All Questions
128,098
questions
1
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2
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20
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Algebraic interpretation of ambiguous verbal expressions
I am helping my daughter with Algebra. She has been asked to generate algebraic expressions for each of the following verbal statements:
"Five times the quantity of x squared plus m, minus two ...
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
31
views
Adjective for the name 'Grothendieck'
Grothendieck was a major mathematician in the 20th century.
I would like to know how one can use his name to talk about the content of a study.
For example in French we would say
Hi all,
Études ...
- 1
-1
votes
3
answers
34
views
Using "socialize" as a word to mean "make something known" [closed]
Is "socialize" the right word to mean "make something common knowledge" in this context?
The context is for a resume -- the particular accomplishment is some key idea/method/...
- 9
0
votes
0
answers
21
views
Experience vs Experiences vs a Experience
Which one of the following is grammatically correct and which one is better?
Deliver Great Experience
or
Deliver Great Experiences
or
Deliver a Great Experience
Some sentence checkers show no ...
- 113
0
votes
2
answers
25
views
Appropriate synonym for "benefits"
I've tried to write one sentence about local items. I want to change "benefits" since I already used it in another sentence. Also, I already used "advantages". Are there other ...
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
20
views
Does English have a word for the combination of location and date/time? [closed]
I'm working on a software project that deals with locations, and associated dates/times a lot. Things like the city a flight departs from and the date/time of departure. Is there any good word in ...
2
votes
1
answer
79
views
Is "samuraily" correct?
Pahlavāni, knighthood, and samuraily may be different in forms of
cultural outputs, but all three are inherently from the same
historical essence.
Pahlavāni (پهلوانی) is a Persian word. In its ...
- 269
-3
votes
0
answers
42
views
What is the origin of the word "f***" [closed]
Out of curiosity, I just want to know the origin of the word "fuck". I have researched a bit but I want to know what words from different languages make up this English word.
0
votes
1
answer
28
views
Subordinate clause in condtionals [closed]
I've composed two sentences recently , but I'm not sure whether I used proper tenses for subordinate clauses:
Would you be surprised if I told you that Sam is actually a monkey? ( Speaker implies ...
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-4
votes
0
answers
17
views
Work or working with my engineer [closed]
Work with my engineer
Or
Working with my engineer?
The context is i wanted to post a video when i'm working together (with my engineer team)
Which one is the correct one? Thank you
- 1
1
vote
1
answer
32
views
Are mixed case like IaC or GoF in acronyms normative or allowed? [duplicate]
In IT (Information Technology) there are a lot of acronyms with mixed case:
GoF: Gang of four, the oldest I found.
IaC: Infrastructure as Code, very common nowadays
I understand the logic behing ...
- 111
1
vote
2
answers
36
views
How to change voice of sentence: Ram is fan of Sham [closed]
I want to change voice of following sentence (where Ram is a person, and Sham may be an artist):
Ram is fan of Sham
Is something like "Sham is fanned by Ram" correct? I am looking for a ...
- 119
0
votes
1
answer
20
views
Is the sentence grammatically correct and natural? If not, how could I correct it? [closed]
Education is not all about illuminating the truth, imparting knowledge and answering questions, but requires encouraging students' curiosity and imagination, boosts creativity and critical thinking, ...
- 11
0
votes
4
answers
52
views
Negative word for idiosyncrasy about an imagined problem or irrational fixation?
What's a noun that can describe the aspect of someone's character that means they irrationally judge and disdain something?
Noticing whether food has meat or not in the first place is a weird ____ of ...
- 2,983
-2
votes
2
answers
27
views
What is the difference between an 'inference' and a 'prediction'? [closed]
Some say the two words 'inference' and 'predictions' can be used interchangeably. Personally, I think of an inference as the act that produces a prediction. Does anyone know if they are the same or do ...
- 142
2
votes
0
answers
25
views
APA style: Changing direct quote "drew" to "drawing" -- where to place square brackets? [closed]
If the original quote uses "drew" and I want to integrate it into my text by changing it to "drawing", which of the following would I write?
"dr[awing]"
Or
"[...
- 69
4
votes
0
answers
22
views
How are /ɪ/ and /ʌ/ realised in the Nottingham (East Midlands) accent?
