Questions tagged [context]
A context describes the surroundings for a sentence.
114
questions
0
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1answer
116 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 ...
16
votes
2answers
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 ...
0
votes
0answers
130 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 ...
0
votes
0answers
28 views
Is this a typo in The Call of the Wild?
Here is the scene of the final fight between Buck and Spitz at the end of chapter 3 in The Call of the Wild by Jack London:
Spitz was untouched, while Buck was streaming with blood and panting
hard. ...
-1
votes
3answers
116 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 (= ...
0
votes
1answer
38 views
Omission of than-clauses [closed]
B is bigger than C and smaller than A.
What I want to know is, if there are no than-clauses, how should I describe B.
I mean which one is correct? B is bigger, B is smaller, or B is bigger and smaller....
-1
votes
1answer
60 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"...
0
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2answers
56 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 ...
0
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2answers
34 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, ...
-1
votes
2answers
78 views
What does “otherwise than” mean in this context
“The library, which I had never seen otherwise than wide open, was tight shut.”
0
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2answers
55 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" ...
0
votes
2answers
100 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 ...
0
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0answers
17 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
25 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 ...
-1
votes
1answer
44 views
Would the following (it) be acceptable? [closed]
My tailor is rich.
Why your tailor it is not yet?
This sounds grammatically incorrect to me, but putting it in context following the previous sentence, would it be correct to say this?
0
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2answers
65 views
Is my usage of “any different” correct in this context?
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 ...
0
votes
2answers
276 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 ...
-1
votes
1answer
33 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
61 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
108 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
0
votes
2answers
399 views
Meaning of radical punchline [closed]
The text:
Rudman looks at how a poor understanding of maths has led historians
to false conclusions about the mathematical sophistication of early
societies. Rudman's final observation-that ancient ...
0
votes
1answer
46 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
28 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, ...
1
vote
1answer
77 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
31 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 .
-1
votes
2answers
4k 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
38 views
“It is that …” sentences in a non-linguistic context
I sometimes see or hear "It is that ..." sentences as the following:
(1) "It's not that I don't want to support you. It's just that I don't know how."
I'd like to know if "It is that ..." ...
0
votes
0answers
56 views
Curriculum framework and model
What is the difference between curriculum framework and curriculum model? What I understand is that a framework is a set of principles on which a model is built. Am I right? Please clarify.
-1
votes
1answer
48 views
Meaning of draft
The following is an excerpt from a book:
The article “Poll Finds Most Oppose return to Draft,
wouldn’t encourage Children to enlist” (Associated Press,
December 18, 2005) reports that in a ...
0
votes
1answer
164 views
“Like never before” or “Like you have never done before”
I am a not a native English speaker. But the term "Manage Teams like never before" which our company thinks about using for advertising our software sounds strange to me.
Wouldn't it be better to ...
1
vote
0answers
60 views
Grammatical query (was vs is, etc) [closed]
I live and work in Taiwan but my son has a question regarding grammar in his test. I don't quite know how to answer this or to help him, so I would like some advice, if possible:
"Despite the fact ...
1
vote
1answer
2k views
Which preposition goes with the word 'solution'?
Though I've found one of the questions with the same topic as mine, I would desire the better elaborated explanation as it confuses me a lot.
According to that question, the answer was that when the ...
0
votes
1answer
53 views
“Schematic Claim” [closed]
I would like to know what does "schematic claim" in the following encrypt mean which is from an entry of Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:
To consider some of the different strategies for ...
3
votes
2answers
78 views
Question about vinegar in expressions
What does "vinegar in her voice" mean? It was said by a girl in a story about her sister, she envies her and feels bad in some way. The story is from the Bible.
1
vote
3answers
70 views
alternate word for “coupling”
I'm writing a scientific article.
In my study, the amount of food we eat affects the bodyweight for example. We call it "coupling of food and bodyweight" because bodyweight depends mainly on food ...
1
vote
1answer
34 views
Meaning in context
Provine writes: “I forge recklessly into the paleohumorology fray, proposing my candidate for the most ancient joke—the feigned tickle. (Real tickling is disqualified because of its reflexive nature.) ...
1
vote
1answer
150 views
Inquiries Concerning Context Clues, Syllables, and the Use of the Dictionary [closed]
The following are consists of three questions with the possible choices for each along with my reasoning for each question. I ask of you to provide me assistance in guiding me towards the answer for ...
0
votes
1answer
16 views
Flexible change another prepositon [closed]
Here is the sentence:
" I argue with you"
Most of the time I have been taught that ARGUE + WITH is the function that I have to remember. But recently I have read some books about lexicon and they ...
0
votes
1answer
209 views
Interpretation - “my younger brothers seem never to do anything else.”
I couldn't accurately understand what is the meaning of the following sentence.
"Oh, brothers! I don't care for brothers. My elder brother won't die, and my younger brothers seem never to do anything ...
1
vote
0answers
52 views
Can you brew wine, or is the word “brew” specific to Beer, coffee, and tea? [duplicate]
I would like to know whether or not wine can be brewed, and secondly if the wine-making process is considered brewing. It seems that some definitions are specific to beer, coffee, and tea, where ...
1
vote
2answers
78 views
Can 'whom' be used in this context? [closed]
I would like to know if whom can be used in this sentence:
I commend the authors for discussing the discrepancy between minority
medical students and the disproportionate percentage of whom apply ...
1
vote
3answers
84 views
Help me understand “mortal man never smoked their superior in quality.”
I am a Korean reading The Lives of the Great Composers by Harold Schonberg.
There's part of an article quoted from the New York Times describing how Americans welcomed Offenbach in his visit to New ...
1
vote
2answers
108 views
What is the definition of dig? If someone begins to cut into a surface is it considered that they have dug something? if not, why not?
According to the following extract:
Mrs. Baker wanted to go ice fishing. She read several books on the subject, and finally, after purchasing all the necessary equipment, she went onto the ice. ...
4
votes
3answers
2k views
Is it okay to use “babysit” verb in context of own kids?
Say, my wife has to run some errands in the morning, and I have to announce at my work that I will be missing for some time.
Are both correct?
I have to babysit in the morning.
I have to watch my ...
1
vote
1answer
138 views
Meaning of “it pools in a little heart around the meat”
"When Pop plates it, the liver smells, but the gravy he made to slather on it pools in a little heart around the meat, and I wonder if Pop did that on purpose."
"it pools in a little heart around the ...
0
votes
1answer
1k views
Inappropriate meaning of “inappropriate”, depending on context
The meaning of the word "inappropriate" somewhat changes depending on context.
In the sentence
In an email reply to my professor, I misunderstood what he told me and
wrote something ...
0
votes
0answers
360 views
Difference between “label”, “categorize” and “arrange”
Can the verbs, like label, categorize, and arrange, be used to mean the same, as in:
The states are labeled with their U.S. postal abbreviations, their founding date and capitals.
The states are ...
1
vote
2answers
198 views
Sit and stand are oppositive, but look alike in some context
As a second sense, astride means extending across. But I am getting confused with some of its usage examples.
I found an example of a preposition astride used with the verb stand in an Oxford English ...
0
votes
1answer
4k views
Correct usage of “consists of”
I found a confusing usage of "consist of" in Belles Make Up site:
Water consists of 70% of our whole body.
I think that above sentence is wrong because water is within our body, not the body ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
Meaning and usage of “as well as”
We use "as well as" to mean "and in addition", "and also", but the following sentence completely made me confused:
There are roughly 1000 different words for “water,” as well as for “louse”.
I ...
