Questions tagged [usage]
For questions on how and why certain words are used in varying ways within various contexts.
2,612
questions
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1answer
20 views
Using the word 'back' in a headline [duplicate]
I'm struggling with the way this headline should be structured:
We're welcoming families back! OR 2. We're welcoming back families!
I'm not sure what part of speech 'back' is in these examples. And ...
1
vote
3answers
101 views
How is the word “wrangle” used in Europe?
I'm starting a new online business in the US, and hope to attract customers in Europe as well. I'm thinking about using the word wrangler in the name of the business. The meaning I'm intending is &...
0
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0answers
29 views
Is vs. Are (Ambiguous subject + be-verb + object) [closed]
I would need help in understanding a particular situation:
Which of the two statements is correct?
Core Assumption: Person B will always answer with only one location
Situation 1
Person A: Where are ...
1
vote
1answer
67 views
Is “I love that for you” grammatical?
Does the phrase "I love that for you" obey the rules of Standard American English, when used in the sense described in this Vogue article?
In particular, the person uttering the sentence is ...
1
vote
1answer
32 views
He then sought God in different worldly things whom he revered them and praised them [closed]
He then sought God in different worldly things whom he revered them and praised them.
Can someone please let me know if I have made correct usage of 'Whom' in the above sentence. Correction of this ...
0
votes
0answers
9 views
Past and present in one sentence [migrated]
Can I use past and present in one sentence?
I agree that he was wrong
I don’t care if she had a character development towards the end
Are these sentences correct? If not, Can you provide me an example ...
0
votes
2answers
58 views
Is there a grammatical difference between “heart of oak” and “hearts of oak” in the British patriotic song “Heart of Oak?” [closed]
A British patriotic song titled "Heart of Oak" has two versions that are widely sung.
The chorus in the first version goes like this:
Heart of oak are our ships,
Heart of oak are our men,
We ...
0
votes
0answers
14 views
Usage of compound adjectives with past participles [migrated]
I often see native English speakers using compound adjectives with past participles to describe traits of animals in books and journal articles. For example:
1.1: Reptiles are cold-blooded creatures.
...
0
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0answers
20 views
Should I use a comma to separate a list of two numeric elements when one element is a range?
In a two-element list such as "items 1 to 6 and 11", should the two elements be separated by a comma?
I have been told that without the comma, the list can be interpreted to mean "items ...
1
vote
1answer
48 views
Does (be to bear) _sound natural to you or it does old-English? [closed]
Hi, I found this image, I don't know if it is correct or a common structure to say;
I am to buy a guitar
he is to pay me back
she is to marry me
does this structure show a kind of future tense?
by the ...
0
votes
1answer
15 views
What would be the correct spelling/hyphenation for “upper mid-tier”?
The phrase is for referring to a noun "company" such as in the sentence: "I bought the upper mid-tier company". (Meaning a company that is middle tier but slightly higher and not ...
0
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0answers
61 views
Dialect differences between “should”, “ought”, and “ought to”
As I travel around England, Southern Wales, and Southern Scotland, I hear the rural and working-class people in some areas use "should" (and never "ought"), in other areas "...
0
votes
1answer
25 views
Can “agency” in the sense of “self-agency” be plural?
My question pertains to academic writing in fields like philosophy.
Normally "agency" meaning "the capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power" (Merriam-Webster) ...
0
votes
2answers
139 views
“A might bit” or “a mite bit”?
"That's a might/mite bit excessive, no?"
"He's more than a might/mite bit shy around the opposite gender."
"It just seems a might/mite bit offensive, is all."
Which of ...
0
votes
1answer
30 views
Difference between “Where is” and “How to get there” [closed]
In my article, I would like to answer the following questions "Where is XYZ?" and "How to get to XYZ?"
Where XYZ is a location such as hiking trail. What is the difference between ...
-1
votes
1answer
34 views
Questions about history and usage of the word “paren”
This is related to an earlier question: "parentheses" vs "parenthesis" but is about etymology of the related (and apparently informal, per wikitionary ) word "paren" and ...
