English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

12:04 AM

Well? Wie lang soll ich hier warten?

0

the sister to a husband becomes the wife's sister-in-law. if the sister in-law was to marry a woman would she also become the wife's sister-in-law? if so can you keep calling the family of your in-law's spouse in-laws aswell Example Chrono [M] marries Amy [F] Chrono's sister Fate marries Nanoh...

word-usage

Close-worthy, to say the least. Not our job to answer questions about familial relationships.

Cerberus

1:10 AM

@Robusto Hmm but it could depend on the language.

Robusto

1:39 AM

@Cerberus That's not very entertaining.

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

You want entertainment? Try MNF.

Mitch

1:59 AM

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 My New Fuzzball?

Many Nappy 'Fro's?

Must Not Frown?

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

@Mitch Yes. It's the whore's pores.

We are bending the Patriots over.

Mitch

`Oh..uh.. Monday Night... Frogmarching?

Monday Never Forgets?

Monday Not ... struggles ... Friday?

Yes, I get it the Pats are doing terribly.

But... do prostitutes... do they really have such good skin?

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

Maybe. They have a lot of sex.

Mitch

Yeah ... I heard about that... from Cosmo.

Cerberus

@Robusto Dogs are no fun. Get a cat.

> Questo è un piatto che tutti lo sanno fare

@tchrist I think this repeated object is common to Italian and Spanish, but not French?

@tchrist I also found out that both Italian and Portuguese have a way to say "a large x", such as spaghettoni v. spaghetti (and spaghettini).

I forgot how it works in Portuguese, but they, too, have some nasal suffix to do it.

I don't think Latin or French has such a thing.

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

2:19 AM

Belichick can't believe it.

Cerberus

Hiya!

A map or chart of many, many kind of pasta and their names: slate.com/articles/life/map_of_the_week/2013/08/…

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

@Cerberus houdoe!

I think.

@Cerberus nice!

Cerberus

Howdy!

I think that is spelled correctly!

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

Yes!

Son of a bitch!

The Pats scored.

Cerberus

2:38 AM

Oh, too bad! I think.

Ice Boy

2:57 AM

When the wall comes crumbling, crumbling down.... @cornbreadninja

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

-_____-

Suck it, Tom Brady!

Yes, yes, I'm here.

Ice Boy

Sack the Sucker!!!

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

We bitch slapped it out of his hand.

Ice Boy

Get his skull for skullpatrol

:D

Ice Boy

6:09 AM

Nice job by your chiefs of running up the score on Beli-CHEATER @Cornbreadninja

Will Hunting

7:44 AM

@MattЭллен I changed my mind. I will see my psychologist and psychiatrist one last time and see what they have to say.

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 No wonder my skin is so good. I do it with myself all the time.

Matt Эллен

8:02 AM

@WillHunting good, good. I hope you find them helpful

Anonymous

8:47 AM

@Cerberus Tortelloni, tortellini! Oh, I want tortelloni!

Matt Эллен

would conchigle suit?

then you could stuff it yourself!

Will Hunting

9:40 AM

Wow, I got 5 stars for such a stupid thing.

RutvikSutaria

@WillHunting which thing?

Will Hunting

@RutvikSutaria See the star wall to the right.

RutvikSutaria

LOL

hey

One was mine, lol

Matt Эллен

People star the weirdest things

Will Hunting

10:12 AM

It seems that the Oxford Dictionary of English is the biggest single volume English dictionary from Oxford.

It also seems that its American counterpart is the New Oxford American Dictionary.

I always get confused by the different dictionaries they produce.

Cerberus

11:11 AM

@snailboat For example!

@WillHunting They do that just to make more money. As does Cambridge.

tchrist

12:03 PM

@Cerberus Reminds of how in French (and in northern Italian) a participle with avoir agrees with a preceding direct object if any. Spanish does repeat a direct object as a clitic if it comes before the verb in non clitic form, so OoV(S), where the o is the clitic matching the O object. Ese libro ya lo he leído = That book I have already read. It makes the book the focus, just as in English, to move it out front. But the DO clitic repetition is obligatory for that case in Spanish.

Matt Эллен

surprising it hasn't gone exctinct ;)

tchrist

Clitics are unlikely to go extinct. :)

Matt Эллен

DODOs on the otherhand...

Cerberus

@tchrist Right! That's what I meant.

tchrist

But Spanish did lose the DO agreement with haber+participle that French and some Italian still has. It used to have it. Of course ser/estar+participle agrees with the subject.

Cerberus

12:07 PM

I think it's lazy for French to have it only when it follows the object.

