Questions tagged [phrasing]
Questions about how something should be put into words in order to express a certain meaning.
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"Half" or "A Half"
This argument has come up at work, and I actually found it pretty interesting.
My colleague is arguing that you might say "a quarter of a pizza", whereas you'd just say "half of a pizza" rather than "...
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Is "I believe x does not equal y" the same as "I don't believe x equals y"
Given x and y could be any phrase, do these phrases always mean the same thing? If not, what's the difference?
I believe x does not equal y
I don't believe x equals y
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learn how to [verb] vs. learn to [verb]
"learn to [verb]"
"learn how to [verb]"
Is [1] merely a less formal version of [2]? If not, does [1] communicate something subtly different? Consider the following:
In [2], the object of learning is ...
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"Should either be" or "should be either"?
Which is more correct:
This rule specifies that an object should be either visible or invisible, but not partially visible.
Or
This rule specifies that an object should either be visible or ...
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Wishing someone that something goes easily for them
I'm trying to phrase a sentence in which I'm wishing that something goes easily for someone, but can't get the wording to sound right, and not awkward.
For example, someone may be studying for a test ...
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"Sorting on" vs. "Sorting by"
Recently asked a question of a colleague:
Are you sorting this list by acronym?
He responded:
Yes, I’m sorting on acronym (ascending).
Emphasis mine in each case.
Is one correct and not the ...
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Should I follow English conventions, or write what sounds better?
How a sentence sounds when read aloud or in your head can often "sound" different for each individual doing so; however, I was reading details regarding the usage of "data" and "datum" and was ...
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Another way of expressing "morally wrong" ideas
In an article I'm writing, I have the following sentence:
"It might be a bit of a moral gray area to..."
I go on to give an analogy to connect it to the topic I'm writing about, but I'm not liking ...
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To be about; to be all about
I have a nagging feeling "to be all about" is vastly different than its "all"-less counterpart.
This game is all about teamwork.
To me this means the very basis, the fundamental ...
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