| bio | website | caxton1485.wordpress.com |
|---|---|---|
| location | United Kingdom | |
| age | 70 | |
| visits | member for | 1 year, 8 months |
| seen | 2 days ago | |
| stats | profile views | 5,901 |
I have spent most of my career in government service, much of it abroad. I have a degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Oxford and the Diploma in English Language Studies from the UK's Open University, and am qualified as a teacher of English to foreign learners. I have studied several other languages including French, German, Latin, Arabic and Old and Middle English.
My blog, Caxton, is mostly, but not entirely, about the English language.
Elsewhere on the web I have attempted to write in the constrained style of the 'Ouvroir de littérature potentielle' (OULIPO) in Variations on an Incident in Paris and in Variations on Jane Austen. I have also created a full set of 256 Syllogisms by figure and mood and showing which are valid and which are not.
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May 4 |
awarded | Necromancer |
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May 4 |
answered | “Functionalities;” According to Firefox, this word doesn't exist |
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Apr 27 |
awarded | Good Answer |
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Apr 23 |
comment |
“Coquette” vs. “flirt” @tchrist. Thank you. I'll try to remember that. |
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Apr 17 |
answered | Can I bother someone “for” something? |
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Apr 15 |
comment |
“He made a picture” vs. “he has made a picture” All I can tell you is that, at least in British English, the present perfect construcion is used to relate something that has happened, usually in the fairly recent past, that has some kind of bearing on the present situation. |
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Apr 15 |
comment |
What part of speech is “methinks”? @John Lawler. But sometimes intransitive: 'I think, therefore I am.' And: 'What are you doing?' 'I'm thinking.' |
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Apr 14 |
answered | A grammar rule (Present perfect) |
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Apr 14 |
comment |
Is “gonna have to” an Americanism? @Mitten. I can assure you that as a speaker of British English I'm quite capable of using it myself. |
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Apr 14 |
comment |
“in every respect” vs “in every aspect” That should have been collocations. |
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Apr 14 |
comment |
“in every respect” vs “in every aspect” The usual collacations are in every respect, but from every aspect. |
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Apr 14 |
comment |
“He made a picture” vs. “he has made a picture” The context includes what follows, and it also includes the wider social framework. |
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Apr 14 |
comment |
“in every respect” vs “in every aspect” Yes, you can in the appropriate context, but, in your example, respect is what is needed. I'll say in passing that the whole style is a little strange. |
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Apr 14 |
comment |
“He made a picture” vs. “he has made a picture” It still depends on the context. |
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Apr 14 |
comment |
“He made a picture” vs. “he has made a picture” It depends on what has gone on previously in the conversation. |
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Apr 14 |
answered | “in every respect” vs “in every aspect” |
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Apr 14 |
answered | “He made a picture” vs. “he has made a picture” |
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Apr 14 |
revised |
Is “gonna have to” an Americanism? deleted 8 characters in body |
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Apr 14 |
answered | Is “gonna have to” an Americanism? |
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Apr 13 |
revised |
Why do people say “that-a-way” instead of “that way”? added 40 characters in body |