@MattЭллен Haha.

tchrist

The obligatory clitic marking is because Spanish allows for SVO SOV VO OV OVS VS ordering. You have to be able to know which is S and which is O.

Cerberus

I love dodos. Especially with thyme and lemon.

But I have to run.

Bye gents!

Matt Эллен

CU

tchrist

It’s also why there is an accusative marker on persons used as direct objects: you use the particle a in front of their name.

No more "Man bites dog" stories.

Matt Эллен

I guess that would make you quite small

tchrist

12:10 PM

El perro mordió al hombre.

The dog bit the man. The man is the DO.

So it gets an extra a particle.

Matt Эллен

DO = Direct Object?

tchrist

Yes.

But if the man bites the dog, the dog is not a person, so merits no such thing.

El hombre mordió el perro.

Note that this allows for OSV without ambiguity.

Al hombre mordió el perro.

That’s OVS because the a particle reminds you which is the object.

Matt Эллен

interesting

tchrist

And the dog is doing the biting.

As it when you write El perro mordió al hombre.

The a is a DO/accusative marker only when persons are involved.

But it is obligatory when not using clitics.

They call it, and I do not jest, the "a personal".

This does not happen in Portuguese, French, or Italian, only in Spanish.

Catalan I would have to look up.

But it might; it is a Castilian thing.

Matt Эллен

so, could you say "el hombre al hombre mordió"?

tchrist

12:16 PM

Yes but you need a duplicate clitic now.

El hombre al hombre lo mordió.

Matt Эллен

I see

tchrist

Because you are using SOV instead of SVO, so it needs a still-extra marker.

I do not include clitics as O.

Just real ones.

Varying word order from whatever pattern is normal in Spanish has the same effect as setting something in italic for voice stress/emphasis in English.

So what you wrote is perfectly possible as a way of showing emphasis.

Matt Эллен

like "the man the man bit"?

tchrist

Yes.

Exactly.

Matt Эллен

ok. I think I get it

tchrist

12:21 PM

Although they do it a bit more often than we do.

You know how we do VS inversion with leading adverbials, right?

Only afterwards will I see you.

They tend to do VS inversion in more places, especially preterite intransitives or of motion.

Matt Эллен

is that inversion? seems normal to me

tchrist

Entered the boy.

Matt Эллен

I suppose the will is inverted

tchrist

It is (auxiliary) inversion, and it is indeed normal, even obligatory, in English.

Down the street came the little black buggy.

They do that a lot.

Matt Эллен

OK. seems quite old fashioned in English :)

tchrist

12:24 PM

Well, if you start with the adverbial, you have no choice.

Otherwise you have to put it after the verb.

Matt Эллен

tomorrow comes the boy home?

tomorrow the boy comes home

tchrist

Tomorrow isn’t a great adverbial.

Matt Эллен

true

tchrist

Like Monday.

Well, Wednesday now.

Matt Эллен

Happily the boy comes home

tchrist

12:26 PM

Wednesday my boy comes home.

It can serve if pressed into duty, but it is not especially comfortable there.

Matt Эллен

happily comes home the boy

tchrist

Well, Wednesday is not.

Friday might be more pliable.

Happily comes the boy home to his mother.

Matt Эллен

hungrily eats the boy his food

tchrist

Yes, that is very old-fashioned.

Damn it, use a preposition.

Matt Эллен

the boy hungrily eats his food to

I don't appear to be good at this

tchrist

12:28 PM

In that bed sleeps only Matilda and no one else.

user116848

Which is correct: "I used to think that you drink a lot of coffee" or "I used to think that you drank a lot of coffee"?

user116848

hi!

tchrist

Unknown to the happy couple, just around the next dark corner lurked a cutpurse.

user116848

Is it necessary to backshift after "I used to think"?

tchrist

I guess.

Subject–verb inversion in English

Subject–verb inversion in English is a type of inversion where the subject and verb (or chain of verbs, verb catena) switch their canonical order of appearance, so that the subject follows the verb(s), e.g. A lamp stood beside the bed → Beside the bed stood a lamp. Subject-verb inversion is distinct from subject-auxiliary inversion because the verb involved is not an auxiliary verb. == Overview == The following sentences illustrate subject-verb inversion. They compare canonical order with the non-standard inversion order, and they also point to the fact that subject-verb inversion is impossible...

user116848

12:31 PM

@tchrist So, you'd say the second version?

tchrist

@Arrowfar Yes.

user116848

okay, thanks!

tchrist

But I don’t know it is a rule.

I just think that is what I would say.

