Questions tagged [context]

A context describes the surroundings for a sentence.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
3 votes
1 answer
394 views

Context for "There was nothing could be done for him."

Sentences (1)-(2) below are grammatically/semantically correct. Sentences (1)-(2) are traditionally explained by deletion of a nominative case relative pronoun. However, in my view, sentences (1)-(2) ...
GWisdom's user avatar
  • 41
-1 votes
1 answer
49 views

Possessive determiners, ambiguous references, and the question of the relevance of context [duplicate]

I know there are some threads and websites on the topic but unfortunately I continue to wonder about the issue of possessive determiners and ambiguous references. Two examples: 1: Sabine, the new ...
Johnny Silverhand's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
50 views

Should it be Past Perfect or Present Perfect? [closed]

Past Perfect can't be used on its own, can it? I mean, if there is a sentence without context, just a sentence on its own, and there is no clause with predicate in Past Simple in it. Is it ...
Mia's user avatar
  • 37
0 votes
1 answer
88 views

Dialogue in the TV series "Billions"

While I was watching the TV series "Billions," there was a dialogue between two people working for Axe Capital. They argue about smart guns and say: (A says smart guns can be a ten-bagger. ...
Grace's user avatar
  • 55
1 vote
0 answers
53 views

Getting a deeper understanding of the similarities & differences between the words "offhand/offhanded" , "facile" & "glib" [closed]

(reference: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/offhand ) offhand not friendly, and showing little interest in other people in a way that seems slightly rude: (reference: https://...
crazyTech's user avatar
  • 149
1 vote
2 answers
120 views

Use of the phrase ‘Such as’ to begin a sentence

Is the second sentence below grammatically correct in the context of the first sentence? I.e. can I commence a sentence with the phrase ‘Such as’? You can access personal details we hold about you. ...
Jason Campbell's user avatar
-1 votes
2 answers
40 views

What is the meaning of this sentence about analytic papers? [closed]

The authors, Yale professors Richard Nelson and Sidney Winter, were best known for a series of intensely analytic papers exploring Schumpeterian theory that even most PhD candidates didn't pretend to ...
user472358's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
49 views

Usage of optimism

Optimism usually suggests a positive, hopeful attitude. However, does it always have to be related to a silver lining in a cloud? For example, James got fired from his job. Look on the bright side! ...
bluesky's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
45 views

Contextual meaning of 'sought to legitimize the city's social strivings by evoking a history the city did not truly posses' [closed]

This sentence below was a GRE question and the two italics and bold words are the actual answers to the text completion. Still, I do not understand what the sentence is trying to say. My understanding ...
Mohammad Nadeem's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
96 views

Talk vs open up

Look at these two newspaper article titles(I know you must be thinking that the first one no journalist would write this way): 1: "Klopp talks about what went wrong with his team". 2: "...
Southman's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
87 views

Is the word "or" used to always describe two different things?

For example in the words in law "cruel or unusual punishment" are the two implied to be different things or different meanings of the same thing ?
Jsvfhegrbdbfb's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
744 views

What is the difference between "diverse" and "versatile"?

I have this sentence: John is a (versatile/diverse) football player, he can play multiple positions on the pitch. In this context, which word should I use? The meaning of diverse is: showing a ...
U13-Forward's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
37 views

Understanding the context of 'yes' in this sentence [duplicate]

Pretend I have the following conversation with somebody, either through internet text messaging or a verbal in person communication. The brief conversation is below. I ask: Would you like me to ...
securityauditor's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
26 views

In what context can I say "I could come here because of you"? [closed]

If I made it to a special place because of someone and I'm grateful for that, which one makes more sense? I could come here because of you I came here because of you Another expression-related ...
user469589's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
38 views

Which part of the first sentence is referenced here with the "which"?

I have the following text: The role of the IS internal audit function should be established by an audit charter approved by the board of directors and the audit committee. Professionals should have a ...
BeHo's user avatar
  • 13
0 votes
2 answers
95 views

What is a one-word (probably verb) synonym for "thinking back to" with a sort of paying homage connotation?

