Language Overflow

Damkerng T.

02:13

Word of the Day: ape

Example sentence: Whenever I read a book or a passage that particularly pleased me, in which a thing was said or an effect rendered with propriety, in which there was either some conspicuous force or some happy distinction in the style, I must sit down at once and set myself to ape that quality.

CowperKettle

04:46

This chart shows the explosion of biotech since the 1980s

goo.gl/YW58dl

CowperKettle

05:01

> A bus chock-full of people. Suddenly, a woman's voice: "Young man, what are you doing?" Silence. Then again "Young man, what are you doing?". A man's voice from the other end of the bus "hey bloke, come on, we're all curious over here, won't you tell us what you're doing?"

user62015

Hi!

Could you help me out?

CowperKettle

05:21

Word of the day: axenic

> In biology, axenic describes the state of a culture in which only a single species, variety, or strain of organism is present and entirely free of all other contaminating organisms. The earliest axenic cultures were of bacteria or unicellular eukaryotes, but axenic cultures of many multicellular organisms are also possible.[1] Axenic culture is also an important tool for the study of symbiotic and parasitic organisms in a controlled manner.

V.V.

06:11

"Eukaryotes" made a great impression, can't imagine how to pronounce it.

Tarun

Could you please tell if these sentences are different in meaning also "I love you more than him" and "I love you more than he does"

Jude

Good Morning!

Anonymous

@Tarun The first is ambiguous and can mean the same thing as the second, but it can also have a different meaning.

Jude

I am writing a post to a magazine of our company

It's a tech blog

I am creating a meme

But I'm not sure about the english grammar in those sentences

Can you tell me, is this correct?

I mean the english of those sentences

user62015

06:31

@snailplane Hi! Could you help me out please?

Pay attention to what I am saying. What is wrong with this?

Anonymous

@user62015 Nothing.

Jude

@snailplane hi there! do you see anything needs to be corrected in that meme?

yubraj sharma

@Jude "What's got" what does it mean ?

Jude

What is got back in there?

yubraj sharma

@user62015 I think It's correct

user62015

06:42

Thank so much @snailplane @yubrajsharma

yubraj sharma

Welcome! !!

@Jude I mean what do you mean by this question, what do you want to ask in this question?

Jude

I am trying to make an imaginary situation where, the guy ask what is got back in there?

and girl surprisingly pops up with an NullPointerException

That's my joke

yubraj sharma

I don't understand "what is got back in there' mean

user62015

@yubrajsharma Hi! Could you help me?

Though George is a honourable man his activities arouse suspicion

Jude

@yubrajsharma what have you got back in there?

yubraj sharma

07:03

@Jude I'm asking you what you mean to say by this question, could you write it in another sentence?

@user62015 I think It's correct grammatically !!!!

user62015

Okay.

yubraj sharma

@DamkerngT. What do you think about it ?

yubraj sharma

07:35

It would seem everyone is busy !!!!

CowperKettle

07:51

@V.V. йюкариотс

(0:

How to Pronounce Eukaryotes

►

CowperKettle

08:11

Word of the day: double minutes

> Double minutes are small fragments of extrachromosomal DNA, which have been observed in a large number of human tumors. They frequently harbor amplified oncogenes and genes involved in drug resistance. Like actual chromosomes, they are composed of chromatin and replicate in the nucleus of the cell during cell division, but are composed of circular fragments of DNA.

The test is passed if no amplicons corresponding to the positive control in size are detected. (is it better to place "in size" just after "corresponding"?)

V.V.

08:35

@user62015 should be "an honorable "

@CowperKettle after "corresponding "

CowperKettle

@V.V. thanks!

V.V.

If you mean the size of "amplicons"

CowperKettle

yes

M.A.R.

11:38

no

CowperKettle

evening, Mamad

M.A.R.

\o

CowperKettle

> Assessment of the possible cross-contamination of the cell line by (with?) other cell lines

I like "by" but "with" might also fit

M.A.R.

I'd like an article before 'assessment'

Either that, or remove the other articles if it's a headline

CowperKettle

It's a title

of a section in the document (0:

> PCR-based assessment of the species identity of the culture and its possible cross-contamination by other cell lines

> Let a broad stream, with golden sands,
Through all his meadows roll,
He's but a wretch, with all his lands,
That wears a narrow soul.

( False Greatness, by Isaac Watts)

> Were I so tall to reach the pole,
Or grasp the ocean with my span,
I must be measur'd by my soul:
The mind's the standard of the man.

Damkerng T.

12:54

The mind's the standard of the man -- nested determiners!

2

Q: What does "we are hardwired differently" mean in this sentence?

I'm reading a book which is about men and women's body development. The book has a sentence. On a biological level, it has always been necessary for males to be physically stronger, but never for females, so we are hardwired differently. I'm studying English and I was taught that adverb can...

CowperKettle

(0:

Damkerng T.

> I know that "hardwired" is a adjective, and "differently" is a adverb, so "hardwired differently" can't follow "are" in this sentence, right?

I'm not sure why the OP reasoned it that way.

