Language Overflow

Victor Bazarov

12:06 AM

Just came to wish you good evening...

Too late, I see... sigh Have a good night!

Damkerng T.

12:18 AM

@VictorBazarov Good night!

Damkerng T.

12:33 AM

Looking closer at IELTS (and other tests), it reminds me of the badminton course I had to take in my high school days. Our teacher was an above average player and a sensible person; however, he had to grade us somehow. So, to measure our achievement(!), he used three tests (iirc): short serve, long serve, and long stroke rallies.

Looking back, now I know how to play badminton properly (at least at my skill level), the tests were ridiculous.

In that limited amount of time, some students could get a better score at these tests, but in order to achieve it, they had to skip the fundamentals, and focused on the goals of the tasks. This could harm their grips, that is the tests encouraged them to hold the racket the wrong way to perform better at these tasks, and this is hard to fix later, if they wanted to play it for real later in life.

An example of the short serve in badminton.

Damkerng T.

12:49 AM

Badminton : Short Serve in Badminton

►

Whoa, I would downvote that clip right away if I had a YouTube account!

0

A: Text, open parentheses, text, ellipses, close parentheses, period?

As a computer programmer, I have learned to accurately transcribe quotes, and to make my punctuation match the structure of my statements. I would therefore choose the first option, except I would use an actual ellipsis character (…) instead of three individual periods (...). Its format matches...

Hmm... do English teachers (and test authors) really prefer the second option (....)?

> There once was a black bird (and it was warm, simple, etc....)

tchrist

Hardly.

StoneyB

1:12 AM

@DamkerngT. You need to keep in mind that in the US test authors and high school English teachers are drawn from the third-least educated population in the academic universe. They have as a group no consistent preferences (except an explicit aversion to teaching grammar), but they have very strong individual opinions about matters they can reduce to Rules. The actual content of the Rules is irrelevant.

Damkerng T.

Hah! Now I'm quite confused about this period-after-ellipses. :-)

StoneyB

@DamkerngT. That's because it would never occur to you to construct anything so graceless as that absurd jumble.

I once knew a very wise man --surprisingly, CEO of a large insurance company-- whose favorite slogan was "There is no right way to do a wrong thing". That applies to English writing, too.

Damkerng T.

LOL

StoneyB

1:28 AM

About a quarter of the QQ* here and on ELU arise because the writers want to make English do something She doesn't want them to do.

*three quarters of the questions about passivizing sentences

Damkerng T.

A tough badminton player insulted me and my brother the first day we met him, "Even if I give you 10 more years, you still can't beat me." He added, "Just one look at you guys, I can tell right away you don't know how to hold the racket." -- That hurt, but he was absolutely right. If we hold it the wrong way, we can't play it right.

@StoneyB I think indirect speech is the more recent trend.

StoneyB

1:44 AM

@DamkerngT. Yes, we've had a rash of those recently. But at least those exam questions don't ask students to do stuff that can't be done.

Damkerng T.

could you provide us with the link? I'm pretty sure that here, 'rested' means the player is kept out. In fact in most of such cases of sports, it is what I said. What's the player's name> — Maulik V ♦ 9 hours ago

I think it was the part "it is what I said" that urged me to write a comment.

@MaulikV I agree that it's likely that it'll be the coach's decision in team sports, and thus thus player will be kept out (or will sit out, that is he or she won't play that game). However, the real question the OP asks, imho, is "which game" the player will sit out: the final Portugal qualifier game, or some other games (so that he can play well in the final Portugal qualifier). — Damkerng T. 1 min ago

0

Q: Time of situation and time referred to

1) He died of lung cancer. [Tr coextensive with Tsit] 2) I already knew how to do it. [Tr included within Tsit] Here How do we know the time of situation and time referred to? and In my own thought coextensive and included have the same meaning. If they not the same, could you tell me...

Maybe I don't have to really buy CGEL. I can just keep reading ELL questions and soon could read the whole of it! :P

tchrist

2:02 AM

@DamkerngT. Perhaps he was rested by the coach. :)

Damkerng T.

@tchrist I think it's likely so. Not sure what kind of sport it is, but I guess that it's probably football (soccer).

To me, the crux of the question is "for" not "rested", in "(player name) rested for final Portugal qualifier".

