Tagged Questions
0
votes
3answers
84 views
Understanding “as of”, “as at”, and “as from”
I'd appreciate your assistance in helping me particularly understand how to use the phrase "as of" properly.
What is the proper interpretation of the following sentence?
"I need you to get me all ...
3
votes
3answers
155 views
Can one use “hopefully” in an absolute sense?
Bill Bryson, author of the recent best-seller "A Short History of Nearly Everything", in one of his books says:
We must never use hopefully in an absolute sense, such as "Hopefully it will not ...
10
votes
2answers
232 views
In the armpit or under the armpit?
Which is the right thing to say?
Put the thermometer in the armpit.
Put the thermometer under the armpit.
Put the thermometer under the arm.
0
votes
2answers
1k views
Is “regardless of whether or not” proper grammar?
I have a sentence like this:
I will go to the store regardless of whether or not it's raining
Meaning that the weather has no bearing on my intent to go to the store. The "regardless of whether ...
0
votes
3answers
120 views
Usage of 'duplicate copy' [closed]
Given a sentence
Please sign on the duplicate copy of this letter.
Am I correct in thinking that either duplicate or copy should be used, not both of them?
1
vote
2answers
185 views
starting a sentence with 'when reading …'
Is it possible and good English to start a sentence with 'When reading...'?
Exactly it's about the following one:
When reading your offer it seemed to me as if this position is made for me.
bg,
...
-2
votes
1answer
47 views
Incentive Structure Biased [closed]
Can nonhuman things have bias?
Politicians are subject to an incentive structure biased toward the adoption of projects and programs with highly visible immediate benefits and well-hidden costs.
...
-1
votes
1answer
253 views
“Overlaid” or “overlain” as an adjective [closed]
I have a set of three images, which I have put on top of each other in an image editing program and made transparent. I would like the filename to describe what I have done with the component images.
...
-1
votes
1answer
70 views
Where does the word “valuable” fit best?
Which sentence sounds better or correct ?
I have acquired many characteristics that will play a valuable role in my profession.
I have acquired many characteristics that will be valuable in ...
0
votes
1answer
62 views
Using the word “Phalanx” as a title [closed]
Is there a verb for phalanx? I searched online dictionaries, but I didn't find it.
Can I use Phalanx as a title of my story?
I am just wondering whether I should use a verb, or a noun for titles.
1
vote
3answers
75 views
Is it correct to use “but” as a positive connecting word?
I'm wondering if it is correct to use but as a positive connecting word. Below is a small example:
... is the perfect opportunity to improve my knowledge but also gain new experience with ...
Is ...
3
votes
2answers
250 views
Meaning of “I would there were…”?
What is the meaning of "I would there were", as in this quote from Shakespeare's "A Winter's Tale"?
I would there were no age between sixteen and three-and-twenty, or
that youth would sleep out ...
10
votes
6answers
262 views
How does the parenthetical “that is” function?
It's the last sentence of an article in The Economist.
Some of the powerful elders might have faded from the scene. Mr Xi and Li Keqiang might then have a freer hand to promote their own people, ...
-3
votes
1answer
104 views
At what usage level does a grammatical error become acceptable? [closed]
Is there any rule for the usage level of a grammatical error above which it is no longer treated as an error?
1
vote
2answers
81 views
Can I say, “Choose your true, new flavour”? [closed]
What the phrase is expressing is, "Choose what's truly your favourite flavour".
Can I say, "Choose your true, new flavour"?
5
votes
4answers
334 views
Usage of “been to” in perfect tenses and in other tenses
"been to" (be to) is used in perfect tenses - in sentences like the ones below:
I have never been to the opera.
I have never been to a baseball game
I have never been to a Pentecostal ...
1
vote
3answers
148 views
Proper format for listing criteria for a project
My team are going back and forth between the proper usage of a specific sentence in our project proposal. This project proposal is being presented to a school, so we want to make sure we are correct ...
3
votes
2answers
158 views
Quotation mark usage in the sentence given
A leading article in Britain's Independent newspaper has the following (my emphasis):
It is also evident, albeit in a different form, in the Global Investment Summit that opened on Thursday with a ...
2
votes
2answers
225 views
How to describe time “offset”?
My friends and I are in different time zones, so I'm trying to say,
We have a 10 hours time offset
Is that right for this situation ? If not, what's the right replacement of offset here ?
1
vote
2answers
619 views
Grammar: For vs to? [closed]
In my mother tongue both for and to have the same meaning, therefore it is hard for (is it being correctly used here?) me to know when I should use one instead of the other.
After some google's ...
2
votes
3answers
326 views
Usage of “ever” in a negative statement
I know that "ever" can be used to express the strengthened negation but would it work like that?
I created a session but nobody ever joined.
Is it possible? It does not sound right to me. If ...
1
vote
2answers
130 views
Is this headline as redundant as it seems?
Drunk driver found hiding after hit-and-run
Is it necessary to write "found hiding"? It seems like the only time you can find something is when it is hidden or missing. Is this statement ...
0
votes
1answer
96 views
Word order again?
I have been thinking about word order and its meaning, thus when we have for instance:
Planet of the apes or Apes planet
Proposal for extra work or Extra work proposal
Which is the more ...
