Language Overflow - 2016-03-22 (page 1 of 2)

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12:51 AM

I originally wanted to and have used "choose" in this kind of contexts naturally for long without doubt. But yesterday I posted a question in StackExchange to ask the usage of "choose", then someone replied me using "choose" in that way is incorrect. The correct way according to her response should be "choose 2 to be x". But I prefer to find a verb which can let the variable/possibilities prior to the value/choice. — Captain Bohemian 4 hours ago

How often would we run into a pedant (not the OP)?

It's strange that the OP's account subscribes to no other stacks...

How many accounts would an average SE user have?

1 hour later…

2:24 AM

wiktionary categories now as a preposition, and nothing else. So in this sentence - Now is the time - is it also a preposition? I thought it's a pronoun.

One way to think about Now is the time is to think of it as The time is now.

Like The time is near.

A common similar example probably is On the table are apples.

2:39 AM

Oh thanks. Right. Got it :-)

2:56 AM

No problem :)

3 hours later…

5:29 AM

I see some effort on Man From India's part, but I don't fully understand his answer:

0

A: The order of words in a clause: "tell me who is the real man" vs. "tell me who the real man is"

I will start my answer by first scrutinizing how embedded questions are formed: When will the match start? This is an interrogative sentence. The answer is, say, at x. x can be anything, any time. So the answer to this question is: The match will start at x. Now see how in interrogat...

I wonder if it's a right answer.

6:15 AM

@snailboat I live. I breathe. Yes, I'm proud of you for doing some strength training. I have been going to the gym pretty regularly again for about two months. I think of you sometimes when I load up on green tomatoes, and wonder if you can find some green ones. I suppose so in your area. There should be some specialty markets or farmers markets that have some.

imgur.com/gallery/caIhTg3

www.imgur.com/gallery/caIhTg3

Well, I dunno how to make it appear as an image.

1

Q: which level are you in?

can someone tell me which of following questions is correct or tell me if both are correct? "In which level are you?" "Which level are you in?" A little more information about is that the question is regarding school courses levels. Any help resolving this little puzzle will be appreciated.

Judging from the comments and answers, it looks like the right preposition would be "whatever you'd like". :D

Hi, @JimReynolds!

I don't even have to look at it, to come up with "in, on, at" as all being ok.

Hi! :D

i.imgur.com/caIhTg3.jpg

Doh!

Why?

@JimReynolds It needs http://, perhaps?

6:32 AM

Maybe it's too new? I just posted it.

user image

I'm helping! But why does it keep spinning?!

Yaaaay! Spinning

?

Maybe you're spinning?

6:46 AM

1

Q: "a" or "the" when used with "exists" and superlative

Assume the following situation. Suppose I met an alien called Protoss who can speak English. He said he is from Aiur. Now I want to make the following statement. There exists (a or the) tallest Protoss in Aiur who can speak English. In school, I learned that I should use "the" before the su...

definite-article indefinite-article

> There exists the tallest Protoss in Aiur who can speak English.

Sounds okay.

Good morning, @JimReynolds!

Good morning, @DamkerngT.!

> Of all the English-speaking Protosses in Aiur, one must be the tallest.

Morning!

Is Protoss the name of an individual or a race?

7:14 AM

It might help our answerers more if you added some more information about your context (e.g., In what genre is your writing? Is it creative writing or academic writing? Philosophical or fantasy? Is your sentence the very first sentence? You mention that Protoss is a name of an alien, but it's used like the name of an alien race, why? etc.) -- I believe it's likely that seeing the sentence being written that way, our answerers will suggest rephrasing, which might not be what you're pursuing. Also keep in mind that typical information delivery strategies can be different in different languages. — Damkerng T. 2 mins ago

I wish I could write longer!

The limited number of characters in comment often makes me squeeze something out because I don't want to post multiple comments in general. -- sad

> There exists the tallest alien in Aiur who can speak English.

I don't think it's that bad, but it's probably an uncommon way to begin a story or an article.

> There is an alien named Protoss who is the tallest in Aiur. He can speak English.

This rewrite is probably more typical, but it's just plain.

> There is an alien named Protoss who can speak English. He is the tallest in Aiur. (a possible alternative)

> There is an alien named Protoss. Besides being the tallest alien in Aiur, he can speak English.

Lots'a possibilities.

nods

I thought he met an alien from Aiur, and he says that sentence to that alien.

But now I'm not so sure.

We can't be sure, I think. :-)

Until our OP says more. :D

nods

Maybe it's a bad idea to try to master article usage too early on.

Good morning, @snailboat!

7:31 AM

@CowperKettle It's the second time since yesterday snailboat left the room right after our greetings!

nods

Hope she's okay.