> Daniel Sturridge will be rested for Liverpool’s Europa League clash with Sion at Anfield on Thursday.

This one sounds like "rested for" = "rested on that match".

Damkerng T.

2:24 AM

> Sturridge rested for Merseyside derby

Hmm... the same player, two headlines, two different meanings of "rested for"!

"Daniel Sturridge will be rested for Liverpool’s Europa League clash with Sion at Anfield on Thursday" = Sturridge will be sit out on the match Liverpool v. Sion.

"Sturridge rested for Merseyside derby" = Sturridge will be sit out on the match Liverpool v. Sion for Merseyside derby (another match: Liverpool v. Everton).

It's context sensitive!

Hmm... or it's dialectal?

> Dinamo Zagreb vs Arsenal team news: Petr Cech rested for Champions League opener and replaced by David Ospina.

Oh, this one sounds different! It indeed looks like Petr Cech was rested by the coach. (And was replaced by someone who could do better, perhaps.)

CopperKettle

8:28 AM

"I hope you and all your coworkers, family, and friends have a lovely holiday season filled with joy and meaning. "

I wonder why there's no will there

""I hope you and all your coworkers, family, and friends will have a lovely holiday season filled with joy and meaning. ""

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

@CopperKettle Both constructions are grammatical.

I dunno what mood exactly the have is in right now, but it's the subjunctive mood we have in Persian @Copper.

CopperKettle

Thanks, Muhammad!

Fantasier

If you use the one without will, it can refer to both the present and future situation.

CopperKettle

nods

Fantasier

The one with will, on the other hand, refers only to the future.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

10:37 AM

@Jim you there?

Damkerng T.

Okay, so "rested for" in BrE really means "sit out". Now my question is, do we have to use or is it more common to use "'x' player took rest..." to "mean to prepare for a match in a better way"?

I found "rested for" in some headlines used to mean exactly that, for example, Sturridge rested for Merseyside derby, Wayne Rooney 'Rested' for World Cup.

jimsug

10:55 AM

Sort of. On mobile. @inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

@jimsug \o I wanted to ask how you take shots from all the webpage rather than just the screen.

jimsug

11:23 AM

@inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M in firefox, the developer console, shift * F2

Then screenshot --fullpage

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

11:39 AM

@jimsug It wasn't in a browser, so I downloaded Snagit™.

Damkerng T.

Isn't SnagIt a screenshot/screen capture tool too?

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

It is.

Damkerng T.

But you said you wanted "all the webpage" rather than just the screen. -- confused

I think SnagIt isn't free either.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

@DamkerngT. Well, it's not all the webpage, but some part of a PDF that doesn't fit the screen.

Damkerng T.

Oh, I see!

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

11:47 AM

9

Q: How to take a screenshot of a window larger than the screen

I want to take a screen shot of a window that's larger than the screen size. If I zoom out of the window and I take the screenshot, I lose quality since zooming into the image will not work. A large monitor would help me with this but I don't have one. I'm using Jing, but it only allows me to...

window screenshot

There's something free there.

Damkerng T.

Strange that no one mentions ImageMagick.

jimsug

@inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M what OS ? I think on Unix like systems you could use imagemagick to do it

@DamkerngT. Too fast :P

Damkerng T.

nods -- I would use ImageMagick too.

Hehe!

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

@jimsug Win

Damkerng T.

@inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M ImageMagick runs on Windows too.

17

Q: How to convert a multi-page PDF file to PNG files, with one PNG file per page of the PDF document?

How do I convert a multi-page PDF file to PNG files, and automatically save one PNG file per page of the PDF document (for Windows 7)? I have tried virtual printers (CutePDF, Bullzip PDF Printer) and image editing software (Irfanview, Photoshop) to convert PDF files to PNG but I can't find a way...

windows pdf png image-conversion

^My standard solution: ImageMagick (and/or Ghostscript).

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

11:52 AM

@DamkerngT. (╯ಠਊ゜)╯︵ʞɔᴉƃɐWǝƃɐɯI

Damkerng T.

Flipped!

Oh, so you need both ImageMagick and Ghostscript installed on your Windows to do this kind of thing.

Actually, I have another easy solution, but you've gotta have the same printer/scanner I have. :P

I can send some pages to my printer to have it convert the pages to an image file for me.

inɒzɘmɒЯ.A.M

12:07 PM

Wow, Snagit™ has some great UI @Dam.

