Questions tagged [expression-choice]

Choosing the best phrase FROM A GIVEN SELECTION for a particular context or meaning.

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How to use “ respectively” correctly [closed]

Is it correct to say I had an early start on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and worked 8, 9.5 and 10 hours respectively.
mahi ash's user avatar
1 vote
4 answers
907 views

When to use "the" in front of plural demonyms? "Americans" vs "the Americans" vs "the American people"?

When do you use the before plural demonymic expressions like "Americans", "British people" or "Chinese people"? Chinese people celebrate Lunar New Year on the first days ...
Vun-Hugh Vaw's user avatar
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1 vote
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"one/two/three-car households" vs "single/dual/triple-car households" (attributive forms)

Which way is more natural when it comes to numbers of things that people have or own? For example, the numbers of cars owned by households: The rate of single/dual/triple-car households is increasing....
Vun-Hugh Vaw's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
63 views

Your comments are welcome or welcomed? [duplicate]

I am sending one of my papers to someone by email. I like to know what he think about my paper. So I write Your comments are welcome. Or should I write Your comments are welcomed. ?
Sasan's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
195 views

Should I use "I'm noting down ..." or "I'm taking ... to note."?

In this example, I am writing down in my notebook some high-level terms that were used in other people's conversation. I want to tell my friend that I am doing so. In the following two sentences, ...
U13-Forward's user avatar
3 votes
4 answers
2k views

"call out" vs "call in"

When I am ill and cannot go into the office to work I say "I called out sick". I now live in Texas and people like to correct me and say that it's "call in sick".This doesn't make ...
Kris's user avatar
  • 31
2 votes
2 answers
188 views

"centers around the concept" vs is "based on the concept"? [closed]

I've met a sentence like this in a technical book. It centers around the concept of [some concept]. I would simply use: It is based on the concept of [some concept]. I would like to understand the ...
olha's user avatar
  • 129
0 votes
1 answer
268 views

Can "hold on" be used to mean pausing the work being performed?

http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-hold-on-or-hold-off/ says: “hold on” is to wait, or grip while “hold off” is to postpone, cancel or stop an action. So does "hold on&...
Tim's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
372 views

Is ‘fancy dress’ just a dress? [closed]

When people talk about a ‘fancy dress’ in life, does it just refer to a fancy dress costume in a fancy dress party or we could also mean a beautiful dress? Thanks!
Steven Rogers's user avatar
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3 answers
40 views

What do you call "testing if a probability will trigger or not"

Apologies if this is a bit technical. I'm writing a paper describing a simulation. Inside the simulation, at each time step, some event has a certain probability of happening. Essentially, the ...
l3utterfly's user avatar
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1 answer
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Does “a book launch” mean “a book launch event”?

A book launch event announced to be held in Berlin last summer was canceled. A book launch announced to be held in Berlin last summer was canceled. Does ‘a book launch’ in 2 clearly mean ‘a book ...
Sasan's user avatar
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-2 votes
3 answers
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Is the phrase ‘Berlin book launch event’ correct? [closed]

Last August a Berlin book launch event was cancelled unexpectedly. By ‘a Berlin book launch event’ I mean ‘a book launch event that was going to be held in Berlin’. I say it like that just to be ...
Sasan's user avatar
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2 votes
3 answers
258 views

Which usage of ‘let alone’ is correct?

Most people in this country do not yet tolerate cultural freedom, let alone to demand it. Most people in this country are not yet in a position to tolerate cultural freedom, let alone to demand it. ...
Sasan's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
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Is ‘in/of the world’ required after ‘many/several/a lot of/some countries’?

It is very common in English to use ‘in/of the world’ after expressions such as many/some/several/a lot of countries. Is that necessary? Because to my ear the word ‘country’ by itself mean a part of ...
Sasan's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
35 views

Is it correct to use the verb ‘feel’ with stuff? [closed]

I felt that my conversations with him was unfulfilling. I had the feeling that my conversations with him were unfulfilling. Can I correctly change either of the above into: My conversations with ...
Sasan's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
26 views

Which one is correct/idiomatic? [closed]

Which one of the following is the best choice? The fact that only now I can see clearly was that … The fact that I can only now see clearly was that … The fact that I can see clearly only now was ...
Sasan's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
49 views

Are both of these equally correct? [closed]

An event, announced to be held on January 12th this year, was canceled due to public objections. An event, announced to be held on last January 12th, was canceled due to public objections. Are both ...
Sasan's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
32 views

Author - Title vs Title - Author when referring to a work [closed]

Is there a convention on whether to place the title of a work or the author of a work first when referring to the work? I'm thinking mostly for titling notes/files on the work, or for categorizing ...
Jack Maloney's user avatar
2 votes
5 answers
385 views

"So I have learned."

