Questions tagged [phrasing]
Questions about how something should be put into words in order to express a certain meaning.
166
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"Select parent set of selected items to change to"...?
I am writing a program where each item has a "parent set" attribute.
I am trying to create a function that changes the "parent set" value of selected items, and am having troubles trying to phrase ...
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Words or phrases to describe how street beggars typically look?
I'm writing a scene in which I wish to describe a typical street beggar - his way of dressing in particular. Check for example such a dude as the one below
I could use descriptions such as: snobbish, ...
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Does another comma belong somewhere in this sentence?
In conclusion, their failure to properly house their animals and educate the human population are just two reasons why zoos are not as good as they claim to be.
I'm trying to say that their failure ...
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2
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"This what is" vs "This that is"
Came across the following choice of words from a British-Australian writer. It is not very recognizable to me, and am wondering if it's a question of dialect, or was just a mistake/typo:
All this ...
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Phrasing a sentence [closed]
In this section, nonlinear effects of two-photon absorption in a photonic crystal cavity are examined.
In this section, nonlinear effects of two-photon absorption are examined for a photonic crystal ...
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Proper phrasing of "My first foray into"
I am writing a purpose statement for a PhD program in mathematics and would like advice on properly phrasing this sentence:
My first foray into unusual mathematics was an introductory course in ...
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Less Freedom or Fewer Freedoms?
I'm trying to describe that two nations which both guarantee their citizens the right to free speech, asssembly, etc, can have different enforcement policies, resulting a a nation that:
a) has less ...
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7
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What makes this sentence 'clunky'? [closed]
I've had comments that the sentence below seems awkward and clunky. Can anyone help me clarify what it is that is off about it. Background being:
"An issue has been found but not correcting in ...
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A better way to say "... that will be fought"
I'm searching a shorter way to say "Something that will be fought". I'm actually creating an app and I'd need it as a title for a field. So it needs to be short and relevant, but I can't find another ...
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Is saying "I have checked futilely" correct?
For example:
After checking a few stores futilely, I found a store with what i needed
Is that correct, or is there better phrasing?
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How To Properly Phrase "Knocked Out."
In a scene from my book, a character, Nastia, has been shot and she's taking small steps to a staircase. But as she staggers, at one point, she can't handle the pain so she tumbles down the stairs and ...
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A better way to phrase this sentence, (list of comparisons), without placing unintended emphasis on the first list item?
I have the following sentence...
This power of information, privacy, is the foundation of our ability to have a different relationship with our teachers than we do our friends, our partners, and our ...
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How would I go about including a he-said/she-said statement?
I’m writing a book where in the beginning, we’re introduced to the couple by a conversation they’re having. I’m wondering how I can phrase it correctly?
"It's like I don't even know you anymore, ...
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Do you have a better way to cater to the need to express something as being "uncatered" to?
I needed "cater" as an adjective today, and I didn't enjoy how it worked out; and not only due to the spell checked thumbing its nose at me.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/uncatered appears ...
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How to avoid ordinal numbers when referring to a place in a queue?
I have the following sentence:
"You are currently 5th in the queue"
I'd like to avoid using ordinal numbers. What is the best way to rephrase this sentence such that it conveys the same meaning, ...
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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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Phrasing of sentence help please [closed]
This is a property that restricts her ability to respond to emotions other than sadness.
Does this mean that she can only respond to sadness?
Thank you.
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Looking for a word that means "a lack of listening skills"
This is my first time here, and I am hoping this community can help me out.
The context is as follows:
I witnessed a slow transition from awareness and excitement to
Wallace's "natural state" - ...
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3
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Is it correct to say "conscientious of the fact"
I'm writing out an e-mail blast and part of the sentence is
I’d like to send this e-mail out as a reminder to everyone to be
conscientious of the fact that if there are changes to be made to...
...
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Past day vs. Passed day [closed]
I am writing an account of something, and I'm not sure whether I should say "passed day", as in "Day that has passed" or "past day", as in "Day in the past".
In the evenings we would get together ...
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Phrase concept of self-knowledge?
I don't know how to express this.
I want to say that the ugliness of adolescence is hidden BUT not for adolescents themselves.
Is this sentence correct? is there a better phrasing?
"the ugliness of ...
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2
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How does 1:30 sound? [closed]
Someone overheard me say "How does 1:30 sound?" and suggested that the preferred way to phrase this question (i.e., when scheduling a meeting) would be to ask "How does 1:30 work?" or "Does 1:30 sound ...
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"That will have to" vs "Which will have to" [duplicate]
I am not really sure if this sentence is translated correctly into English :
Access keys have been researched and the implementation will be done in a future sprint, that will have something to do ...
