Questions tagged [context]
A context describes the surroundings for a sentence.
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Is this sentence considered a double negative? [duplicate]
"There is no way it doesn't work on your phone." Is this considered a double negative?
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Should I use until or before in this sentence? [duplicate]
Don't hire that guy before you check his references.
Don't hire that guy until you check his references.
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What term describes a phrase like "in English, please"? [duplicate]
The phrase "in English, please" has different meanings in different social contexts. In one context it might mean literal English language, and in another it could imply a response in layman'...
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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,...
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How do I understand when to use the phrase 'mad props'?
In Legally Blond the musical they use the phrase:
MARGOT: Dear Elle, He's a lucky guy. I'm like gonna cry, I got tears coming out of my nose!
Mad Props! He's the campus catch, You're a perfect match,
...
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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) ...
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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 ...
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What's the difference between the "me" and the "I" used in the quote below?
I read the next words (part of a bigger sentence, coming from musical lyrics):
But my parents, they lived through the Blitz years, and me, I was sent to a farm.
Why are me and I used, instead of:
...
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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 ...
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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. ...
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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://...
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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. ...
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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 ...
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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! ...
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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 ...
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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: "...
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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 ?
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“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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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?
...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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"...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Difference between "With all due respect" and "Without disrespect" [closed]
What is the difference between the below two phrases?
With all due respect
and
Without disrespect
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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 ...
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Meaning of "See that wet, see that dry!"
"You'd share and share alike with the rest, whether you'd been in that particular job or not. There's fifty members, and you'd get one-fiftieth, same as Number One and same as me."
"Really? No ...
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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 ...
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What does “otherwise than” mean in this context
“The library, which I had never seen otherwise than wide open, was tight shut.”
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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:...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Using far away for depth [closed]
I was filling this cloze test from a book (the bolded words are answers):
There are many methods of mining, each of which is based upon where a mineral deposit is found in the earth. While some ...
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"These kids I tell you" or "kids I tell you" expression meaning
I have read them in few disconnected articles and in conversations but could not understand them completely.
"These kids I tell you" or "kids I tell you" expression meaning.
What do they mean ?
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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“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 (= ...
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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 ...
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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, ...
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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" ...
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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 ...
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