Damkerng T.

For tens dollars, I guess its UI must be decent.

Damkerng T.

1:30 PM

1

Q: How to write name of a member along with name of its containing group?

Suppose we have three different groups: A, B and C. Now, my question would be how should we say A: "group A" or "A group" For making it more clear, consider a situation in which we would want recommend a group to an individual. Which one of the following sentences is grammatically correct? ...

sentence-construction

> a) You should use group A.
b) You should use A group.

It's something that looks simple, but I can't find any good answer.

Besides the underlying meaning, there are some other issues.

Should we capitalize Group? Do we need an article? When should we use which option?

This makes many combinations: group A, Group A, a group A, a Group A, the group A, the Group A, A group, A Group, an A group, an A Group, the A group, the A Group, along with just A.

It's related to references in our writing: Figure 5, Table 3, but page 21.

Or ((the) set) S

Damkerng T.

3:28 PM

0

A: How to write name of a member along with name of its containing group?

Neither option sounds quite right unless you have groups named "A", "B" and "C". When "A", "B" and "C" are being used as nouns (as is common in the Football World Cup), then favour "group" at the start. England, Brazil, Spain and France from Group A will continue to the next round. I've ...

"as is common in the Football World Cup" -- This is the first time I've ever heard Football World Cup! It's always FIFA World Cup for me.

Damkerng T.

5:30 PM

edition.cnn.com/2015/10/20/entertainment/…

Okay, where is my hoverboard?!

We've got Jaws 19, though.

Jaws 19 - Trailer

►

Damkerng T.

7:24 PM

1

Q: the meaning of the phrase 'pricked off on a list'

... among them he moves softly, plain Thomas Cromwell, a greeting here and a word there, spreading reassurance: the Crown’s case is in order, no upsets are expected or will be tolerated, we shall all be home for supper and sleep safely in our own beds tonight. Lord Sandys, Lord Audley...

phrase-meaning

pricked out is an interesting expression

I wonder how they really pricked out something on a list back then.

Was it parchment or wax?

Or paper? Did they use paper back then?

Anonymous

10:43 PM

I have no idea. I don't think people really say that phrase anymore. I'm not sure precisely what it implies.

Damkerng T.

Hello!

Any Spelling Bee expert around here?

0

Q: Spelling Bee Language of Origin

Okay, so I am in the spelling bee this year and successfully made it to my county bee. I would like to know exactly how language of origin is to help me! Like for example, what is different about where exactly the words come from, and how does it help me spell the word itself???? Thank guys!

questions spelling speech word-origin language-improvement

I think the question is knida cute. :-)

Anonymous

The definition in the OED makes it sound like it's not particularly different from making a tick mark or a check or such.

Damkerng T.

That made me think of wax.

Anonymous

Oh, it is! But it doesn't really look like an ELL question. I wonder if it would fit well on history.SE!

Damkerng T.

Ah, we have History.SE too!

StoneyB

10:52 PM

@DamkerngT. Fersher they had paper. "Prick" had at that time the extended sense of making a dot-like mark, and a prick could be made with a pin or a pen.

@snailboat I think OP is asking about how knowing a word's etymology helps figure out its spelling.

Damkerng T.

I used to make a lot of dot and dot-like marks in my high-school art classes!

StoneyB

@DamkerngT. Acrobat Pro lets you Save As .png files ... I don't know about ordinary Reader.

@DamkerngT. Ah, a pointillist!

Damkerng T.

@StoneyB Hee

@StoneyB My Acrobat Reader has only the Take Snapshot feature.

StoneyB

@DamkerngT. Clearly you are not a professional acrobat.

Anonymous

@StoneyB Really? I seriously misread the question in that case.

Anonymous

11:02 PM

I must have my head screwed on backwards today.

Damkerng T.

@StoneyB Obviously. :-)

StoneyB

@snailboat I had to read it three times before I figured it out. It's how-you-say-in-English a model of clarity.

Damkerng T.

Maybe it was because I posted two unrelated questions next to one another up there.

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. Pointillism!

Anonymous

I have a friend who does art with little dots.

Anonymous

11:06 PM

Sometimes I mis-skim things and lack the self-awareness to realize I'm not paying enough attention.