Earlier today I found myself with the desire to use the expression: "So I have learned" in response to someone as a confirmation of recently gained knowledge. My question for you all is ...
Seve's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
48 views

Choosing between several phrases that seek to highlight a positive aspect [closed]

I would like to know the common usage/difference/when is it appropriate to use these phrases: I have been exposed to the [some positive aspect of a thing] I have first hand experience with [some ...
AyamGorengPedes's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
85 views

How can we depict a person who is keen to live in the countryside, keeping chicken, ducks & growing their own vegetables, etc? [closed]

A person with ‘gardening feelings’? Definitely not, but I don't know how exactly to say it.
Sakura tn's user avatar
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0 answers
49 views

Is there a better expression to 'turning point' in the paragraph below?

Considering the efforts undertaken so far in sampling traditional molecular markers for the family Cactaceae, and that new sequencing technologies have become increasingly accessible, and are now ...
Evandro Marsola de Moraes's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
30 views

When to use either the word "by" or "depending on" to classify something?

I was writing some English sentences and I found that the following sentences both seem good to me. The students are sorted by their scores. The students are sorted depending on their scores. The ...
Mint Bee's user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
46 views

Why is "I too" so rare? [duplicate]

It would be interesting to hear the reasons why "I too" is so rare. It is usually replaced by "me too", although this is techically wrong when it denotes the subject. Perhaps it is ...
CJT's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
29 views

Phrase choice for "one of x preferred colours" when two colour choices are equivalent

Let us say that Eve has 3 preferred colours: Red Green Blue Of those 3 colours, Eve prefers red the most, but her preference for green and blue are identical. In English, would it be preferred for ...
End Anti-Semitic Hate's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
48 views

Most suitable term to describe a sequence of values and their timestamp

In my robotics project, a sensor produces values of voltage at irregular points in time. For instance measurement1 = (3[s], 35[V]) measurement2 = (6[s], 32[V]) measurement3 = (7[s], 33[V]) .... What ...
datahaki's user avatar
  • 103
0 votes
2 answers
77 views

What do you call a position where one succeeds automatically

Is there a word for a position that one succeeds in as a result of occupying a lower position? E.g., say, a committee has elected a Chair and Vice-Chair for a term of 3 years. The Vice-Chair will ...
r2d2's user avatar
  • 5
1 vote
1 answer
124 views

Correct way to say apply powder on skin of child

What is the proper way to say I’m applying talcum powder on my child’s body? I always wonder whether 'applying powder' is correct in this sense.
Sanjay Pandey's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

Expressing appreciation to a third party in an email [closed]

I am replying an email to my project supervisor who has arranged a co-marker for my project. I am replying to the supervisor alone but I would like to express in the email my appreciation to the co-...
siegfried's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
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"suffocatingly narrow" or "narrow to the point of suffocating"?

In the following sentence: The confines of the system were suffocatingly narrow for the freedom of her spirit. I wonder if it is more common or idiomatic to say: The confines of the system were ...
fev's user avatar
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3 votes
3 answers
292 views

Is it possible to have an interrogative after an imperative connected with coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence?

I know rephrasing, using semicolon, or just splitting it into two sentences are probably the possible options here (the best choice, however, is my side question). Consider the following as examples: ...
Afsane's user avatar
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-1 votes
4 answers
1k views

It is correct to say "I want to monitorize a server" [closed]

I think I've read somewhere something like "I want to monitorize this web-server". It seems that the world actually exists: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/monitorize but when I write it on ...
grg121's user avatar
  • 103
3 votes
1 answer
520 views

"Converted PDF file" - what does it really mean?