Yes.. I hope so too.

BTW:

> Thanks to the suggestion by Damkerng T, I write below what I wanted to know. I was actually wring math sentence. I thought it would be boring to most people, so I tried to write down something which seems more popular. The above was my attempt.

Ah, it's not about an alien, after all!

Yes, it's an ill-begotten attempt at making the medicine go down.

I wonder if one can "hire equipment".

Or is it only "rent".

7:46 AM

nods -- It sounds very odd with hire.

So I thought. (doing a proofreading exercise)

Hire is UKish for rent

O.O

Even for equipment?

o_O

Oh, I better asteriskize those words to achieve a mention vs use function, or it will throw snailboat off her track

7:49 AM

I thought it would only be possible in movie scripts!

I think so, C ... !

Your kettle evolveth!

@DamkerngT. :o

IͶΔ? Who's IͶΔ??

Nobody important, I suppose.

:D

Mhm

People are much better off ignoring me.

Sawasdee @Dam

7:51 AM

Yes. One can hire a car, hire a flat, etc.

If you have a UK passport

@IͶΔ Sawasdee khrap

> With what regularity should maintenance be carried out to prevent breakdown of machines?

I wonder if it's okay.

Or should I say "How regular should maintenance be.."

@JimReynolds Oh! That's, um..., well, I learned something. :-)

@CowperKettle Depends. Does being idiomatic matter?

@IͶΔ Yes.

7:55 AM

Then

@snailboat Next time, stand in front of an open refrigerator naked and turn a fan on yourself.

> How regular should the maintenance be to . . .

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26383887

It's sounds fine to me (with what regularity ...).

I think How regularly ... is probably better.

@JimReynolds Thanks!

7:57 AM

@JimReynolds Yeah, but a bit O_O'ish

Oh, no, you phrase it differently than I thought.

I mean, it's not what native speakers prefer to say.

@JimReynolds It'd sound like a manual or a technical document written by someone relatively young to me.

How often should . . . is simpler.

So is how regularly . . . .

Ok, fixed to "how often", thanks.

8:00 AM

nods -- Probably too casual, or maybe intentionally casual.

You are writing it?

He's proofreading it. :-)

Just an exercise. (0:

Can we insert a real subject?

BBL!

8:01 AM

@JimReynolds No

Be QUIET!

I can't.

@CowperKettle See you later!

Hi @BobSadino

Hi @V.V.

Hi, everyone!

8:04 AM

Hi!

\o

Laagorn @Cowper

Haha!

Hi @JimReynolds

You're learning Thai!

"learning"

@DamkerngT. Am I worthy?

8:07 AM

Sure! Anyone can learn anything.

Hi @IͶΔ o.o

I see a column of slow-rising smoke
O’ertop the lofty wood that skirts the wild.
A vagabond and useless tribe there eat
Their miserable meal. A kettle slung
Between two poles upon a stick transverse,
Receives the morsel; flesh obscene of dog,
Or vermin, or, at best, of cock purloined
From his accustomed perch. Hard-faring race!

I found Cowper's kettle

gutenberg.org/files/3698/3698-h/3698-h.htm

Huh? This time it's in Brussel!

@JimReynolds You meant CowperKettle's Cowper? :P

lol Yes. With regulacity.

1 hour later…

9:27 AM

@Dam I'm getting the impression you guys love "KH".

My Jim, turn from them; turn we to survey
Where rougher climes a nobler race display,
Where the bleak Swiss their stormy mansion tread,
And force a churlish soil for scanty bread.

No product here the barren hills afford,
But man and steel, the soldier and his sword.
No vernal blooms their torpid rocks array,
But winter, lingering, chills the lap of May;
No zephyr fondly sues the mountain’s breast,
But meteors glare and stormy glooms invest.

I only knew Cowper's short poems. I'll need to read his longer verses one day.

Because the lines quoted by Jim are very skilfully written, IMHO. They just roll off the tongue.

Just to think that it was written using feathers and ink.

I tried to translate the Ukrainian Cossack song, but nothing readable resulted. D'oh.

9:49 AM

@CowperKettle :-)

Basically it's a song about a feast, not necessarily a full-blown feast, could be just an evening meal. The Cossacks are filling their crystal cups with wine. For all they know, this could be their last feast before a battle. "Here's to riding safely, here's to go unscathed through the thick of battle". "Through the bullets flying, through the foes a-dying, through the rifles rattle". (But it's an abysmal translation)

@JimReynolds (0:

@CowperKettle @JimReynolds :-0)

10:18 AM

The original text uses a nice hypocoristic "holivonki" for "heads". "Let's swords and bullets go past our heads". Headkins? Haha. That's too daft in English.