1
vote
1answer
30 views
Which term is correct grammatically [duplicate]
Are 'death cause' and 'cause of death', both correct? As for the second I'm certain that it's correct but the first, I'm not.
I'm sorry if this shouldn't be under the grammar tag, but I'm sure it ...
0
votes
1answer
39 views
Using article “a” [closed]
What is the correct sentence?
I'm neither a man nor a god
I'm neither man nor God
I'm neither a man nor God
I'm neither man nor a god
-1
votes
1answer
78 views
Can “Tentacles” be used for branches?
Reading through the following sentence
It had been my father’s word which had got me a footing in the multinational company which had its tentacles in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Oxford ...
0
votes
1answer
58 views
What rules make these comparative clauses grammatical? [closed]
We invited more people than came.
Fred reads more books than Susan reads.
These than-clauses which appear in a grammar book seems weird to me. Are they grammatically acceptable?
What about the ...
0
votes
1answer
48 views
In what conditions should a pronoun use forms of singular they? [duplicate]
Are there grammatical errors in the following sentences? Semantically, one of them seems not right.
Someone parked their cars at the entrance.
The scientist dedicated themselves to the research.
2
votes
2answers
114 views
Are there rules about the subject of a subordinate clause?
The following two sentences, which is commonly used and grammatically correct?
When Lisa unwrapped the package, she found the cellphone inside it was broken.
When she unwrapped the package, Lisa ...
1
vote
4answers
98 views
Question about how to use the word suicide [duplicate]
I got this note from a literary agent and am curious about usage of the word suicide. I had written, "my father was a suicide." Which sounds a little archaic but wanted to avoid saying "...
0
votes
1answer
43 views
Why are “in (dimension)” measurements used?
The rock is six feet in height. The rock is six feet tall.
The rock is nine feet in width. The rock is nine feet wide.
The rock is ten tons in weight. The rock weighs ten tons.
I don't ...
0
votes
0answers
9 views
Can I say “towards November” instead of “towards early November”
I am not sure when the project will finish.
but I know it is going to be in November.
Can I say "Towards November this project will be ready"
or it only works "Towards end of November ...
1
vote
1answer
46 views
Preparatory it; not possible for complements
I was reading Practical English Usage, by Michael Swan and got into something that has got me deeply confused. It basically says that preparatory it can be used as a preparatory subject or object, but ...
0
votes
0answers
39 views
Waiting for a girl like you vs. Waiting for a girl such as you [duplicate]
I've been waiting for a girl like you.
I've been waiting for a girl such as you.
I believe both are grammatically correct constructions in English. Loosely speaking, I understand, they mean just about ...
2
votes
0answers
23 views
“around” = “on the subject of”
In recent months I have on a number of occasions heard people use the word "around" when they mean "on the subject of."
E.g. "I can answer your questions around your ...
0
votes
1answer
41 views
What does “Bastion of righteousness” mean? [closed]
I heard someone use this to describe star wars Obi Wan Kenobi. I know it must mean the quality of being morally right or justifiable but can you define it more specifically.
1
vote
1answer
44 views
Why does standard usage of “percentile” vary from other _iles (quartiles, deciles, etc.)?
In my experience, the standard usage of "percentile" is as given by OED (September 2018):
Each of the 99 intermediate values of a variate which divide a frequency distribution into 100 ...
1
vote
2answers
43 views
“Imaginatively” as a synonym for “in imagination”
The expression "in imagination" shows up in phrases such as "meanings may be infinitely combined and rearranged in imagination" (John Dewey).
I have also, just once or twice, heard ...
0
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0answers
28 views
“Don't try to be a hero” vs “Don't try and be a hero”
"Don't try to be a hero"
"Don't try and be a hero"
What's the difference? They both seem to be common according to Google.
Do they mean exactly the same thing? Is one more ...
0
votes
0answers
36 views
Usage of “of” with an implicit object
Consider this sentence from an article about a killing:
“Based on repeated threats on the night of, they (Rose, Ford and Liakos) decided to go on a scouting mission that was preserved on video,” ...