I can press Ctrl+P on my keyboard and save this HTML page as PDF. Would it be correct to call such a file a converted PDF file? Or does the word converted mean that the file was converted from PDF to ...
user90726's user avatar
  • 555
0 votes
0 answers
31 views

structure of sentence with an economics content

I want to reword the following: "The ability of trade balance to withstand the acceleration of wages depends negatively on the level of employment. " Thank you so much FumbleFingers and ...
luca rossi's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
37 views

Is the second part of this sentence grammatically correct?

It is a well known fact that social media platforms can make it easier to communicate with others and how fast and convenient this communication is. I find It is a well known fact that social media ...
Nat's user avatar
  • 3
1 vote
1 answer
418 views

I need an English expression ( preferably slang ) to express my willingness and commitment to do something [duplicate]

I need an English expression ( preferably slang ) to express my willingness and commitment to do something ( e.g I will put my heart and soul into it )
Amly's user avatar
  • 11
0 votes
1 answer
120 views

"before I oops do it again" or "before I oops did it again again", which one should I have used for it to be proper English?

Last night my cousin was playing Britney Spears' "Oops I did it again" song, and then in the middle of the song I felt the need to use the rest room and then I wanted to tell him "I ...
JackBixuis's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
333 views

Apply a rule vs. Follow a rule

Don't insert a space before a colon. Don't insert multiple consecutive colons. Follow the same rules for commas, periods, and other punctuation marks. Don't insert a space before a colon. Don't ...
john c. j.'s user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
77 views

What do you call an out-of-schedule speech in a conference?

In some conferences there may be some out-of-schedule guest who has some valuable insights to share with the attendees (e.g. some government official or member of a legislative authority) who is ...
F1234k's user avatar
  • 167
0 votes
2 answers
4k views

How to express you are not familiar with a field

I want to use this phrase: a lack of knowledge in ( ), but I'm not sure if it is typical. I got stuck in a lab assignment that required some background knowledge of computer security, and I would ...
Nicole's user avatar
  • 11
0 votes
1 answer
49 views

Is "What is your email?" acceptable for a sign up form?

Someone says that a sign up form with the label What is your email? is correct, and I'd argue that, since "email" is only a "method of exchanging messages", it makes that text ...
Iulian Onofrei's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
402 views

Is "in no way" informal?

Once in an undergraduate course on English academic writing, I wrote something like "This is in no way representative of ..." in an assignment, and the teacher marked it down for being non-...
Nardog's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
363 views

"Your or someone else's" or "Yours or someone else's"? [duplicate]

Should I say Your or someone else's Or Yours or someone else's When I am referring to an item that may either belong to the person I am addressing, or someone else? Example context: Check ...
Artemis's user avatar
  • 101
0 votes
0 answers
31 views

Present participle as a replacement for "that [verb]"

Are the following statements grammatically correct? If so, are they equivalent in meaning and which is more clear? "[subject] moves to a location that acts as the main [thing]..." "[subject] moves to ...
Meow_ly's user avatar
  • 149
0 votes
0 answers
16 views

Expressions for "a wish dedicated to one self"

I was translating a short story about a mortician (someone who does makeup for the dead) when I came across an idea I don't know how to express. In the story, the protagonist was talking about her ...
eleanor_nor's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
119 views

What's the difference between "I am a racist" and "I am racist"?

I often hear a lot of people say "he is a racist", but at the same time a lot of people say "he is racist" so what's the difference between the two?
Shadi's user avatar
  • 1
3 votes
3 answers
455 views

He wears blue jeans vs. He has blue jeans on

Hello dear English friends, I just wondered whether the expressions "He wears blue jeans." vs "He has blue jeans on." differ in meaning. To my mind the second sentence sounds kind of wrong. I mean ...
Phil's user avatar
  • 63
1 vote
1 answer
793 views

Use of "only last week" vs "just last year" - and punctuation

In a job cover letter I've written "Only last month I heard great things about the clinic while attending a conference." My first question: are 'only last month' and 'just last month' interchangeable? ...
Nicole C's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
111 views

"Express of a research interest" or "Expression of a research interest"

How to name a presentation slide with the list of research topics I am interested in? It is not a research proposal, since there is no proposal. I like "Express of a research interest", is it ...
user40's user avatar
  • 227
0 votes
0 answers
255 views

Than vs. Than the one of

What is correct/preferable and why? a) "The error of the first model is lower than the one of the second model." or b) "The error of the first model is lower than the second model." To me, a) ...
Funkwecker's user avatar

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