Questions tagged [expression-choice]
Choosing the best phrase FROM A GIVEN SELECTION for a particular context or meaning.
546
questions
0
votes
1answer
70 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.
0
votes
1answer
53 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-...
0
votes
2answers
46 views
“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
votes
3answers
212 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:
...
0
votes
0answers
35 views
Vice Chair Elect or Vice Chair-elect or Vice-Chair-Elect? Elect or elect?
The position for the incumbent in my club is referred to as Vice Chair (no hyphen). But "elect" is preceded by a hyphen. So, would "Vice Chair-elect" be more appropriate to ...
-1
votes
4answers
212 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 ...
3
votes
1answer
246 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 ...
0
votes
0answers
27 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 ...
0
votes
2answers
34 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 ...
0
votes
2answers
90 views
Hours or the hours?
I would like to ask a question. Which sentence is correct?
Yes, we can change hours
Or
Yes, we can change the hours
Is only one answer correct or both are depending on the context?
1
vote
1answer
73 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 )
0
votes
1answer
63 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 ...
2
votes
1answer
106 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 ...
0
votes
0answers
16 views
Can “more fussy” be acceptable? [duplicate]
The comparative for fussy is fussier.
But is it acceptable to say, for example, "Less affection will make the baby more fussy"?
(Is it so awkward to use "less X, more Y" in this ...
0
votes
1answer
66 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 ...
0
votes
2answers
745 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
32 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 ...
0
votes
3answers
118 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-...
0
votes
0answers
207 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 ...
0
votes
0answers
25 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 ...
0
votes
0answers
14 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 ...
0
votes
3answers
109 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?
1
vote
0answers
142 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
251 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? ...
0
votes
1answer
82 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 ...
0
votes
0answers
50 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) ...
0
votes
3answers
193 views
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
vote
2answers
60 views
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 ...
-1
votes
1answer
39 views
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.
0
votes
1answer
135 views
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
votes
2answers
620 views
“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
vote
0answers
2k views
“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
vote
0answers
34 views
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
votes
1answer
88 views
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
votes
3answers
3k views
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
votes
1answer
67 views
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 ...
-1
votes
2answers
18k views
“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."
1
vote
0answers
25 views
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
votes
2answers
1k views
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 ...
-1
votes
2answers
52 views
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
votes
1answer
3k views
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
vote
1answer
53 views
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 ...
0
votes
1answer
579 views
“abuse of which he was subjected” or “to which…”?
I am writing a paper and I can't figure out which of these is correct:
"...the neglect and abuse of which he was subjected..."
or
"...the neglect and abuse to which he was subjected..."
The ...
0
votes
2answers
754 views
What’s a catchy phrase that means get the most out of your dollar? [closed]
I’m trying to finish a speech, and I was thinking of a catchy last idiom to wrap it up. It was on the tip of my tongue and it I think it mean get the most out of your dollar or something like that.... ...
-1
votes
1answer
20 views
How to describe a customer's business [closed]
Which sentence is the most relevant for your point of view:
A client has a retail business consisting of lots of shops
distributed all over the world.
A client has a retail business that includes ...
0
votes
3answers
71 views
An expression for the trigger of something that was inevitable [duplicate]
I'm looking for a way to describe the thing that finally triggers something after rising tensions. For example, some isolated incident triggers massive protests, but the protests are really due to ...
0
votes
2answers
245 views
“Keep” vs “Record”
we have a meeting with our customers and I have to take the minutes of the meeting.
but can I say the sentences below to express I take the minutes of the meeting?
1. "I have to record the content of ...
0
votes
2answers
65 views
Question about the proper word choice
I would like to ask you a paricular question. Recently I had a job interview which, as far as I am concerned, went great. However, I might have made a stupid mistake and I would like you to tell me ...
0
votes
1answer
187 views
Which tag question is right for this sentence? [closed]
Nowadays the only thing people seem to be interested in is earning more and more money, ____ ?
a) don't they
b) isn't it
c) don't you
d) will you
Please explain which is the correct tag ...
1
vote
0answers
12 views
can the expression “by car” be used in the sentence below?
We are on the way to church by car.
Is this a correct sentence?
I am not sure if it is ok to use the phrase "by car" other than go, come, reach, get to or arrive?
Thanks.
