All Questions
129,413
questions
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Should you insert a space between the second hyphen and the next word? [duplicate]
Here's a sample sentence:
The waiters scurried back and forth with drink- and snack- laden trays.
Or is there another way to punctuate this?
- 133k
6
votes
1
answer
103
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Is "did" used conditionally, regionally or otherwise? e.g. "Did you want..." instead of "Would you want..."
My partner frequently asks me questions that, when read literally, are questions about the past, but in intent and intended response are actually conditional questions:
Did you have any thoughts ...
- 64.3k
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0
answers
12
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Category a talisman or salt circle would fall in
What is an object that hinders or stops a spirit (specifically evil)? I.e. a talisman, salt circle, or any thing applied to another possessed object
- 64.3k
2
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0
answers
10
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Is the present participle incorrect in sentences like "I will run one mile to reach my target, grabbing him"?
Is it okay (in terms of usage) to use present participle clause for an action that follows another action as a result?
For instance, the following sentence seems correct to me:
The bomb will explode, ...
- 64.3k
0
votes
0
answers
18
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Is it sometimes grammatically correct to put a word like "visually" before an adjective-adverb combination like "more distinct"?
Could the following sentence be considered correct when comparing two or more subjects?
It's visually more distinct.
I'm aware that you can rewrite the sentence like this:
It's, visually, more ...
- 101
2
votes
7
answers
1k
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Word Implying Lack of Caring Because You're Already (Wrong/Losing/a Failure/Behind/Insignificant)
Question: Looking for a word that implies lack of caring about the results / perception of others / ect... because you're already so far behind that you'll never really be significant.
It's not really ...
- 2,733
1
vote
1
answer
182
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When can we use 'draw upon' instead of 'draw on' and why?
LEXICO defines draw on as follows:
1 (draw on something) Use one's experience, talents, or skills as a resource.
‘Sue has a lot of past experience to draw on’
2 (of a period of time) pass by and ...
CommunityBot
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0
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11
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Is it “...rights to education and health,” or “...right to education and health”?
I would like to know which of the two is correct:
The government should enact laws to safeguard the rights of children to education and health.
The government should enact laws to safeguard the ...
- 404
2
votes
2
answers
206
views
Why does English use the French "sans" for sans serif?
Is it because France had impactful printers and typecutters like the Garamonds and Jensons in the Renaissance?
Or is it about being elegant and “Frenchified” when talking about something as peculiar ...
- 38.4k
0
votes
3
answers
68
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How to positively say "one bad apple ruins every other good apples"?
There is an unhappy colleague in our company and I want to talk about this issue in my next meeting. I want to mean "A bad apple ruins good apples" but this sound so negative. I want to ...
- 13.7k
4
votes
1
answer
191
views
What are the characteristics of masculine and feminine speech in English?
I imagine that people will instinctively say, "There is no masculine or feminine speech in English," but I am not so sure.
For instance, the stereotype is that men speak roughly and women ...
- 70.6k
3
votes
2
answers
426
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How does one determine when a comedian is also a humorist?
Wikipedia's list of humorists are categorised as people who write or perform humorous material, but the article also states:
A humorist is usually distinct from a stand-up comedian.
Woody Allen ...
CommunityBot
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votes
3
answers
7k
views
Idiom similar to wolf in sheep's clothing?
I’m writing lyrics for a song about xenophobia and have a line that I like
“Just because there has been one wolf in wool, doesn’t mean we all have fangs”
I’d like to follow that up with another ...
- 64.3k
2
votes
1
answer
157
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An annoyingly technical question about right nonce-constituent coordination in Huddleston & Pullum (2002)
I'm currently reading Huddleston & Pullum (2002), aka CGEL, specifically the chapter on "right nonce-constituent coordination"; the relevant pages are pp. 1342-1343. My question is about ...
- 39.7k
-1
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0
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5
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3
votes
1
answer
81
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"Fell off X and landed in Y"
I remember hearing a phrase that meant someone had a stroke of bad luck that ended up good - "he fell off X and landed in Y" - but I can't remember what X and Y were.
This was something said by my ...
CommunityBot
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0
answers
25
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Adjective for something pertaining to one’s values
I am looking for the adjective word that means “pertaining to one’s values”
The word I’m looking for would be analogous to the way the word ‘emotional’ pertains to one’s emotions.
As in: “We are ...