I may not be a natural speaker.

user116848

Yes, it looks natural too.

tchrist

I used to think it was better to arrive early to avoid being late, but now I don’t care so much and do what I please, when I please.

user116848

12:33 PM

good example!

tchrist

I have to run these through my head like that to know what I would say.

user116848

I see :)

Robusto

12:47 PM

> subject-verb inversion is impossible if the subject is a weak (non-stressed) definite pronoun:

Really?

Old King Cole was a merry old soul / A merry old soul was he

That wasn't even difficult, much less impossible.

Ice Boy

Hello

Matt Эллен

unduly embarrassed was I
quickly runs he
eaten the food was

that seems wrong

Andrew Leach

Yoda.

Matt Эллен

I suppose Yoda speak isn't SV inversion, as such

at least that one wasn't

Robusto

What do you expect from Wikipedia?

Matt Эллен

12:55 PM

absoulte perfection!

Ice Boy

Robusto

Must c'm't.

Matt Эллен

Swedish vodka. Is that as good as Finnish vodka?

tries to foment international unrest in Scandinavia

it would probably help if anyone from Finland was here, and @JohanLarsson was paying attention ;)

Mitch

1:29 PM

@MattЭллен wrong seems that.

... says I.

... arrr.

Matt Эллен

says you!

Mitch

NO U!

oops. U, NO!

@MattЭллен Vodka is being fomented right now in big vats.

Ice Boy

1:56 PM

terdon

How can something have the tinge of becoming? That sounds ridiculous to my ear.

Matt Эллен

2:13 PM

the tinge of becomingness, perhaps?

user116848

This seems kinda funny:

user116848

> Today I caught you staring at me for like the 10th time. And when I looked at you, you immediately looked away. So...wanna tell me why you're always staring at me?

user116848

I found it on some lame website but it looked creepy and funny.

Matt Эллен

it's probably the Slender Man out to get you

user116848

:D

hey

2:19 PM

Matt Эллен

May 4 '12 at 9:46, by RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@MattЭллен You know, it's only 34km from Petting to Fucking, but a whopping 656km from Fucking to Wedding.

user116848

lol

hey

😜

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

3:35 PM

@Cerberus It's poorly done. It's not aligned and it makes no visual sense.

Matt Эллен

v(o_ov)

username901345

3:54 PM

@MattЭллен I have no praise for you except for your looks. What is this "for"?

in the case of "no" only except is acceptablle, so I learned.

like I have nothing except this.

Robusto

room topic changed to English Language & Usage: We finally gave up our dreams of a live studio audience and started using a laugh track (no tags)

Cerberus

4:22 PM

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I didn't notice when I saw the image. It looked fine to me.

Its purpose is in no way to be an artistic masterpiece.

It's just functional.

Johan Larsson

4:38 PM

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

4:50 PM

@Cerberus pfft. And you're always going on about esthetics :)

Cerberus

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 One always needs to strike a balance.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

rolls eyes

Cerberus

By the way, did you hear? The beta of Nokia's Here Maps has leaked.

Offering first-class offline maps and navigation.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Huh. Well, I don't use navigation much. I typically pre-navigate where I'm going to go.

Robusto

►

Enjoy.

Matt Эллен

5:31 PM

@JohanLarsson such a rich and versatile language!

Will Hunting

6:04 PM

@MattЭллен Boo!

hey

Will Hunting

@hey Where is the mother? LOL

Ice Boy

@MattЭллен It depends on where you start and what route you take :D

Cerberus

6:20 PM

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 It's nice to have as a back up, you never know. You can download all of Canada for free.

Or the entire world, which is 9GB.

It works quite well for me, so far.

It's just a little bit less fluent than Google Maps on my old, RAM-deprived phone.

androidpolice.com/2014/09/29/…

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

I used that world map app... forget its name... that you recommended to me two years ago when I was in Austria. It was incredibly annoying to use. Immediately after I got a data sim I stopped using it and went back to gmaps.

Cerberus

Oh, that one.

Well, Here is much better.

Much.

It also has free offline voice navigation.

I don't remember what that other one was called either, but I only recommended it as the "best" option that was both free and offline.

This one also has traffic, public transport, etc.

PS even works offline!

For traffic you need data, obviously.

Robusto

@hey That's not true for John Connor from the Terminator movie franchise.

Ice Boy

in The Clubhouse, 2 hours ago, by edmastermind29

@IceBoy the raiders are classy

Robusto

How is that a reply to my comment?

Ice Boy

6:28 PM

"terminators"

Robusto

The only thing the Raiders are terminating is hope in Oakland.

