1
vote
1answer
12 views
“I just sucked it out of my thumb”: Is the phrase used in American English
I was born and raised in South Africa. We frequently used the term "to suck out of one's thumb" implying that an answer was just a wild guess or the notion has no evidence but was rather just ...
0
votes
0answers
4 views
make question for periodic event
I like to make question about the happening of some events whether it is happened every day or every week or every month...etc
how can i make question?
this is my try:
Does this event happen every ...
0
votes
0answers
8 views
What is an adverb for via the written word?
I can say something is 'verbally delivered'. How would I say it is 'delivered via the written word', but with an adverb? E.g. something like 'literally delivered', as in, "using letters" - but that is ...
1
vote
0answers
15 views
What are the comparative and superlative forms of 'lively'?
My teacher taught me that to form the comparative and superlative degrees of a mono- or di- or tri-syllabic word, I should add 'more' and 'most', e.g.:
lively -more lively-most lively
I know ...
1
vote
1answer
18 views
use of the word have
If you tell a person to have someone do something, is that considered a command?
Our boss sent an email which told us to "have our peer partner send us his plans". Should that be considered a ...
0
votes
0answers
29 views
What does “lit” mean, in The Cat in the Hat
The Cat in the Hat, by Dr Seuss contains the following:
I do not like this said the fish as he lit. I do not like it, not
one little bit.
What on earth does lit mean in this context?
A guess ...
1
vote
1answer
40 views
Usage of “would” instead of “used to”
I sometimes lurk on "AskReddit" and when people are telling stories, they often read like this:
"After I would cook dinner for us, we would sit at the large dining room table and he would make a ...
0
votes
1answer
23 views
How to say it was just a certain time ago?
Since I am not native english speaker it's hard to find anything related to this topic on google.
How to express something has happend JUST a certain time ago? I have read something about this a long ...
0
votes
1answer
24 views
How do you say the coming week in the weekend?
Now it is on Saturday(25 May 2013), how do you say the coming week(the week from 27th-)?
Next week or is it already this week? Is there any other ways to say the coming week?
2
votes
2answers
45 views
Adjective + “of them”
My wife and I were discussing whether it is allowable to put an adjective in front of "of them". For instance, I could say "I want 5 cats" and "I want 5 of them". However, while it sounds perfectly ...
-1
votes
0answers
27 views
Word that means 'imagine' but which is appropriate for sound? [closed]
Most people can imagine music - like, when a catchy jingle is stuck in the head. However, 'imagine' is sort of the wrong word, since it is sound, not images, that are being imagined.
Is there a word ...
-1
votes
0answers
24 views
A's and B's or A and B's [duplicate]
I wanted to express something that both A and B have.
For example, to compare two operating systems, I wrote:
Apple's and Google's mobile operating systems ...
But my colleague said, to make it ...
-2
votes
1answer
27 views
Is “was accepted by project stakeholders as standard” correct English?
Is the following sentence grammatically correct?
"New salary review guide was accepted by project stakeholders as standard."
Is it in the correct professional register?
0
votes
1answer
28 views
Word(s) to use when you “actually feel” the sensation or emotion described by another person
The context is as follows:
At first, I thought some dreadful being had taken away my sight. My eyes felt like they had been gouged out. Even now when I think of it, I feel a chill in my heart. ...
0
votes
1answer
40 views
When do we use “went bowling,” and when do we use “go bowling”?
In this dialogue what is the appropriate form?
A: Would you like to go bowling with me today?
B: I don't think so. To be honest, I really don't feel like going bowling today. I went bowling ...
1
vote
2answers
39 views
How does one write the possesive form of stock ticker symbols ending in “s”?
How does one write the possessive form of stock ticker symbols ending in "s"?
These are neither acronyms nor initialisms (/TLAs). For instance, does one write RAS' earnings, or RAS's earnings?
0
votes
4answers
84 views
What does “20 weeks pregnant” mean?
