Questions tagged [phrasing]
The phrasing tag has no usage guidance.
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Using a singular to convey a plural [migrated]
If I want to provide a diagram of the performance measurements of different programming languages, which option is correct? Is it correct to use a singular form when there are multiple languages taken ...
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What is the best way to reword the parenthetical plural "diagnosis(es) and remedy(s)"?
What is the best way to word the following sentence?
A diagnosis(es) and remedy(s) remain elusive as we continue to seek help from various medical professionals.
Since diagnosis ends in -is, should ...
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Please Help: "Audience" usage
I want to write "My whole life, I have been audience to a..." Does that make sense? Should I instead write "been the audience to..." or "been an audience to..." Am I ...
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How to parse/interpret the unusual wording on a diploma?
My SO just earned a PhD and received their diploma, and we were both puzzled by the wording. I'm copying it line by line, including punctuation (but omitting the school/personal specifics in brackets)....
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Different phrasings for "analyzing of all possibilities in the list"
I'm currently writing a paper in mathematics.
In the beginning of the article I present a big list where each line consists of a sequences of numbers. Through the rest of the text I discuss whether ...
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Does, "... gas, electricity, and any other costs associated with the internet," mistakenly imply gas and electricity as a cost for internet?
In the utilities section of a rental agreement, a paragraph ends with the sentence, "Tenants shall be responsible for gas, electricity, and any other costs associated with the internet." In ...
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"Under what form would our government operate?" Is this correct phrasing? [closed]
In this sentence
Under what form would our government operate?
I am wondering whether Under what form or In which/what form would be the correct phrasing, and I realised that I can't find the answer....
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How to express gratitude to an interviewer regardless of the interview outcome? [closed]
I'm drafting a thank-you note to the recruiter after a series of onsite interviews with the team. And wondered if it might seem less polite or render a discounted feeling if I included the following ...
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"Humanities studies is my zone of interest." Is that sentence natural?
"Humanities studies is my zone of interest." Is that sentence natural?
I want to express that I love anything related to the humanities division.
Should I use "is" or "are&...
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A word or 5-6 word phrase for "an aliquot can only be a member of a batch one time"
I'm a software engineer trying to come up with a word or phrase to describe that relationship in a way that future software engineers can look at the code I've written and either understand what's ...
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How would you say a person has made a choice out of being of noble character?
Let us say a person is noble/of noble character/noble-hearted. As in, he isn't a person of a social rank of nobility, but rather is a good, selfless person.
I'd like to say that this person has done a ...
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Wording a sentence for "A, B, C, D, or E" with inclusive and exclusive "or"
In my papers, I often need to formulate disjunctions textually (for example, when providing conditions for the fulfillment of a statement).
Let's see two examples:
When you eat (a) apple, (b) pear, (...
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"Open onto" vs. "open into"
When is one preferred over the other?
This is in the context of the door to a large room. My sense is that "into" is preferred for closed spaces and "onto" for open spaces. This ...
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Which adjectives can describe 'intellect' and 'education'?
I use 'great' too many times, I would need something more lively and original. I have a sentence like this:
In order to acquire this, one does not need a great intellect, nor a ... education
Thank you!...
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Can I say "how eager" and "awaits me"?
The fish used to bawl when I left, and the chicken would tell me how eager the fish awaited me.
Disregard the chickens and fish, I just needed something tangible.
ABC is sad when I go; XYZ tells me ...
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Ambiguity in assigning a clause to one of the two preceding clauses
Consider the sentence:
We use a transmitter to communicate with a device that is placed in the package using a new technology.
Here, the part "using a new technology" applies to "We ...
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Word for compound event: "At least one of these events will happen"
Over on Math.stackexchange I was discussing probability jargon. Typically the events considered in probability theory are constructed from other, simpler events by a series of unions, intersections, ...
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Examples of people that have really low name recogniton?
Not exactly sure how to phrase the title, but here's the sentence I'm asking about:
Our job? Somehow get XXXXX, (a candidate with less name recognition than _____ ) to the top of the polls.
I was ...
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"-Based" vs. " Based"
I am in the process of finalizing an academic research paper and I am struggling to identify the correct hyphenation for the title:
Option 1: Adaptive Chirplet Transform-Based Machine Learning for ...
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Should I use "the" in the phrase "the check-in for a flight", in this context?
I have this sentence in Russian I need to translate into English:
"Звучит объявление о регистрации на рейс Кабул - Гонконг."
The best I can come up with is this:
"An announcement rings ...
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How to word "...but with whom we shared..."
I just told my life's story to someone I've known for only two days, but with whom we shared an instant, platonic connection.
I know that we in this sentence "should" be I, that this ...
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How can I construct phrases only to work with one of Given, When, or Then?
I think the following is a problem which falls firmly between two stools, so please forgive me if this is the wrong place, but I think it's more of a linguistic question than a computer question.
...
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What is another way of saying "we cannot guarantee"?
1. Summarize the problem
I work for an IT solutions provider and we always try to get the customer anything they inquire. We also want to avoid negative connotations with our brand, so we avoid ...
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It's a great honour to find myself being [closed]
I have received an email from someone I admire. Is there anything wrong or unidiomatic about the following sentence? How would you say it?
It's a great honour to find myself being addressed/approached ...
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Is the usage "multiple logistic regression analysis" correct?
