Language Overflow

2:00 AM

in ELL's Cabin, 2 hours ago, by snailboat

> The trick is, rather than cultivating the desire to be right, to cultivate the desire to become right and remain so. That way, when you find out that you were wrong, instead of being crushed, you are elated because you were wrong but have now become right.

in ELL's Cabin, 2 hours ago, by snailboat

> And because you're elated, you then rush off to tell your nearest and dearest that whereas previously you were wrong, you are now right, and isn't that amazing? And of course that totally overrides any recollection of how obstinately and vehemently you were sticking to your incorrect opinion before.

(John Cowan)

I think I'm gonna keep spelling it Whoa!, though. :-)

But that's why my "probably ungrammatical" (or "probably incorrect") basket is rather big. Probably doesn't mean totally, or even really.

Damkerng T.

2:34 AM

Another pair that could sound similar, like "night rain" and "night train": "end her" and "enter".

Damkerng T.

3:19 AM

An interesting expression, your figure (or body shape) is healthy. Can our body shape is healthy?

I just heard someone speak in Thai, ช่วยให้รูปร่างคุณ healthy, and it's odd. It's not only odd because they use "healthy" in Thai unnecessarily, but it's because it implies that the body shape is healthy, rather than a person, which is rather strange in Thai. (E.g., เคล็ดลับที่ช่วยให้คุณมีรูปร่างดี สุขภาพดี is common, เคล็ดลับที่ช่วยให้รูปร่างคุณมีสุขภาพดี is weird, imo.)

(This is exactly the kind of "less elegant" usage, when I think of language usage.)

I guess healthy with body figure/shape could sound more natural in English, considering that even food can be healthy.

@Ϻ.Λ.Ʀ. A lot of Germans are thinkers, too. And most are quite humble, imho. :-)

Damkerng T.

4:19 AM

2

Q: Past tenses: did/had questions

Which one is correct? TilesView had consumed complete screen until I overriden onMeasure(). TilesView consumed complete screen until I had overriden onMeasure().

past-tense

Perhaps the most interesting question on the main page.

I think these are all possible, and each implies a subtly different meaning.

> a) TilesView had occupied the the entire screen until I overrode onMeasure().

> b) TilesView had been occupying the the entire screen until I overrode onMeasure().

> c) TilesView occupied the the entire screen until I had overridden onMeasure().

> d) TilesView was occupying the the entire screen until I had overridden onMeasure().

I think it's similar (still not exactly the same) with the OP's choice of verb: consume.

1

Q: Gerund and its meaning in the sentence, being positioned at the end of the sentence

I came across this sentence while watching a video on youtube. They learn to read and write the formal English of textbooks,but get very little training listening to -and speaking- causal,conversational,spoken english. What puzzles me here is what sort of connection exists between "get very...

prepositions gerund ellipsis

Something just hit me...

The opposite would also be true:

For people who learn to listen to, to speak spoken English, they could get very little training in formal English.

LOL -- I wondered why Ellen pronounced Segway as "swag-way" a few days ago. Now I know. It was because Swagway is real: swagway.com.

CopperKettle

7:16 AM

I really don't know how to put this :( But if I paraphrase "Will stretch like kilo-stones or cypresses" to "Will stretch like a fly(next shell) or tortoise(from eighteen on to eighty)." Can it be? BTW +1 to both the answers, I agree 99% with both the answers, it's just the use of hyphen that's making me think of this weird assumption. :D — Usernew 1 min ago

I just don't understand what he means..

Damkerng T.

I think I can guess. @CopperKettle -- It seems like he thought of "kilo" and "stone" as two separate words.

I'm glad that the OP didn't ask about the meaning of "Will stretch like kilo-stones or cypresses". Lit. crit. is off-topic on ELL, iirc.

CopperKettle

@DamkerngT. "will stretch like kilograms to stones or cypresses"? Ain't makes no sense to me.

Damkerng T.

nods -- His attempt doesn't really work, imho.

CopperKettle

Kilograms cannot stretch to cypresses.

Ah, he's an Indian guy. I thought he was a native speaker.

Damkerng T.

His English is surely above average!

CopperKettle

7:21 AM

nods

Damkerng T.

Talking about too and either and thinking of negative-polarity items makes me realize that some sentences don't work with either too or either.

> A: "I thought you liked cheese. I like all kinds of cheese!"
B1: "You thought I liked any cheese?"

> B2: "You thought I liked any cheese, too?"

> B3: "You thought I liked any cheese, as well?"

> B4: "You thought I liked any cheese, either?"

Hmm... B2 and B3 could probably work.

CopperKettle

11:34 AM

LOLCat Bible Translation Project

The LOLCat Bible Translation Project is a wiki-based website set up in July 2007 by Martin Grondin, where editors aim to parody the entire Bible in "LOLspeak", the slang popularized by the LOLcat Internet phenomenon. The project relies on contributors to adapt passages. As of March 27, 2008, approximately 61% of the text had been adapted, and Grondin had stated that he hopes the entire New Testament would be complete by the end of 2008. A book version of the website was released in 2010, containing selected extracts such as the stories of the creation of the earth, Adam and Eve, and Noah. ��2...

"Ceiling Cat sended Gabriowl, a hovr d00d, to Nazareth (dat is a citi in Galilee)27 to a virgn naemd Mary. She wuz engajded to a d00d naemd Joseph.28 Gabriowl wuz liek "O hai Mary, u iz realli nice. Ceiling Cat iz wif u."29 Mary wuz kiend of worrid about dat.30 But teh hovr d00d wuz all "Doant be afraid. Ceiling Cat iz happi wif u."

Damkerng T.

1:00 PM

3

Q: The usage of "on time" vs "in time"

Which one is correct ─ "on time" or "in time"? Are both correct? If so, when is one or the other used? This has been very confusing to me. I have tried to thrash out a simple rule when one or the other could be used: "in time" could be used when you are able to take a one-off action (say "x") wit...

word-usage phrase-usage time

I think it's better to focus only on situational scenarios, as the OP seems to think about (in the first few sentences).

Trying to cover too many things could result in less focused and not as good answers. The OP's idea that there should be a simple rule is probably not helpful anyway. Both expressions are more flexible than that.

For example, consider this quote from Man of Steel: But in time, they will join you in the sun, Kal. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders.

I think there are too many learners who are looking for false rules.

Damkerng T.

1:15 PM

'Coming there?' sounds absolutely okay to me! — Maulik V ♦ 17 mins ago

Hmm... really?

Well, okay, it's clear that at least one Indian speaker thinks it's absolutely okay in Indian English.

But what about standard English?

Or the major dialects of English?

I think using come with there may be possible in some other contexts, but perhaps not this one, the one in the meaning of: Are you going to go/come there?

+1. This exactly defines why there's no preposition. I remember even tough one where 'home' serves as an adjective taking no preposition. This was news for me then! :) — Maulik V ♦ 18 mins ago

I'm quite sure that 'home' in 'go home' is not an adjective in the same grammar that considers 'there' in 'go there' an adverb.

Arguing and explaining can be quite exhausting, so I just put my spontaneous thoughts here.

CopperKettle

1:33 PM

@MaulikV - probably because we can use the preposition to with nouns and pronouns, but not with adverbials, and there seems to work as an adverbial here. — CopperKettle 40 secs ago

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