-1
votes
1answer
42 views
Can one use transpire in the future tense?
My partner used the phrase ".... something planned... whether it transpires or not remains to be seen.".
Now, I don't know for a fact, but I feel that transpir(es/ed) is (or should be) used ...
0
votes
0answers
29 views
Formal email/letter writing : correct usage of “issue which pertains to” / “issue pertaining to” /“issue that pertains to”
In my humble attempt at writing a classy formal letter, I am stuck with a bug in my brain .. probably due to my background of a non-native speaker of English.
I am trying to draw the reader's ...
0
votes
0answers
20 views
For a long time (future)-Usage
I am looking to tell my group of long-time friends, that the meet up they had last week (which I missed) would hopefully not be the last one for at least the next several months.
Would it be fine to ...
1
vote
1answer
31 views
Crossing / Knocking at/on door
Context: I have received a feedback request for an interview process. The company didn't offer me the job, but I appreciate their approach in requesting feedback, so I am inclined to provide it. ...
1
vote
1answer
51 views
Revisiting “ee.g.” (versus “e.g.”)
How is "e.g." pluralized?
Responses to the above article and other critiques of "ee.g." (insisting on "e.g.") roundly dismiss it as an aberration and even vilify it. Yet ...
0
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0answers
38 views
Hyphenation of compound adjective as object complement
Consider these three cases:
Here is the up-to-date information.
Mark this information up-to-date.
This information is up to date.
Those are spelled the ways that feel correct to me, but I'm not ...
1
vote
2answers
49 views
Which is correct: “The animal within you” or “The animal within yourself”?
I'm coming up with a slogan for my DJ personal brand. I want to convey the idea that we all have a wild side in us waiting to be triggered. From similar questions, it seems that either version would ...
0
votes
1answer
68 views
This reminds me of… how to use the word “remind” if we have no personal memory of something
Let me preface this by saying English isn't my first language.
There was a comment by an user on facebook today that went like "This reminds me of the 90's", but the user was born in 94 so ...
0
votes
1answer
32 views
How to mention an uncertain object/thing in English?
I want to know how to mention an uncertain object, like X country.
e.g. I want to go to a certain country no matter where it is because I just need to go out right now.
I found a Question on this ...
1
vote
1answer
58 views
What is the difference between “in the extent that” and “in the extent to which”? [closed]
So, if you replace "in the extent to which" by "in the extent that" in the following sentence, will it mean the same thing?
There is a limitation in the extent to which Sarah can ...
-1
votes
1answer
45 views
Many users, one address each: Users address? Users addresses? User addresses? [duplicate]
In the context of writing a technical document, I need to refer to a data structure that contains a list of addresses, in fact one address for each user in the system.
Should I call this data ...
0
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0answers
16 views
Can “Free” be a noun? And what does it mean? [duplicate]
I saw this sentence when I was studying British Culture.
"William Shakespeare composed plays that broke FREE of England's past style of plays and theatre."
I was quite confused about the ...
-2
votes
1answer
40 views
Which example sentence is better? [closed]
I'm unsure which would be the best way to write the following example sentence:
You asked me to call you today about X.
You asked me to call you about X today.
0
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0answers
30 views
Proper usage of 'more often' , 'more frequent'.?
When we read an article on the internet saying that some Event X takes place more often than you think. What is in the mind of the author who writes this article? Does the usage of more often implies ...
0
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0answers
33 views
Can I use 'more younger' in some cases?
Let's assume a woman is 50 and looking for a younger guys above 30 and I am 20. Would this be a right sentence?
I see you are looking for a younger man, but why not even more younger?
0
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0answers
24 views
Schoolchildren population or schoolchild population?
Although we are taught to use singular adjectives to modify nouns, "schoolchildren" population seems to be a more commonly heard and searched (Google) option than the true singular "...
-2
votes
2answers
66 views
Verbs “COME” and “GO” followed by the gerund
Good evening everyone,
I was listening to Tears for Fears' song Everybody wants to rule the world, and I came across the line "when the walls come tumbling down". I looked the expression up ...