StoneyB

@snailboat: from the rules: " In oral competition the pronouncer responds only to the speller’s requests for repetition of the word’s pronunciation, a definition, sentence, part of speech, language(s) of origin and alternate pronunciation(s)."

Anonymous

Oh! Yes.

Anonymous

I thought it was a question about what language the spelling be originated in. :-)

Anonymous

(Is it English!?)

Damkerng T.

@snailboat Cool! I'm not really good at it, but our teachers kept giving us lots of assignments. :-)

Anonymous

11:09 PM

@DamkerngT. Oh, I'm seriously terrible at that sort of thing. I took tons of art classes when I was younger, though, so I did a little bit of it!

Anonymous

When I was little, I went through a phase where I wanted to be a cartoonist like Charles Schulz!

Damkerng T.

Oh, that name sounds familiar...

Anonymous

He drew Snoopy!

Damkerng T.

A-ha!

Anonymous

I do still love to draw. But I'm not very good at drawing things with little dots.

Anonymous

11:13 PM

The best thing for me was when I first got a brush!

Damkerng T.

Ah, searching for him led me to Snoopy's Candy Town. (It's an app, I think.)

Anonymous

Oh, I don't know what that is. The actual comic strip was called Peanuts.

Damkerng T.

@snailboat Yay! Hmm... is there any specific word for artists who paint with brushes?

Anonymous

A painter paints.

Anonymous

Charles Schulz didn't give it the name Peanuts, though, and he didn't like the name.

Damkerng T.

11:14 PM

Oh! "Painter" makes me think of something else. :D

Anonymous

I think of the strip as Snoopy! :-)

Damkerng T.

@snailboat How come it got that name, then?!

Anonymous

The syndicate.

Anonymous

Back then, syndication was really important.

Anonymous

(Is it just me, or does "the syndicate" sound kind of sinister?)

Damkerng T.

11:17 PM

I think it has such connotation indeed. :-)

Anonymous

I'd better hurry up and eat something before my brain falls out.

Damkerng T.

Oh, don't let it fall out!

Anonymous

I want to learn how to make yakisoba.

StoneyB

@snailboat In my youth "the syndicate" meant the National Crime Syndicate.

Anonymous

@StoneyB Oh!

Anonymous

11:22 PM

Scary.

Anonymous

StoneyB

That looks yummy.

Anonymous

I know, right? That's what I want to eat.

StoneyB

"It is prepared by frying ramen-style noodles with bite-sized pork, vegetables (usually cabbage, onions or carrots) and flavored with yakisoba sauce, salt and pepper. It is served with a multitude of garnishes, such as aonori (seaweed powder), beni shoga (shredded pickled ginger), katsuobushi (fish flakes), and mayonnaise."

Anonymous

I'm all for that, but hold the mayo and maybe Chinese-style noodles :-)

StoneyB

11:25 PM

I think you get to pick which garnishes of the multitude you prefer.

Anonymous

Oh!

Damkerng T.

Looks yummy indeed!

Anonymous

I wonder if habaneros work well with yakisoba.

StoneyB

"We use Chuka Men, Chinese style noodles, in Yakisoba, but the dish is not Chinese at all. It is actually very Japanese, and nothing like Chow Mein other than they are both noodle dishes. Yakisoba sauce is very similar to Okonomiyaki sauce (you can even substitute Okonomiyaki sauce for Yakisoba sauce), though it is a little bit more like Worcester sauce and thinner. ...

... We made the Yakisoba sauce using Tonkatsu sauce and Worcester sauce which are in our pantry. You can of course purchase Yakisoba sauce if available, but this may be a good alternative." - japanesecooking101.com/yakisoba-recipe

Anonymous

Oh, that sounds complicated. All I have is soy sauce.

Anonymous

11:28 PM

I bet Mitsuwa has yakisoba sauce!

StoneyB

Tonkatsu saue: "In a small bowl, stir together ketchup, Worcestershire, soy sauce, mirin, sugar, mustard, and garlic powder. Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month."

I'm getting hungry . . .

Soy sauce + barbecue sauce, basically.

I'm going to go get tacos now.

Good evening.

Damkerng T.

Chinese style noodles are delicious. (The kind I'm thinking of will have the strings rounded and yellow.)

Anonymous