I'm looking for a certain synonym for "thinking back to" or "reminiscing from the past". It is used in a sentence like "This building was built with historical aspects in mind,...
 printerprinter1555's user avatar
-1 votes
2 answers
67 views

Is "dying" a transitional state or completed act? [closed]

In the following paragraph is "dying" a completed act, so that Margie is dead, or is it a process, so that Margie is in a state of dying? Is the context sufficient to establish the meaning? ...
Zan700's user avatar
  • 3,376
0 votes
2 answers
52 views

What did this person mean by this confusing remark?

This confuses me massively, and I'm unable to ask him through a comment: if the TV is unplugged, there's no power. A capacitor isn't going to hurt you through a stream of water, and that's only for ...
Diezel's user avatar
  • 1
0 votes
1 answer
47 views

Emanate from a place, not a source

Just a nuance question here: The word "emanate", I know for sure it can be used in reference to a specific source, e.g. "a strange glow emanated from the lamp". But can it also be ...
He7Man7's user avatar
  • 153
0 votes
3 answers
94 views

Example word that is a homograph and preposition

My research involves the study of word frequency in American English and the importance of context when connecting text representations to different speech representations. I would like to know if ...
Joseph's user avatar
  • 103
1 vote
1 answer
138 views

What exactly are "beasts that perish"?

Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly ...
Chozyn Cranshaw's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
138 views

What's the meaning of 'couldn't make your car'? [duplicate]

It was a situation that the police were trying to stop a driver who ran two stop signs. The driver finally got out of the car and said "I couldn't make your car". From a publication article ...
user453174's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
44 views

Can I say "Since we met, I had been meaning to say that I like everything you do"? [closed]

Hypothetically, I said "I like everything you do" in the past. So now can I say "Since we met, I had been meaning to say that I like everything you do." ? Is it okay to use past ...
ggkk's user avatar
  • 13
3 votes
6 answers
4k views

Why would anybody use "bloody" to describe how would they take their burgers or any other food?

I think it doesn't make sense to go over to the bar and ask for a burger, and then when the bartender replies "How would you like your burger", to answer "bloody" (I saw this in a ...
Vicky Dev's user avatar
  • 489
0 votes
4 answers
877 views

Out of one’s hands / Beyond one’s control: synonyms?

I am writing something about legal defences available to a defendant. I would like to know if these two expressions (title) can in this case be synonyms and if one is more used than the other. Context:...
Enrico Filipuzzi's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
83 views

Whereby / By which

I have a doubt about the use of “whereby”. I know it can be a synonym of “by which”, but I am not sure if it can always substitute “by which”. I am doing an essay and I wrote this: Will, gift, lease ...
Enrico Filipuzzi's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
45 views

Generalized Terms for Categorizing an Occupation Label

This feels like a longshot, so pardon me if it’s an ill-formed question for this forum… I’m trying to define a two-phrase structure that describes any person’s role or occupation. Here are several ...
FTLPhysicsGuy's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
105 views

Do you contract a disease or a virus? Or either?

You are infected by a virus, not a disease. You can develop a disease, but not a virus (unless you are a virus-developing scientist, I guess -- but you know that's not what I mean). I guess what I'm ...
Ayman Safadi's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
14k views

Meaning of "...on the week of ..."

I got an email to confirm my availability: We would like to know your availability on the week of May 10th from 10:00 - 14:00. Does it mean they are asking my availability for the whole week for the ...
Ricky's user avatar
  • 51
16 votes
2 answers
2k views

What is "a gallops"? [closed]

I've found this phrase here on a recent BBC report: "...the mare in the video died after suffering a cardiac arrest on a gallops in April 2016." The same article has: "A video on ...
Pam's user avatar
  • 7,211
1 vote
0 answers
784 views

At its highest or in its highest

So, I have been writing this text about agriculture and farming and I got stuck with this sentence. When the population is in its highest... Should I say "in its highest" or "at its ...
Eugene Usher's user avatar
-1 votes
3 answers
154 views

“I suppose so,” said Mrs. Dursley stiffly - (Harry Potter) [closed]

I read this in a Harry Potter novel: "I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly I looked up the word "stiffy" in Cambridge dictionary, and saw this definition: an erection (= ...
Andrey Radkevich's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
474 views

Should I Capitalize the Word "mom" in This Specific Context [duplicate]

In the book Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing is says the word "mom" is a proper noun in the following context and should be capitalized: "How's Mom these days"...
Ben Pearce's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
84 views

Is this an example of a mixed metaphor?