I encountered a manuscript where the author writes:
Risk associations for metabolic syndrome and diabetes were analyzed using multiple logistic regression analyses..."
In this case, is the ...
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Whats a word for saying that someone said something but later turned around on it?
Im trying to find a proper word or phrase to describe this situation.
A person initially claimed that theres no pollution. Then later he or
she turned around to say that there is some pollution ...
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Wording for post-graduation plans
I am sending announcements about my daughter’s graduation from college. I want to include a sentence about her post-graduation plans. Originally I wrote,
Rose will pursue her master of ...
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A better way to say 'very different'
What is a better way to say 'very different'?
Is there one word that is an extreme of 'different'?
Example: Person A and Person B embraced the spirit of evil in very different ways.
Is there a ...
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How do other words can you use for “the way something is written”?
I was racking my brain when pressed with a discussion posting in math class the other day, and I was coming to answer someone’s question when I got stuck in a bind.
The question was pre-Calc, and I ...
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Does "One example of that would be it's trophic cascade" make sense?
I'm trying to write a paragraph for a question for my biology class. The question is "How are organisms (and non-living things) interconnected within Serengeti National Park? He wants us to include "...
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"What time is it? At 8 o'clock" [closed]
I am unsure about this phrasing, does answering the question "What time is it (now)?" by saying "At 8 o'clock" or "It's at 8 o'clock" sound natural?
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Can an inanimate object “get something wrongˮ? [closed]
The following is an excerpt from an article about spelling mistakes:
Can you spot the mistakes? Building signs which get standard English phrases wrong; posters and other material featuring ...
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Indicating Possession Between You and Another Person
Is there a good way to indicate that something belongs to you and another person when you want to mention the other person by name?
As an example, suppose some friends ask you "Where's the party at?" ...
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What ways do you describe changing from existence to non-existence?
In a paper, I need to talk about things "coming into and leaving" existence multiple times. I feel this phrase is clumsy and there are definitely better ways of saying it that I just can't think of ...
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How do you describe a study which attempts to isolate the compounding effect of factor A on factor B? [closed]
Shameless cry for academic help here.
I'm working on my thesis, which is a study that will focus on the compounding effect of group dynamics on persuasive technology. The control and treatment group ...
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Idiom/phrase for "example picked purposefully"
For example, when one is talking about a chemistry equation and they use values one wouldn't see in real life to illustrate a point better, or give a specific example that requires extra steps that ...
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Can a writer refer to himself as "your author"? [closed]
I am drafting a nonfictional manuscript that, not being about me, seldom refers to me. I do nonetheless appear in the manuscript, though—or at any rate my perspective explicitly emerges—a ...
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Should a comma be included when listing age?
When listing age under someone's name for reference, does there need to be a comma between "age" and the number?
My company is running an ad for a beauty supplement featuring our brand ambassador for ...
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Where should I put swiftly?
These treatments can swiftly help patients be on their way to a more active life.
or
These treatments can help patients swiftly be on their way to a more active life.
Please help!
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"Happy Birthday <name>" or "Happy Birthday to <name>" on a cake? [closed]
What is better to write on a cake? "Happy Birthday <name>" or "Happy Birthday to <name>"?
Or are both of them equally fine? Or is there an alternative that's better than both?
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How can I make this sentence correct? It sounds wrong to me [closed]
The sentence, "Innovation requires more exploration and risk-taking than architects are typically used to." sounds incorrect tome, but I cannot put my finger on what the problem is. Please help me ...
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Single word for "is nothing until it becomes"
Example: Data is nothing until it becomes information, with context.
The above sentence is a bit wordy so I was hoping to find a single word to replace that phrase. I could shorten it to: Data ...
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Two consecutive sentences that begin with in
I start off two sentences with "in" and it really irks me. Is this okay, does it sound bad? Any recommendations on how to reword the beginning of my sentences would be appreciated.
"In response to ...
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How to address today and the following 9 days
Would you think "the next 10 days" includes today?
If not, would there be a clearer way to put it, to refer to today and the following 9 days?
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How to adress personified concepts like "love" like they're people? (with no ambiguity)
There's a song lyric in a French song that goes like this:
Je t'attends depuis longtemps, toi l'amour
Which means, more or less:
I've been waiting for you for a long time, love
But there love ...
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Help with parenthetical phrase
first time poster here. Can someone help me with comma placement in the following sentence:
Margaret loved music, especially the compositions of Joseph Haydn, which inspired in her an irresistible ...
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"Had Come" or "Came"
My mom and I are editing my book and we got stuck on a sentence: "It seemed like such a big question for someone her age — at least she thought so — for it had only been a few seasons after she was ...
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"Quench bloodthirst"? Is this correct?
I was writing a text and got to this part.
"Characters can turn hostile quickly, drawing in interested bystanders that will either help the player or try to kill them. Nothing less than murder will ...
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How to use two parenthetical qualifiers on the first mention of a noun? [closed]
I'm writing a paper that includes a reference to the University of North Georgia. The first time I mention this university, I'd like to add a qualifier stating its commonly-used acronym "UNG" that I ...
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Is there a word for when you use a descriptor in place for a word/phrase you've forgotten?
Best example I can give is a post I saw a while back where someone was trying to remember the name for a manta ray and described it as a sea pancake instead. Logically you could call it a sea pancake ...
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