- 1
0
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0
answers
17
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Using 'Quasi-' as prefix [closed]
Which spelling is correct?
Quasi-stationary
Quasi-Stationary
Quasi stationary
- 1
9
votes
6
answers
855
views
How to categorize this string "Where to go" in the sentence "Where to go is the question." Relative clause, Interrogative clause, Adverbial clause?
What is "Where to go" in the sentence "Where to go is the question."
Is it an adverbial phrase or a relative clause?
And what is "Why go" in the sentence "Why go ...
- 79.9k
9
votes
1
answer
229
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What might the term "B-I-T-sweetie" mean in the context of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes's play "The Mule-Bone"?
I am currently reading through Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes's 1931 play, The Mule-Bone, and I am rather puzzled by the term "B-I-T-sweetie," which shows up in this exchange in Act ...
CommunityBot
- 1
0
votes
3
answers
120
views
Starting a sentence with Why, but not as a question
A grammatically correct way to ask someone a question would be:
Why are you still here?
If I want to make a statement (instead of a true question), such as, You've been here too long or Your ...
- 28.3k
1
vote
4
answers
306
views
How to ensure clarity in long sentences [closed]
I wasn't sure how to phrase the title more precisely, so I welcome suggestions or edits.
Companies spend 65% of their profits on buying back their shares
because CEOs are incentivised to jack up the ...
- 6,070
0
votes
0
answers
30
views
An issue has been taken care of
When someone says "No worries, the issue has been taken care of by Tom.", does he mean that Tom is on it now but not yet resolved, or does he mean the issue has been completely resolved?
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0
answers
13
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How to write introductions in English essays? [migrated]
I have a difficulty in writing decent introductions for essays. Can anyone share with me the tips and examples of writing good introductions?
- 79
0
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Do I need a comma before "in that"?
The petitioner is filing against the respondent for custody of the subject child in that temporary custody shall be with the petitioner and the respondent's rights of visitation shall be suspended.
...
- 904
1
vote
0
answers
44
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Usage of the words "but" and "without" in a particular author's context
It's a sentence from "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" after Mark Twain: "I never seen anybody but lied one time or another, without it was Aunt Polly, or the widow, or maybe Mary&...
- 13.1k
4
votes
2
answers
206
views
+50
Do Temporal Adjuncts Function as External Adjuncts in a Noun Phrase, or Is This Another Grammatical Construct?
In certain pieces often written by journalists and others in the publishing profession, I have come across phrases like the one below (my own example):
Tinker Hatfield, today a legend of the Nike ...
- 44.4k
0
votes
0
answers
35
views
Meaning of "the end as a beginning"
Could you explain the meaning of "the end as a beginning" in the following context?
Or maybe we should infer that disaster and survival are coterminous, the end as a beginning?
(Source: ...
- 6,070
0
votes
0
answers
27
views
What does "which" refer to in the context?
What does "which" refer to in the following sentence?
The final jurisdiction over what an intellectual is resides in culture, which becomes almost coterminous with a singular public opinion....
- 6,070
3
votes
2
answers
134
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Was the o in "go" and oe in "toe" pronounced differently in early 19th century Gloucestershire English?
No modern dialect makes the <o> and <oe> distinction, but when reading Medhurst's Hokkien dictionary of 1832 i came across (page 34)
Furthermore, <o> seems to be a monophthong and &...
- 79.1k
1
vote
3
answers
89
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There seem to be vs there seem to have been
I'm having trouble understanding the difference between those two, as I recently had to write a sentence "There seem to have been some missing keys" relating to receival of aforementioned ...
CommunityBot
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9
votes
2
answers
2k
views
How did the "double consonant to shorten vowel" thing come about? ("furry" vs. "fury")
In English, a doubled consonant most commonly means "shorten the previous vowel", where "shorten" means map phonemes like this:
[aɪ] -> [i]
[oʊ] -> [ɔ]
etc
For example, fury is pronounced [fjʊri] ...
- 854
0
votes
1
answer
97
views
Diminutive forms - usage
Reading from some grammar sources, I came to know that bullet is a diminutive of ball.
Nevertheless, as far as I know, bullet is nowadays mostly used in the sense of "gun-bullet".
So can ...
CommunityBot
- 1
-1
votes
1
answer
84
views
Another important distinction when considering the effects of migration
Could you first have a look at this quote?