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201
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Negating two verbs separated by or
I'm curious about the logical implications of phrasings of the form:
not given or received
In my mind, this can parse as either "not (given or received)" or "(not given) or (received)", which ...
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A more formal phrasing of "in the future"
Is there a more formal or better way of phrasing "in the future"?
Example:
Please refrain from using said substance in the future.
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Adjective and Noun Placement
Is it better to say "We rescued the five people trapped" or "We rescued the five trapped people"? And why?
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Placement of "ever" with "have"
I'm having a hard time telling if my wording is correct or not. In the following sentence,
"...a job like that would be the first of its kind I will ever have worked,"
does it make any difference ...
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7
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What would be a valid replacement of "as"?
Say I want to write something to say:
John looked over his shoulder as he opened the door slowly.
However, for stylistic reasons I don't really want to use as in that sentence. There must be other ...
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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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Way of saying 'washes hands of it' but implies physical
Looking for a non-crappy way of describing someone doing that washing hand motion you do to clear your hands of dust or dirt, but without saying 'washing hand motion'. I feel like there's a good way ...
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Can you "do a goal" or do you have to "meet a goal?" [closed]
If I am asking a client what they will be doing to meet a fitness goal, i.e. riding a bike to be more active (the goal is to be more active). Can I say, "how will you do your goal?" in a goal setting ...
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Legitimacy of "construct from nothing"
I was thinking today about the phrasing of 'construct something from nothing' (the context was constructing ideas), and I began to wonder if 'construct' was really a good word to use. Maybe I'm just ...
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"Regardless to the fact" vs "Regardless of the fact"
I want to say that something will happen regardless of whether something else happens. However, in my particular situation, using regardless of sounds awkward.
Some arrangements work better than ...
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Is "every... doesn't...." really the same thing as "not every..."?
I have noticed a to me confounding linguistic trend in the last few years of which I came across an example tonight:
"Every receiver doesn’t become a star." (from here)
This type of wording just ...
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3
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Is this correct: "[x] is where [explanation]"
When explaining a concept, for example, recursion, is it valid to use a construction such as:
Recursion is where a subroutine calls itself.
To my ear, "is where" sounds somewhat weird. Do you ...
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Title starting by "questioning"
I'm writing an article which I entitled "Questioning theory X as the basis of theory Y".
I no native speaker and I would like to know if such phrasing is correct in English.
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A shorter phrase for "is a poor predictor of"
This is a bullet point in a presentation:
Coronary angiography is a poor predictor of the hemodynamic relevance of stenosis
"is a poor predictor of" feels very round-about, but I can't think of a ...
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Predicate or noun after "nationality"
Which one is correct?
To put a predicate after nationality
His nationality is Chinese.
To put a noun after nationality
His nationality is China.
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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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President of [Country][Name] vs President [Name] of [Country]
I came across the following sentence in The Guardian (emphasis mine):
President Vladimir Putin of Russia said the EU was putting pressure on Kiev and organising mass protests against President ...
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phrase replacement [closed]
I sometimes use common phrases that I'd rather spruce up with a single word or more direct phrase, or perhaps just by using fresher wording. One phrase I'd like to change is: "was the fact that."
My ...
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proper phrasing for "avoid X in favor of Y"
I'm having a brain cramp: if cookies should be avoided, and carrots are preferable instead, is it correct to say:
Avoid cookies in favor of carrots.
or if not, what's the correct way to phrase?
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"allow me a day's absence" sounds wrong to me. How do I phrase it better? [closed]
How do I phrase this line better -
"<..Blah Blah.. Explaining what my problems are..>. It'll be really helpful if you can allow me a day's absence. Would this be possible?"
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How to better phrase "I'm Alec who enquired about..." [closed]
I'm writing an email to an angel investor I met recently.
The context is:
Hi John,
Pleasure to briefly meet you at the ... event last Thursday. I'm Alec who enquired about the best way of ...
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A word that describes the polite phrases we use to begin our letters
How can we refer to the polite phrase used at the beginning of a letter (email in my specific context)?
For example, we may start our letter:
Dear Bob, I hope that you're well and had a nice ...
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Wording an 'If-Then' Statement Tense
I need help phrasing the last part of this conditional sentence (assume I can't change the first conditional statement):
If I died tomorrow, I would have wanted to go skydiving.
or
If I died ...
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Is there another way to say 'working on'?
Is there another way to say "We are working on to update our resort."? I do not want to use working on.
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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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"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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OK to use two "there"s in a sentence?
A teacher once told me that it is improper to use two there words in a sentence, such as
There is a woman there.
or
Is there a man there?
and instead state
A woman is there.
or
Is a man ...
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