142 views
What is the correct name for 'soda'? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Which is correct: “soda” or “pop”?
Is it correct to say soda, or is it pop, or is it soda pop?
My friend and I are going back and forth: he says soda is "Soda ash" ...
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1answer
74 views
Is it okay saying “What the deal with him is that …”
I am non-native english speaker, and I just realized that I use expression like this a lot
"what the deal with is that he is too laid-back and reckless". I just checked on the internet and I did not ...
3
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2answers
162 views
Is “default” used for “a value used when nothing has been explicitly set” outside of IT world?
In a discussion at another question, rajah9 mentioned that default is used to mean to fail to repay a loan, but that in the computer world we now use it to mean a value used when no value has been ...
-1
votes
1answer
262 views
When using “an” before a vowel sounds wrong [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
When should I use “a” vs “an”?
Do you use “a” or “an” before acronyms?
Consider the following sentence:
"This is a one-time deal" sounds right
"This is an one-time ...
1
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3answers
180 views
What dialect is “I be doing this”?
In which part of the world do people use sentences like "I be doing this" (missing out the 'will' after the 'I')? Sounds like some of the 'street-ghetto' to me. What is it exactly?
4
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4answers
155 views
Is it usual to use “full-cry” as a stand-alone adjective?
Maureen Dowd’s article titled “Spellbound by Blondes, Hot and Icy” appearing in December 1st NY-Times jumps from Alfred Hitchcock’s favor of blonde actresses to the dispute of Hillary Clinton’s ...
2
votes
2answers
251 views
“More that” vs. “more than” [closed]
Here is an example of something I occasionally encounter, and it always trips me up. The title of an applied mathematics book from Stanford University in 1959 is (bold mine)
Partial Differential ...
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2answers
443 views
Usage of had in past tense
Being a non native speaker of English I am not sure about the usage of had. In my academics I have learned that had is only used to show that something happened prior to some event in the past ...
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1answer
150 views
Active usage of “taken aback”
The expression to be taken aback is very common; a typical example sentence (that I just made up) would be
I was taken aback by the way she laughed.
However, I sometimes find myself wanting to ...
12
votes
1answer
210 views
Is “tidbits” Bowdlerized or original?
Our American English local paper insisted on changing a title from titbits to tidbits for a column on minor local events and stories.
I, a British English speaker, have always pronounced and spelled ...
1
vote
0answers
113 views
What is a “group of managers” called? [closed]
What is the term used for a "group of managers"? For example
He has a fleet of managers
or
He has a legion of managers
Though the sentences above might not be correct. I want to know that ...
0
votes
1answer
75 views
What does “mouth worked” mean? [closed]
I always thought that “mouth worked” describes when someone moves their mouth as if they are speaking, but no sound is emitted. This happens when they are so surprised that that they don’t know what ...
0
votes
1answer
249 views
Explaining the comparative form of “numb” [closed]
The most common definition I have of numb is:
"Deprived of the power of sensation."
"Deprived of feeling or responsiveness."
These definitions show up in nearly the same form in multiple ...
2
votes
1answer
804 views
What is a relish tray versus a veggie tray?
I have heard both of the terms "relish tray" and "veggie tray" used somewhat interchangeably. It seems as though there is some overlap between the two based on some simple Google Images searches ...
2
votes
3answers
124 views
Can adverbs of high/increasing speed be applied to not doing something?
There was some chat earlier about adverbs. We were trying to demonstrate that maybe is an adverb.
Reg did this deftly by replacing maybe with other adverbs and then a noun, to show that the noun ...
2
votes
1answer
312 views
“Thus” vs. “Thusly”
I read an article that used "thusly" and was wondering if there is any grammatical credence to it.
The quote:
The issue started when Sokolowski quickly ran out of storage capacity in his 32GB ...
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3answers
108 views
Is it possible for the words “exorbitantly grateful” to be interpreted as a bad thing? (or over the top)
Normally I use the word exorbitantly to describe an excess in a negative sense, however this time I used it to express an abundance of appreciation and gratitude.
Could a critical reading of "I am ...
2
votes
1answer
405 views
what is the difference in usage of 'pertain' and 'appertain'?
In the dictionary the meanings of these two words seem interchangeable so why do the two words exist? Are there different contexts for their usage?
Definitions by Merriam-Webster:
Definition of ...
4
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2answers
303 views
Why is it correct to say “He came and said something to me” but not “He came and said to me something”?
This question was just posed to me and I couldn't give a clear answer beyond that the second just feels wrong and one would generally use a direct or indirect quotation, as in "he came and said to me ...
3
votes
3answers
388 views
Does “reinventing the wheel” have negative or positive connotation?
I've always assumed that the expression "reinventing the wheel" meant something negative. For me it means doing something that has already be done without making any improvement.
However, a few ...
0
votes
1answer
108 views
Comma usage after a direct quote? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Punctuation of direct speech, edge cases
Schwimmer promised Ciccaroni “nothing would happen to any teacher of mine under my watch,” and told him not to bring any ...
12
votes
3answers
319 views
Extend or go beyond a promise
Can one fulfill “beyond” a promise? Is it possible to say “extending the fulfillment of a promise”?
I am trying to express that I hope I fulfilled a promise and then some. This is for the ...
3
votes
1answer
306 views
What is the correct punctuation of the phrase: one size fits all [closed]
What is the correct punctuation for the phrase: one size fits all?
I have seen two variants:
'one size fits all', and
one-size-fits-all
0
votes
3answers
329 views
Usage of “one other” and “another one” [closed]
Would using "another one" instead of "one other" in the following sentence make any difference?
"... a point-to-point model in which each message produced by an application is received by one ...
5
votes
4answers
125 views
Must you be successful to be labeled an “assassin”?
Query triggered by this Globe and Mail article:
Headline: Malala Yousafzai assassin held, freed in 2009 by Pakistan military
First Sentence: The would-be assassin who shot a Pakistani girl in the ...
1
vote
2answers
176 views
How to use the expression “you love it” [closed]
This question builds off of another question (Meaning of fck you) but my question pertains to the expression "you love it". Here are three examples of its usage.
1] From Youth in Revolt (Youth in ...
4
votes
2answers
144 views
How did “classic” and “classical” come to mean “historic”?
I assume the words ‘classic’ and ‘classical’ have a basis in the word ‘class’ – which is to say, of a category. Why do we use those words to mean old or historically important?
6
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4answers
157 views
How do teachers ask to calculate expressions?
How do American/British primary school teachers ask their pupils to calculate an expression? E.g.
What is 2+3 equal to?
What is the value of 2+3?
...
In particular, I'm interested whether the ...
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votes
2answers
247 views
Difference between control and manage?
They seem to function the same. Manage is even "control in action or use" according to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/manage. Control is a verb so isn't that in action as well? Thus, is it the ...
3
votes
3answers
458 views
Meaning of “Conceptual point of view”
Now and then, I listen the below quoted expression:
From the conceptual point of view ...
However I still can't get its meaning, I think it is somehow related to the way to think about a ...
6
votes
6answers
283 views
The usage of “the same…as…”
Which one of the following two sentences is more correct?
We use the same space as is specified in Chapter 1.
We use the same space as specified in Chapter 1.
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1answer
67 views
Can't understand the meaning of 'blamed exertion' in this sentence [closed]
Doctors blamed exertion and said there was nothing to worry about.
I knew exertion means attempts or try.
But here what does that mean by 'blamed exertion'?
1
vote
1answer
89 views
Is there a collective term for charges & fees?
Say I have documentation of a particular account with both amounts credited & amounts charged(fees). What would be an appropriately descriptive term for the collection of credits & ...