First, let us agree that a woman is either pregnant or she is not I suppose a third state of uncertainty is possible, but that is more of a mental as opposed to a physical state.
Is the phrasing "20 ...
0
votes
1answer
28 views
Should I use a semicolon or a colon to introduce a question at the end of a sentence? [duplicate]
Which of the following is punctuated correctly?
My question for you is: how do I do that?
My question for you is; how do I do that?
Or should it be something different altogether?
4
votes
1answer
94 views
Name of text describing an action in a play
I'm trying to find the name of an element of playwriting which describes actions performed by actors in a play. For example,
Let me see.
Picks up skull
Alas, poor Yorick!
The element ...
0
votes
1answer
18 views
Idiomatic expression for “moving away” from a subject [duplicate]
I am in a meeting with a lot of people but the person who is speaking is not focusing on the subject, that person is somehow "moving away" from what is really important.
Is there any expression for ...
0
votes
1answer
25 views
Combining only with a second modifier
I would like to know which of the following phrases are right?
administrative-only data
administrative only data
only-administrative data
only administrative data
I appreciate your response.
-2
votes
3answers
33 views
Previously versus last time
What is the difference between the following two sentences?
This is the vendor from which the item was purchased the last time.
This is the vendor from which the item was purchased ...
0
votes
3answers
44 views
How to know what preposition to use
Say I want to use the word cliffhanger in a sentence.
The show ended on a cliffhanger.
Or,
The show ended at a cliffhanger.
Not just this sentence; how do I know what is the correct ...
1
vote
1answer
30 views
Does a name go before or after the noun it modifies?
The sentence
The user “John Smith” has been registered; go to the “User Profile” tab to view the user’s details.
reads more naturally to me than
The “John Smith” user has been registered; go ...
0
votes
1answer
34 views
Question mark or period?
Is this sentence a question or a statement (or other). It ends with a question, so I used a question mark. (just ignore the meaning of the tech jargon)
I get that this should show me the PID of ...
4
votes
0answers
28 views
Term for Uncountable Nouns, Mass Nouns which are sometimes countable
While I know how to use the words that I use, I do not know if there is a term to describe words that are uncountable nouns, but at the same time are countable in other circumstances. "Cheese" is one ...
-1
votes
5answers
59 views
The word to know when you don't know how to feel?
What is the word to use when you don't know how to feel, such as instead of 'he didn't know how to feel' 'he felt __'
Anyone?
0
votes
2answers
42 views
Catchy phrase to express or mean “always in stock/no back orders etc” [closed]
I'm looking for a neat phrase to coin the message of 'we're never out of stock of a product' or 'We always ship all of your order, no back orders' etc.
Best I can come up with so far myself, is, ...
3
votes
1answer
60 views
University's vs Universities', correct spelling of the possessive
Something belongs to the University.
Is it the Universities' logo or the University's logo? I somehow don't think University's exists.
-2
votes
0answers
26 views
How can i translate Peak into german in a scientific context? [closed]
i want to translate the word "peak" into German. It is used in the context of Chromatography and stands for a signal with a shape like a mountain, hence peak.
The word is used in the sense of ...
0
votes
0answers
43 views
A funny synonym for software developer [closed]
I am struggling with my twitter bio description. Being a software developer, I am planning on something like this: "Developer of things that make the computer useful" . But I can see that it is not at ...
0
votes
1answer
38 views
Correct usage of Infinitive [closed]
Can we use to after a past form of verb?
Example : I called to Rohini
2
votes
4answers
81 views
Is “a future musician” okay to say?
I want to become a musician in future. Is it correct to say
"I am a future musician."?
I want to put it in my bio for Twitter. Are there any other better phrases?
1
vote
0answers
40 views
“To my right” vs. “on my right”
Which one is correct and why?
To my right is Alex.
On my right is Alex.
What is the difference between on and to here?