2
votes
2answers
136 views
Is “which [noun] …” correct? [duplicate]
I came across this literature recently:
An Owner may apply for a Change of Name of a registered Greyhound by submitting to the GBGB the appropriate form duly completed, which form shall include ...
3
votes
4answers
1k views
“I am back to city” vs. “I am back in city”
Which is the correct usage when I tell someone that I am back?
I am back to [some city]
Or
I am back in [some city]
4
votes
4answers
7k views
Correct use of will & would?
What would be the correct use of will & would in these sentences?
1) What will happen if I say to my boss that I will not come tomorrow?
2) What will happen if I would say to my boss that I will ...
3
votes
2answers
200 views
Can the word “luxury” be used as a concrete noun?
I was wondering if we can use the word "luxury" to refer to a "luxurious item",
For example, are the sentences below considered grammatical? :
I have a luxury.
I have one luxury.
I have three ...
3
votes
2answers
4k views
“Popular with” vs “Popular among”
Prof. Sat is not popular with/among his students.
Which usage is correct here and why?
-1
votes
2answers
283 views
What do you call someone who is asking for information? [closed]
A petitioner? I'm not sure... Any suggestions?
0
votes
3answers
426 views
Is this slogan proper English? [closed]
We are a group of web developers, creating our online presence ...
We chose this slogan,
"Web passionate young powers at your service"
Is this proper English?
Does this hold any "contempt" ...
0
votes
1answer
2k views
Usage of 'if' and 'if not' to mean 'and perhaps even/also'
Consider the sentence:
While this assumption, on its own, is relatively innocuous, if
implausible, in practice, it is supplemented by assumptions...
The 'if' here really means something more ...
0
votes
5answers
1k views
How to say that you are going to do something really soon? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“Do it very quickly” vs “do it ASAP”
Quite often I need to say that I will do something really soon - e.g. in a few hours, but not sure how much ...
5
votes
4answers
3k views
“You aren't in” vs. “You're not in” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“They are not”: “they're not” versus “they aren't”
I noticed that you aren't in and you're not in are two ways to shorten you ...
4
votes
4answers
400 views
Is “since I'm” now an acceptable alternative to “since I was”?
In a recent episode of the television show Entourage, Ari Gold (a 40 year old man) says:
I've known her since I'm 19.
In an episode of Sex and the City, a character, who is 15, tells Carrie:
...
2
votes
2answers
178 views
“Longer running time” vs “high performance”
I am always confused about the correct usages of words like longer, less, higher, high etc., for comparing performance of two programs. For example, if a program A completes its work in 10 seconds, ...
2
votes
1answer
1k views
Usage of “just”, “only” and word-order [intended meaning]
I've got these sentences, which meanings are correct (my interpretations are in brackets):
Use of only:
(1) Only in 1996, Ford sold a rebadged Mazda 626 GV over here as its rebranded Japanese ...
3
votes
3answers
928 views
Use of “respectively”
He has two sisters who live in southern and northern California, respectively.
I saw this on IMDB and I was wondering if the respectively was grammatically correct.
Since nothing is being listed ...
1
vote
3answers
813 views
What usage and meaning of “else” is this
What is the usage and meaning of "else" in this example?
The key difference between a program and a project is the finite nature of a project - a project must always have a specific end date, else ...
3
votes
1answer
546 views
Usage of [to be] + had
While discussing What does "I was had" mean? I've found there are some not so common usages of had in English like:
I have/had been had
(meaning "to get fooled")
but further Google ...
2
votes
4answers
588 views
Is it more correct to say “repeat”, or “resay”?
Telling a person to repeat something they have said sounds better to me, but is it more correct to ask them to resay what they said?
If I say something then resay it, then I have said it again. I ...
2
votes
2answers
183 views
Is “gets” the correct tense to describe a continuous process in “John gets mentored on a daily basis”?
John gets a mentor to guide him throughout his life. —
OR
— He gets mentored on a daily basis.
I believe this is just as acceptable as the simple past:
John got a mentor to guide him ...
0
votes
2answers
7k views
“As of late” or “as of lately”?
The title pretty much summarizes my question. For example, in the following sentence
She has developed an accent while living overseas, which as of late(ly) became more pronounced.
I usually ...
8
votes
1answer
188 views
Is this usage of 'curiously' correct?
I recently used a sentence similar to the following:
Curiously, do you prefer black?
Some people found it grammatically incorrect. That was a surprise, for I thought it was perfectly okay. ...
0
votes
2answers
159 views
Another “ would” usage to maintain the same tense in the sentence
Touché on modify the joke to serve your best interest, although it'd probably lose its luster as you'd be disregarding traditionally Jewish stereotypes.
Is this sentence grammatically correct? ...
5
votes
1answer
5k views
Starting a sentence with “rather”
I've sometimes heard people use rather for connecting two sentences where the second one sets counterexample to something negated in the first.
This is not a meaningful sentence. Rather, it's an ...
5
votes
5answers
2k views
On the use of “both”
I keep running into this debate with my thesis advisor. Are both of these forms correct?
It can be seen that both the users
are able to...
or
It can be seen that the both users
are able ...
4
votes
3answers
6k views
Usage of 'much more'
Is saying much more grammatically correct?
For instance, some purists argue that this is wrong:
I'm much more comfortable with A than B
and that it should be:
I'm more comfortable with A ...