I've got a sample of a few words pronounced by a Nottingham accent representative: https://youtu.be/2fCSeDEZeVU
My ear is far from perfect and this is why I'd like to ask for your help in this ...
- 167
0
votes
1
answer
125
views
What is the history of the word 'wherry,' and why is it virtually unknown today?
The boats crossing the Thames before all the bridges were built in the late 1700s were called wherries.
Wiktionary; however, says the term wherry is much older:
From Middle English whery (“small boat”...
- 2,393
0
votes
0
answers
22
views
What are possible substitutes for basically used as a weak qualifier? [closed]
For example, consider the sentence (without any additional context)
Voting by mail has basically been accepted in the last few months.
What words could be considered acceptable to replace the weak ...
- 1
2
votes
2
answers
228
views
What is the phrase for a romantic relationship between two incompatible personality types?
What is the phrase for a romantic relationship between two incompatible personality types?
Example: nerd & party animal.
Often seen in movies, lots of examples e.g. "Hometown Cha Cha Cha"...
- 21
-2
votes
0
answers
30
views
"I was set" versus "I was sat" [migrated]
In a television show I heard chef Gordon Ramsey say: "I was set at this table by the waitress." However it is also possible that he said: "I was sat at this table by the waitress."
...
- 223
-3
votes
1
answer
23
views
What is the meaning of famous? [closed]
Does being a famous author mean that many people will recognise your face when you go to places?
Will most of the people know you personally and have a relationship with you?
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
16
views
Single general word for complements and substitutes [closed]
I am searching for a single word, expression, or a phrase which would describe both substitutes and complements regarding products and goods.
My ideas so far:
Pairwise relations
Product ...
- 101
2
votes
0
answers
28
views
Is the concrete nouns set larger than abstract one? [closed]
It is so difficult to get count over all nouns. Because of it I ask there, and it refers to my decision on how to research nouns in the near future. So, is the amount of concrete nouns larger than ...
- 21
-1
votes
0
answers
27
views
Questions about the word "enhance" [closed]
I want to know the usage over time from when the word enhance was first used and how many people are using it now. Also, I want to know the history of the word (enhance) if it was spelled differently ...
0
votes
1
answer
44
views
How do you use single quotes and possessive apostrophe on same word?
I'd like to write
.. using OpenAI's GPT-3.5 Turbo model ..
except the word 'OpenAI' must be in single quotes (it's a requirement of the institution I'm writing for).
'OpenAI''s
seems like the most ...
- 515
2
votes
0
answers
59
views
Pronunciation of Emma and Emma's
According to Wiktionary, Emma is pronounced as /ˈɛmə/ but I tend to hear it sounding more like /ˈɛmɑː/. However, when it comes to pronouncing Emma's, I hear it like /ˈɛməz/ and I hear a clear schwa ...
FinAnalyst
8
votes
2
answers
3k
views
What do 'flat-chested' and 'unromantic' mean when speaking of a house?
I am quoting from the Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Six Napoleons, by Arthur Conan Doyle:
In half an hour we had reached Pitt Street, a quiet little backwater just beside one of the briskest ...
- 727
6
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Is the phrase "very delighted" ever "wrong"?
I was just browsing the Longman Dictionar of Contemporary English and stumbled on this peculiar note under the entry for delighted:
Delighted is not used with ‘very’. You say:
I’m absolutely ...
- 5,218
1
vote
0
answers
32
views
What does 'ever' modify? [migrated]
It was my first game ever.
Does ever modify was or first?
This is my first time ever playing basketball.
Does ever modify is or first?
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0
votes
2
answers
56
views
Word for attacking a mount in combat?
For example, attacking the horse of a mounted soldier, blowing up a motorcycle underneath someone, etc.
The actual implementation would be the word alone, as it'd act as a keyword in a game - for ...
0
votes
1
answer
77
views
What is the meaning of "to have" in old cartoons?
In old cartoons, particularly "Little Red Riding Rabbit" of Looney Tunes, characters say "to have" with a meaning that seems different to the modern sense. For example, in the said ...
- 109
7
votes
0
answers
107
views
“Crone” and “Crony”
Looking at the etymology of crone, a derogatory term for an old frail woman, we see it is a Late Middle English word, derived from Middle Dutch croonje, caroonje ‘carcass, old ewe’ with possible ties ...