Another important distinction when considering the effects of
migration on children is the type of migration under investigation:
internal migration (moves ...
- 3,976
0
votes
7
answers
754
views
What's a formal synonym for "in one go"?
Imagine you're writing a literature book in English and you want to mention something like the following,
I wanted to crush all the pepper in one go, so I used a bigger tool and crushed all of them ...
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6
votes
4
answers
2k
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Define Gauntlet in "the gauntlet of..."
Human tests—called clinical trials—are the gauntlet of drug
development , and have three phases
What does "gauntlet" mean in the above context?
"throw down the gauntlet" is an idiom "to issue a ...
- 5,161
5
votes
2
answers
565
views
Original / old English word for Metal or Metalcraft
I would like to write my story in Anglish, which is basically, to my understanding, English without borrowed words from other languages. I like it because it sounds familiar and strange at the same ...
- 38.4k
0
votes
1
answer
306
views
Is there a term for "inner perimeter/circumference"?
A square box will have an outer perimeter and a smaller inner perimeter. A cylindrical box will have an outer and inner circumference.
Are there common words or technical terms for an inner perimeter ...
CommunityBot
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-2
votes
0
answers
36
views
Aspects in order of complexity [closed]
As regards to complexity how can I order the different aspects from least to most complicated? I am focusing on Perfect, Non-Perfect, Non-Progressive, Progressive.
At times I find that Perfect and ...
- 133k
1
vote
1
answer
78
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"He fought in World War II as an infantryman" - does 'as' change 'fought' into a linking verb?
Can an as-headed prepositional phrase turn an action verb into a linking verb?
Consider the following examples:
With the fall of the Roman Empire, cities were abandoned as centers of administration. [...
- 44.4k
-1
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0
answers
26
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What are the grammatical roles of these sentences? [closed]
I am learning English and trying to understand the roles of the words in the sentences and was wondering if you could help me with this.. the sentences are:
1.There are about 7000 languages in the ...
- 19
0
votes
4
answers
122
views
What is the idiom for holding onto something that is hindering you?
It’s a kind of self sabotage but specific to coveting something. Sort of Sisyphean, but also not. Carrying a burden. Imagine holding a sack of potatoes while trying to escape a dangerous situation but ...
- 19.1k
6
votes
9
answers
18k
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Origin of the term 'Pom'
I am fishing for an explanation.
The term 'Pom' for an Englishman is used in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The common explanation is that it is derived from 'pomegranate' - saying the ...
- 160k
-1
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0
answers
23
views
Using can for describing personality [closed]
Is it possible to use can for describing personality but combined with be and an adjective, e.g. she can be serious, etc.?
- 6,070
1
vote
1
answer
52
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Can we mix past perfect, present progressive, etc. in conditionals? [duplicate]
Is it acceptable / possible to mix past perfect, present progressive, etc. in conditionals?
In particular: The 2nd conditional (apologies to those who reject this common but by no means universal ...
- 64.3k
2
votes
0
answers
56
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Hyphenation when adding a prefix to a hyphenated phrase
Consider these hyphenated phrases:
"State-of-the-art design"
"family-owned cafe"
Are the following modified phrases punctuated correctly ? Are they idiomatic in speech and ...
- 4,695
0
votes
1
answer
93
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Why is an arrow coated in a toxin referred to as poisonous and not venomous?
Why is an arrow always called poisonous in different types of media (games, movies, etc.) when by definition that would not be true.
Venom is delivered by a sting, bite, etc. and is injected into the ...
- 64.3k
8
votes
7
answers
20k
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What do you call an area enclosed by apartment complex structures? Is it a courtyard?
Please take a look at the picture above. This is an inside area surrounded by apartment complex buildings. It contains parking space for the residents and a playground for kids.
What would be the ...
CommunityBot
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4
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2
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330
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What is the word for the fusing of, for example, "-ed" and the final consonant "d" to give the ending (with voice removed) of "bent"?
Instead of giving the past tense form bended, the verb bend fuses together bend and -ed and removes voice, producing bent.
Lent and sent are produced in similar fashion.
What's the word for the fusion ...
- 44.4k
1
vote
2
answers
52
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Adjective referring to a Representative
We have gubernatorial for governors, senatorial for senators, mayoral for mayors; what is the adjective for “of or pertaining to a representative”? The word representational means something totally ...
- 14.4k