1
vote
1answer
47 views
“The ones” or “those”?
I recently corrected
"ghettos, such as the ones found..." to
"ghettos, such as those found..."
Was I correct or are both versions right?
0
votes
2answers
50 views
Article before newspaper name
Is there a general rule for the use of articles before newspaper name? For instance, should one write
During the recent General Assembly, Pirate Times met…
or
During the recent General ...
1
vote
2answers
48 views
Is it correct to say “I am heading off” when I am about to leave?
Is it correct to say "I am heading off" when I am about to leave?
Is it informal? If so, what's the formal equivalent?
0
votes
2answers
33 views
The main verb of the 2nd clause
The energy source on Voyager2 is not a nuclear reactor, in which atoms are actively broken apart, but rather a kind of nuclear battery that uses natural radioactive decay to produce power.
What ...
-1
votes
1answer
45 views
Grammar rules for using “flatly denied”
The following sentence is not correct, I found that it must be "flatly denied the charges that".
The student flatly denied that he had copied in the examination hall.
Am I thinking in right ...
-1
votes
0answers
22 views
Are 'recently' and 'for/over/in the past years' signal words for present perfect?
1) Can the words and phrases below be considered as indicators for present perfect?
... recently.
... for/over/in the past years.
2) Moreover, is it possible to substitute 'past' with 'recent' in ...
-2
votes
1answer
25 views
“…FDA, who…” vs “…FDA, which…” - relative-pronouns of authorities
I'm referring to the following sentence: "Observes express their concerns whether the FDA, which/who is already overrun with work..."
My question is: Are authorities in the English language treated ...
1
vote
1answer
55 views
Are both ‘Hit a raw nerve’ and ‘Tip sb. the wink” predominantly British English idioms?
I was drawn to both of idioms,‘hit a raw nerve’ and ‘tip sb. the wink” being quoted as British skewed English idioms in the following scenes describing verbal exchanges between Captain Richard ...
1
vote
1answer
47 views
Is the tense in the sentence correct?
The sentence is
I bought a bottle of milk on Friday night, and I found that it had gone sour the following morning.
I think the past perfect tense is weird with "the following morning."
Am I ...
3
votes
1answer
49 views
What is there in the English corpus beside nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc?
As you can see from this NGram, the total number of words in the indexed English corpus that were nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, determinants, pronouns, adpositions, numerals, conjunctions, or ...
1
vote
0answers
47 views
What is the difference between “over” and “for”
She harassed me for days 'over' mistake
They would have teased me 'for' not being brave
Both of word are used to explain the reason. But I wonder what is the difference between two words. Is it the ...
3
votes
0answers
28 views
Are the different pronunciations of “species” regional differences?
As far as I know, the word "species" can pronounced either as spee-sheez or as spee-seez. I understand that neither of these is incorrect: they're just two different ways to say the same thing. I also ...
2
votes
3answers
80 views
Where does the term Cracker come from, and how disparaging is it?
My grandmother from Georgia openly refers to herself and other white southerners as "Crackers", and sometimes adds a state as in "Georgia Cracker" or "Florida Cracker". She says it means simple folks ...
2
votes
1answer
31 views
In real estate, what is a split plan? [closed]
I'm looking through house listings and keep coming across "split plan." This is not a synonym of "split level," because the houses are pretty flat. What is a "split plan" house?
2
votes
0answers
35 views
After 13 years in the 21st century, what conclusion have we come to regarding the short forms of the names of the years?
Do you remember the other Year 2000 problem, regarding the nicknames of the years? If 1999 was "ninety-nine," then what would we call 2001? At the time, answers such as "one", "oh-one", "two-oh-one" ...
0
votes
0answers
16 views
Corner Vs. Quarter [closed]
Which expression do you use when you want to mean that there's much of something somewhere? For example, if I want to say that there are many shops in my city, shall I say:
- There's a shop in each ...