- 87.8k
1
vote
0
answers
28
views
Using tenses in conditionals [migrated]
I've been told that the following examples of conditional sentences are wrong because the tenses don't match the structure of any of the four types: zero, first, second, or third. I'm very confused ...
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2
votes
2
answers
92
views
Pronunciation of "there, their and they're"
I know that the words there, their, and they're are homophones, but I can't help but think that their has a slight /j/ between /e/ and /r/ (/ðer/).
This thought didn't just come to me out of nowhere- ...
4
votes
3
answers
839
views
What is the difference between "would be needed" and "may be needed"?
I am trying to understand the below sentence grammatically.
"To determine whether sending a link actually occurred, more context
would be needed"
Why did we use would in this sentence. ...
- 151
0
votes
0
answers
19
views
what is the difference between "as is necessary" and "as may be necessary"? [closed]
An event has the words
The participant shall bring such items as are necessary for the initiation of the event.
And also
The participant shall bring such items as may be necessary for the competing ...
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0
votes
1
answer
29
views
Using "has been" in "An application of ABC has been to" [closed]
I found, in some writings such this and this, the following grammar constructs:
An application of ABC has been to [something]
And:
An application of ABC has been to [do something]
Before, I didn't ...
1
vote
0
answers
22
views
Is there a simple and quick method, tip, or trick to identify where to use who vs whom in conversation? [duplicate]
I understand the difference and the explanations. Who is as a subject, and whom is as an object. However, in every day conversation it takes me longer than I care to admit to figure out which is the ...
-1
votes
1
answer
45
views
Handling alternate spellings of a personal name [closed]
Dealing with a text that mentions several times the architectural historian Siegfried Giedion. A number of Giedion's books feature his first name as "Sigfried" and others as "Siegfried.&...
- 17
1
vote
1
answer
52
views
Agreeing with a negative statement: “No” or “Yes”?
If one is agreeing to the negative statement "The weather isn’t nice today," are “No, it’s not” and “Yes, it’s not” the same? If one is to be preferred, why is that?
There's a related ...
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0
votes
1
answer
15
views
Answering negative statements [duplicate]
You aren’t supposed to be here.
Yes, I am or No, I am? Also yes, I am not or no, I am not?
It isn’t raining.
Yes, it is or yes, it isn’t?
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0
votes
0
answers
13
views
Comma for independent clause [migrated]
It is known that cookies are sugary, and that, therefore, cookies are delicious.
"Cookies are delicious" is an independent clause but "that cookies are delicious" is not. How ...
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-1
votes
1
answer
29
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Could you let me know what does mean this "Need your hip waders to walk into a room"? [closed]
Could you let me know what does mean this "Need your hip waders to walk into a room" ?
Probably, someone talked a lot. and room is full of after someone talks.
And could you show me some ...
- 1
0
votes
2
answers
24
views
When do we use further away and far away? [closed]
I stumbled across a sentence:
Sometimes he crept closer to houses, sometimes he backed further away.
Capital - John Lanchester
I've got a question about further away or, to be precise, difference ...
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1
vote
0
answers
29
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What kind of statements are “the best pie I’ve ever eaten” and “the most beautiful mountain I’ve seen in my life” [closed]
My partner always makes statements such as those in heading. They are always sensationalised to create emphasis and drive home his enthusiasm for the subject. For example we were discussing Florence ...
- 11
0
votes
0
answers
30
views
Can I use em dashes around "namely, [...]"
For example:
While it did cause certain severe reactions in the audience - namely, anger - emotions are not the true purpose of...
Terrible example off the top of my head but I hope this exemplifies ...
- 69
0
votes
1
answer
96
views
“Why does a Moon-rock taste better than an Earth-rock?” joke meaning [closed]
In the last episode of “The Last of Us” TV show there is the following pun:
Why does a Moon-rock taste better than an Earth-rock?
Because it's a little meteor.
What's the wordplay here?
P.S. I've ...
- 27
2
votes
2
answers
113
views
Are English negative polarity questions biased?
A friend and I had a question about a sentence that we encountered:
Didn't you want to pay for something that was too much?
My friend argues that sentence is fairly neutral clarifying in a neutral ...
- 129
-1
votes
0
answers
25
views
Does this passage contain comma splices? [closed]
Does this passage contain comma splices?
Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. [35] For I was hungry and you ...
- 1