Is the writer employing a mixed metaphor here? A part of her was sinking languidly down into the passive pleasure of having returned to the familiar—like a pebble, she had been picked up and hurled ...
user405662's user avatar
  • 8,230
0 votes
2 answers
79 views

How do you describe a word that has two, conflicting meanings depending on the context? [duplicate]

There is a single word that can be used to describe these, and I'm having trouble remembering it. I think it might be a '-nym' word or a '-phone', but I can't remember. An example would be handicap, ...
balloneij's user avatar
  • 101
-1 votes
2 answers
2k views

What does “otherwise than” mean in this context

“The library, which I had never seen otherwise than wide open, was tight shut.”
Xyzxyz's user avatar
  • 7
1 vote
2 answers
153 views

What does "Tree someone's or their game" means?

As contextually hinted here in the sentence "1838 – "Instead of having treed their game....", the meaning of possibly rarely-known phrase "tree his/her/someone's/their game" ...
Vicky Dev's user avatar
  • 489
0 votes
2 answers
276 views

Can unilateral mean unanimous? [closed]

When deciding among colleagues between two options, everyone present agreed on the same solution. When reporting the result to a member that hadn't taken part, I reported it as "unilateral ...
Bubastis's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
24 views

Is there ambiguity in "by each" in this context?

The sentence: "Find all malls that have been visited by each student attending Wolf Secondary School" I've recently encountered a question like this on a Computer Science test and ...
anon_student's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
41 views

Partly out vs Partly

"In August of 1930, a Norwegian sloop, the Bratvaag, sailing in the Arctic Ocean, stopped at a remote island called White Island.The Bratvaag was partly on a scientiɹc mission, led by a geologist ...
John Mars's user avatar
  • 105
0 votes
2 answers
254 views

Is my usage of "any different" correct in this context? [closed]

I'm reading a Webnovel and in this particular chapter, there is this guy who is on a high position and everyone around him(not including those who have a higher authority and status) is bending over ...
Aljon's user avatar
  • 1
0 votes
2 answers
302 views

What does the term 'labels' imply in this context?

"Labels are a necessity in the organization of knowledge, but they also constrain our understanding." I'm interested in what the word labels implies. According to the definition in the ...
nocomment's user avatar
  • 101
-1 votes
1 answer
40 views

Why some words that are extensions of words, are not explained with those original words mentioned/referenced in meaning description?

I recently had an encounter with word "iffy", which if explained with reference to word "if", its meaning that "something/some-concept cannot be considered fully and ...
Skylark's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
826 views

“Being with” definition

If I said, “I get happier when I am with her.” Is it clear that “when I am with her” means when I am physically with her? “With someone” can mean a lot of things in English such as being in a romantic ...
Indira Singh's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
189 views

What does " pulp" mean in this context? [closed]

the pulp for the marriage made by the empress dowager has made me a fool to the whole world
Sezim's user avatar
  • 11
0 votes
1 answer
175 views

grammatically, rotate + er is it correct?

I try to name something as its usage is rotate+er. The main usage is doing a rotation on a reliable circle, so I pick rotation as the verb. My main lang is Indonesian, but I always try to give my best ...
Adi Prasetyo's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
35 views

What does "tweak business establishment" mean here?

everyone, I have difficulities in understanding the following sentence. All the while, the flamboyant and irreverent Mr. Branson has tweaked the business establishment, particularly in Britain, ...
IHAI's user avatar
  • 27
1 vote
1 answer
82 views

What possible word that begins with D and ends with Y is used in racial context?

I recently came across an article about the history of chicken thieves, and in two instances, it made a reference to d---y. I'm curious to know what this means. The first one is where they are ...
HeavenlyHarmony's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
36 views

Pararphrasing question

I have come across the following the sentence : (I ripped my shirt on a nail ) Can I just say " The nail ripped my shirt " instead .
Mohamed kz's user avatar
-1 votes
2 answers
6k views

What does it mean when Anne Frank was described as "a symbol for the lost promise of the children who died in the Holocaust"? [closed]

I'm doing an English lesson on the Holocaust, and on one of the questions, I had to answer what the phrase meant. I've tried looking up what "lost promise" means, but none of the answers I've found ...
Kodi's user avatar
  • 1