Questions tagged [expression-choice]
Choosing the best phrase FROM A GIVEN SELECTION for a particular context or meaning.
552
questions
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1
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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 ...
1
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0
answers
27
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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 ...
2
votes
5
answers
132
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"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 ...
0
votes
1
answer
36
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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 ...
0
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2
answers
81
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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.
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0
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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 ...
0
votes
1
answer
22
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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 ...
2
votes
0
answers
33
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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 ...
0
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2
answers
29
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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 ...
0
votes
2
answers
44
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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 ...
0
votes
2
answers
69
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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 ...
1
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1
answer
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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.
0
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1
answer
350
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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-...
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 ...
3
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3
answers
246
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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:
...
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4
answers
595
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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 ...
3
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1
answer
341
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"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 ...
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0
answers
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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 ...
0
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2
answers
36
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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 ...
1
vote
1
answer
135
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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 )
0
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1
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"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 ...
2
votes
1
answer
180
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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 ...
0
votes
1
answer
70
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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 ...
0
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2
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2k
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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 ...
0
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1
answer
42
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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 ...
0
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3
answers
224
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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-...
0
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0
answers
355
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"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 ...
0
votes
0
answers
27
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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 ...
0
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0
answers
16
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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 ...
0
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3
answers
115
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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?
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0
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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 ...
1
vote
1
answer
458
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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? ...
0
votes
1
answer
101
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"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 ...
0
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0
answers
84
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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) ...
0
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3
answers
214
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Désert médical translation
In French there is a phrase "désert médical", which means an area (usually rural) devoid of medical staff and hospitals.
The literal translation into English would be "medical desert". Is this phrase ...
1
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2
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65
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What terms to use for figures related to questions and answers? [closed]
I am working on implementing a Q&A platform and I am trying to find some catchy figure names for the following: how many questions were asked by non-staff (non-admin) and how many answers were ...
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1
answer
50
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Used to or would?
Is it better to say "I would always lose when I played chess with my father" or "I used to always lose when I played chess with my father" ?
Please justify your choice!
Thank you in advance.
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1
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384
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users´ needs or users needs
Which one of the following is right/ better. I am still not sure after thinking about it for quite a while now. I am talking about the needs of multiple users. The first option (s´) is used when ...
0
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2
answers
717
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"My name is X and I come from Syria" vs. "My name is X and I am from Syria" [closed]
I am trying to edit English subtitles for a short video on an educational project. A person there says something (in Swedish) which the Swedish copywriter translated as
My name is Hamdi and I come ...
1
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0
answers
3k
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"As per picture below" or "as per the picture below"? [closed]
Suppose you are sending an email which includes some details in a picture below where you are writing.
Is it correct to say
As per picture below, the meeting is in (...)
Or is it better/more ...
1
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0
answers
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How can there be any indicative if-clauses?
As far as I know, if-clauses always describe theoretical situations. Sometimes the theory is very obvious and self-evident, but it remains a theory. So how can we use the indicative in if-clauses all ...
0
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1
answer
116
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What is the proper use of exaptable? [closed]
I have an assignment and I want to say that by using cosine similarity and word2vec, the project can easily be repurposed for other use. Would it be accurate to say this?
This project makes use of ...
0
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3
answers
5k
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What's a nicer way of phrasing 'Aggressive schedule'? [closed]
The phrase 'Aggressive schedule' is often used to express a desire to achieve high performance and speed on a project, however has the negative connotation related to the word 'aggressive'. If I'm ...
0
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1
answer
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How to better express "Dwayne Johnson has been given more footage than Jason Statham in the movie" [closed]
By footage I do not mean on screen time. I mean Dwayne Jhonson has been given scenes that show him to be better than Jason Statham. Although both were given roughly the same on screen time, Dwayne was ...
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2
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"Sorry if I bother you" vs. "Sorry to bother you" : Which one is more idiomatic? [closed]
I need to send an message via SMS to my supervisor.
Which is more a idiomatic introduction?
"Sorry if I bother you."
"Sorry if I bothered you."
"Sorry to bother you."
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0
answers
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how do I express that women who visit somewhere have no distinct age specific
I want to put more in to this sentence to say about that young women, old women all visit help desk. In other words, there is no varying age change in visiting help desk services.
Women seem to use ...
3
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2
answers
1k
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Word meaning the opposite of "golden"?
I feel there must be a word I can use to mean the opposite of "golden", but I can't think of one. For example:
golden handshake: being sacked but with excellent remuneration.
****** handshake: being ...
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2
answers
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How to say "I understand how to do something conceptually, but not concretely?" [closed]
As a programmer a situation comes up frequently, where I 'conceptually' know what I need to do, and I can explain the thing from a 'high level' - but I don't know exactly what to do.
Like, I know ...
0
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1
answer
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Is there an expression to say someone will replace me at a meeting?
I am writing an email to the top management to tell someone will replace
me at a meeting I cannot attend. Is there a good expression / a better
verb for this situation ? Or is 'replace' the good word ?...
1
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1
answer
58
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in southern Wales, in the south of Wales, in the southern part of Wales? [closed]
Can you tell me which one is correct? And if there is a difference in meaning between them, can someone explain it to me?
and here is the example of the sentence
Cardiff is the capital and the ...