10:32 AM

nods

11:15 AM

@IͶΔ Hi

Could you answer this question?

3.What one must be done, must do properly?
(A) What must be done, must be done properly
(B) It must be done properly what one must do
(C) It must be done what one must do properly
(D) One must do properly what has to be done?

Answer says option A

But I believe option B

It is related to Active and Passive voice.

Anonymous

The original sentence seems ungrammatical. Did you copy it correctly?

Yes,

I did @snailboat

sscadda.com/2015/08/mission-cgl-mains-2015-activepassive.html

Check this link please.

You can see the question there.

Anonymous

I see. I can't tell what it's supposed to mean.

I understand that.

Anonymous

I would skip that question.

11:28 AM

But I would like to know what option would you pick?

Anonymous

I wouldn't pick any of them. The question is wrong.

I agree.

Thanks.

I had the same problem. Thanks.

Anonymous

11:45 AM

@DamkerngT. I'm fine, sometimes I just open the page for a moment without taking the time to chat. Please don't worry if I bounce in and out of chat :-)

Anonymous

It might happen if I open the browser in my phone to look something up, for example, and the browser reconnects on its own. That sort of thing.

Anonymous

@CowperKettle Hello! :-)

@snailboat Yay!

Now it's my turn to bounce in and out. :-)

@IͶΔ Could be. I don't know.

12:08 PM

@User sorry, was eating lunch.

@user62015 Next time you see the need to bring a question to us, be 90% sure that the question is wrong.

12:32 PM

@IͶΔ I apologize

@user62015 for what?

For bringing wrong questions

@user62015 No apologies needed.

@IͶΔ Thanks.

The only thing they do is make us a bit sadder about how crappy language education is.

12:36 PM

@IͶΔ I agree.

2 hours later…

2:52 PM

Wondering of the day... is there any language that has no 'this' and 'that'?

3:17 PM

@snailboat Hello back! ^_^

1 hour later…

4:43 PM

user image

(1621)

I just posted an answer on ELL.

Congrats, Muhammad!

"The well-furrd Russian" (0:

I will go and read.

Wait for me, @V.V., I'll tag along.

> The controversy lies in the fact that being killed also results in someone's death, but when you say someone died (Or passed away, for that matter), you mean they died due to senescence.

Not necessarily, Muhammad. I can say Hitler died on 30 April 1945, but that would not mean "due to senescence"

In a nutshell, language is fuzzy, and words like "immortal" were not created to have a clear-cut meaning.

Yeah, I'm removing that part.

@CowperKettle Usage says what it means, and crudely.

4:55 PM

nods

I twisted an ankle. The terrain is 60% ice now, and jogging is dangerous..

Good, Mar, my vote.

I should recall some poem about immortality and post something too. (0:

I also answered some.

5:32 PM

@IͶΔ Oh, no! It's become our HNQ!

I thought it wasn't a good question. I still think so.

Every man can be immortal, in a way, like when a general cries in a battle, "Come on, do you want to live forever?"

@CowperKettle Oh, no! I hope it's just a minor sprain.

I like the ending of Death Becomes Her. I wonder if there is the quote out there.

Hwang, I don't think that your prospects as a science fiction writer are very bright: stick to the maths. I have answered your question based on the second example, which is, I believe what you really wanted to know. — JavaLatte 8 hours ago

A bit harsh, but JL isn't exactly wrong.

But who knows, the OP may write a bestseller one day. :-)

I rewatched this movie with a friend recently, and it was fun

imdb.com/title/tt0092513/?ref_=nv_sr_1

I can't understand the low IMDB rating. It's a classic.

Looks like fun! I haven't watched it, though.

Oh, Elisabeth Shue!

It's so packed with twists, you can't stop watching for a second.

And all actors are great, even the villains.

5:44 PM

I hope they will have its rerun on my cable soon.

It has so many cute moments, like a little girl mistaking a car mechanic for the god Thor.

It's American Kawaii, in short.

Hah!

Really. I love this movie.

Speaking of twists, is your ankle better now?

Yes, it's not that bad, just that I hate not running..

It's a skating rink out there. (0:

5:48 PM

Aww... you can post answers more often for a week or so, then. :D

LOL

A Stephen Hawking week. (0:

Hehe!

> called the 2003 invasion of Iraq a "war crime"

(Stephen Hawking)

6:34 PM

user image

Abuse by design

:D

Sᴋᴜʟʟ ᴘᴇᴛʀᴏʟ

I O, I O so off to work I go...

7:01 PM

Go to work safely. :-)

0

Q: We seldom had the ____________ to get out for an evening in town

Which option fits best in the following question.I cannot see any difference in meaning. We seldom had the ____________ to get out for an evening in town. a. opportunity b. permission

Being curious, I searched for the source.