Ice Boy

let's move to San Antonio

Robusto

Sorry, I don't do red states.

Ice Boy

they have the most hall of famers

Texas that is

Robusto

I don't choose my environment based on how sports hall of fame membership.

Ice Boy

6:35 PM

neither do I, but I'm just saying...

...the red necks play good football

Robusto

And the littlenecks are good in a clam roll.

Robusto

6:53 PM

Ice Boy

@Robusto you better be careful mr shiney may send you an anti-football pictures message like he did to me >8(

Robusto

I do not fear Mrs. Hiny.

Ice Boy

I respect his request.

Robusto

Request for what?

Ice Boy

no more raider pictures

terdon

7:03 PM

Well, you were posting these extremely annoying animated gifs. Incessantly.

Ice Boy

chat.stackexchange.com/…

@terdon if you wanna ban me go ahead, no problem

terdon

@IceBoy Ban you? Just for posting something that I find boring? That would be presumptuous. I'm just glad you stopped posting but I would never consider banning someone for something that innocuous.

Ice Boy

Just don't tell me my team is "annoying" pal

Robusto

In fact, he didn't tell you that.

terdon

@IceBoy No, not your team.

I would be equally annoyed if it were another team. In fact, I'd probably be equally annoyed if it were kittens. Animated gifs are annoying. Whatever they display. If they happen to be about something I find extremely boring, such as sports teams of whatever stripe or color, that just makes it worse.

Matt Эллен

7:09 PM

> Animated gifs are annoying

4

+1

Ice Boy

some are, it depends on context

some are funny

terdon

One can be funny and annoying at the same time. Just look at Sarah Palin.

Matt Эллен

lol

terdon

Well, she is funny. :)

Ice Boy

ok ok ... I was just making convo :-)

terdon

7:13 PM

@IceBoy No problem here, just as long as you know I don't go around suspending people just cause they do something I might find mildly annoying.

Ice Boy

I believe you.

terdon

Just between you and me, sometimes I wish I could, but you have never woken the beast in me in such a way :)

Ice Boy

we all have that beast within us in one form or another my friend :)

we are only human

terdon

Dunno about that. I mean you are, and I am, but @Matt's a bit too green to pass.

Ice Boy

:D

Matt Эллен

7:18 PM

Yeah. my beast isn't within me :D

It's right out on display

Ice Boy

honesty, up front is admirable

Ice Girl

Hi

Ice Boy

Hi

How are you?

Ice Girl

How are you

Fine thanks

Ice Boy

Fine thanks.

Ice Girl

7:22 PM

:)))))))

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Wow suddenly it's cold in here

Ice Girl

What's up IP?

:D

Ice Boy

just chatting, how was classes?

Ice Girl

It's really good

Ice Boy

that is really good

Ice Girl

7:24 PM

Okay

Stack Exchange

Limerick Machine: Keep going until March the ninth Two years of me making rhymes Not all of them good That is...

posted on September 30, 2014 by sgdi

Keep going until March the ninth Two years of me making rhymes Not all of them good That is understood I write ones worth reading sometimes

Ice Boy

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 you should be used to the Arctic icy winds :-)

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@IceBoy No! it's a myth that Canadians all live in igloos!

Ice Girl

If you know Persian it's really good and useful for me for translation

Ice Boy

icic

Ice Girl

7:27 PM

I didn't find any Iranian people here yet

Ice Boy

icy icy

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@IceGirl here... in chat? we have lots. Or, have had.

Ice Girl

Yes here

But i didn't see them yet

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

yeah, some of them don't come here anymore.

Ice Girl

:(

Ice Boy

7:29 PM

I haven't seen any for awhile either.

Ice Girl

Except me

Ice Boy

:D))

Ice Girl

:)

Mr. Shiny i like your picture

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Thanks. It's me.

Ice Girl

:)

See you later my friends. Goodbye

Ice Boy

7:33 PM

later IP

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

cya

Mitch

7:53 PM

wouldn't wanna bya!

@terdon sports = salt on the wound.

terdon

Indeed.

Mitch

wakes up from coma after car accident ... So how did the Pats do last night?

Ice Boy

someone made a lot of money betting the over

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Pat

Robusto

8:13 PM

@Mitch The Patriots are over. Get used to it.

> Thank you for reviewing 20 close votes today; come back in 3 hours to continue reviewing.

terdon

9:23 PM

Frustration n. : The feeling of being 4 upvotes short of reaching 10k and having already hit your rep cap for the day.

Robusto

11:45 PM

@terdon May your frustrations always be so minor.

terdon

Hear hear.

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…