And?

And found it here: lingua.org.uk/CPE%20RC.html

Assuming that the test designer is a native speaker, I think we can assume that designing a test, like taking a test, needs a skill, too.

(By and large, I agree with Colin Fine in his answer.)

Isn't this question also interesting?

> 13 A ………. refugees are penniless.
A great many B great deal of C large amount of D large part of

Sᴋᴜʟʟ ᴘᴇᴛʀᴏʟ

indiegogo.com/projects/13-3-inch-android-e-reader#

Nice! But I wish it was cheaper!

Sᴋᴜʟʟ ᴘᴇᴛʀᴏʟ

Don't we all :-/

7:11 PM

:D

Anonymous

@CowperKettle Hello back back! ^ ^

IIRC, my 9" e-reader was a lot cheaper.

(Is it 9"?)

Anonymous

Well, it's probably not 9' :-)

It's this model: pocketbook-int.com/us/support/pocketbook-902

A-ha! It's not 9"!

> Display: 9.7’’ E Ink Vizplex™ 1200×825, 155 dpi, black/white

Anonymous

Aww, no Japanese book bundle to download.

7:16 PM

Nope! :-)

The 13.3" e-reader campaign is still interesting in many ways. I'll keep an eye on it. (How many eyes do I have?!)

starting to grow more eyes...

@DamkerngT. Yeah. :/ Mediocre answers getting the upvotes they don't deserve, again.

Hullo @Snail! Hope you're feeling well

7:32 PM

@IͶΔ I didn't read the answers in that question.

@IͶΔ But speaking of votes...

1

A: We seldom had the ____________ to get out for an evening in town

According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, permission is an uncountable noun. It is not used with 'a', and is not usually used with 'the' unless it is followed by 'of' e.g., Permission was granted to televise the ceremony. Interviews can be taped only with the permission of the in...

What?!

Anonymous

Hello! I'm fine :-)

What indeed.

It's like watching a movie that everything went well until the final act, where the movie started to lose its sense.

Not sure if anyone has ever played this game:

user image

This guy is "Beast of a Thousand Eyes".

If I keep keeping my eyes on things here and there, I might become that beast some day. :-)

Anonymous

I think the exam question tag is evil.

Exam question tag? Is it a new ELL question?

Anonymous

7:39 PM

ell.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/exam-question

Oh, I see!

Yeah, and one bad meta tag.

[homework] is a semi-decent tag for chem, but for ELL, it's meaningless.

Specially when Stoney rightfully thinks we don't need a homework close reason.

No, not period. A word's usage dictates some of its implications, how crudely that might be. — IͶΔ 3 mins ago

Actually @Dam, there's an interesting discussion to be had here.

It's just that as usual, it can't be done on the main site. Not as good as in here.

I think we have an old meta post that discussed whether we are okay with exam questions. IIRC, we are okay with them.

Doesn't mean we're okay with a tag that describes nothing about the question.

nods

Anonymous

7:47 PM

Imagine the tag by itself on a question. No other tags.

Anonymous

What does it tell you about the sort of English being asked about?

Sᴋᴜʟʟ ᴘᴇᴛʀᴏʟ

To be honest, they should only be answered with "hints," but that is incredibly hard to define/enforce at least on Mse

Anonymous

Unfortunately, the answer is nothing at all.

@snailboat That the question is wrong

Anonymous

But we're still adding that tag to new questions.

Sᴋᴜʟʟ ᴘᴇᴛʀᴏʟ

7:49 PM

PSE strictly doesn't allow exam questions.

Loads of upvotes comin' in for an answer for which I don't deserve them.

@snailboat I think [exam-question] it's a bad tag when it's solely used. It could be a good hint, though.

It could be a good hint, when we have some policy for those questions.

We're saying they're meh and they're not meh at the same time.

@IͶΔ Even though I don't mind much about my rep, I'm concerned about the message we send to our users (which answer is correct, what kind of answer is considered good, and so on).

Yeah, my answers can't be good!

┬─┬ ノ( ^_^ノ)

7:52 PM

@IͶΔ I can't see why not!

I was talking about the votes on our site in general.

No, not period. A word's usage dictates some of its implications, how crudely that might be. — IͶΔ 14 mins ago

After my comment, it got a downvote.

I surely hope I don't get hatred-downvoted for that.

-1

Q: I'm just as _________ as you are to make this company successful

Which option fits best in the following sentence.It seems like all the options are possible. I'm just as _______ as you are to make this company successful. a. dedicated b. serious c. willful d. determined

This one is probably from a test in a country near me.

Yeah, like Iran.

It's sad that examiners need to be examined.

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Mar '1622

Language Overflow

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