@CowperKettle :D

0

Q: Shortening sentences with participles -> "After the girls had finished their dance, they left the dance floor"

i have this sentence, i have to shorten using participles: After the girls had finished their dance, they left the dance floor. In the solutions there's as this answer written: After having finished their dance the girls left the dance floor. Why was this version chosen? Why wasn't ...

past-participles

This kind of exercise is supposed to build up sentence acrobatic strength, but sometimes it causes confusion!

And I can't find its original.

Maybe that's why the answer in the book, After having finished their dance the girls left the dance floor, is less than ideal.

Haha! But I found this!

> CliffsNotes Praxis I: PPST, 4th Edition

(which is much more realistic)

The more interesting part is, how should we explain something like this to a learner that a choice is better than another?

CowperKettle

13:50

CowperKettle

14:45

> Gene expression is analyzed via comparative quantitative real-time PCR (ΔΔCt qRT-PCR) using TaqMan probes specific to the studied genes. (is via okay, I wonder. I wanted to avoid the use of "using" twice)

M.A.R.

14:56

@CowperKettle Is this a menu for Chinese cannibals? McDonald's best friend was not edible for humans prolly.

CowperKettle

(0:

Damkerng T.

15:24

@CowperKettle I think it's okay.

Funny that if we google for "is analyzed * method", the first paper, which uses by, is written by probably a Japanese researcher.

The second uses using, and probably is written by a Chinese researcher.

The third uses via, and this one is by Thai researchers!

CowperKettle

@DamkerngT. You should write the fourth, that would combine the three and be called "Prepositional disruption in scientific papers written by non-native speakers of English: analysis by/using/via statistical correlation methods."

Damkerng T.

:D

CowperKettle

(0:

CowperKettle

15:53

Juliane Koepcke

Juliane Diller (born 10 October 1954 in Lima as Juliane Margaret Koepcke) is a German-Peruvian biologist, born in Peru to German expatriates, who was the only survivor of 92 passengers and crew in the 24 December 1971 crash of LANSA Flight 508 in the Peruvian rainforest. When the airliner broke up in mid-air, she survived after plummeting about 3 km (~10,000 feet) while still strapped to her seat, before crashing through the rain forest canopy and coming to rest on the forest floor. == Airplane crashEdit == Juliane Koepcke was a German Peruvian high school senior student studying in Lima, intending...

CowperKettle

16:57

Ural sky

Damkerng T.

The sky is so blue!

CowperKettle

And gold

And emerald

A friend made this photo on Saturday near Talc Quarry

There's a nice cozy swimming hole there

Damkerng T.

:D

That'd be an interesting place to swim!

CowperKettle

People love to go there in the summer. The water is very deep and clear. Deep because the quarry was deep

Damkerng T.

Ah, so it's man-made?

CowperKettle

17:11

Yes, it is a former quarry

Now there are more advanced way of mining talc

The quarry was used in the 19th century

The Urals have a lot of lakes that are really former quarries

user62015

@DamkerngT. Hi! How are you?

Damkerng T.

Hi! Good, thanks! How are you?

user62015

I am great.

And you?

Damkerng T.

I think we seem to get stuck in greeting!

user62015

ahahah

Could I send you question?

Damkerng T.

17:26

Well, you can ask in this chat room, as usual.

user62015

That Brutus, who was his trusted friend A /had attacked on him B/caused heartbreak to Julius Caesar C/ No error.

Here we go

Damkerng T.

Bad sentence.

user62015

I agree. But it was a question in a competition exam yesterday.

Damkerng T.

sigh

V.V.

17:44

Hi.

user62015

@V.V. Hi!

How are you?

Damkerng T.

> The idea that languages make a clear distinction between direct and indirect speech is for the most part a grammatical fiction.

> Direct and Indirect Speech by Florian Coulmas

Damkerng T.

18:18

0

Q: Regarding participle of adjective

There is a girl seated on the table. There is a girl sitting on the table. Which sentences of above are correct? Could you explain how they are used as participle? Also explain the meaning of them in detail?

participles

I think we have more and more of this kind of question!

V.V.

Oooo

Damkerng T.

These questions are most likely taken from textbooks. It's rather obvious that the textbooks have their points in these exercises. But it also seems like many learners don't get the point.

So, every exercise is turned into "Which sentence(s) is/are correct?"

Damkerng T.

18:33

Aww... and we got a discussion on be seated in that question!

V.V.

Yes, interesting.

Damkerng T.

nods -- Privet!

Hooray! The rain finally stopped!

V.V.

Adjective or past participle

And frosts began.

Damkerng T.

@V.V. Yes, that point, too.

@V.V. Hooray! (It's a good thing, right?)

V.V.

I don't mind night frosts.

M.A.R.

18:38

@DamkerngT. Only for Russians

Damkerng T.

@M.A.R. I doubt that. :-)

V.V.

What's the temperature at your places?

Damkerng T.

About 25C :-)

CowperKettle

minus 1C

sadly, it will be +2C tomorrow

I hate mud

tomorrow is a bicycle ride

@DamkerngT. yay!

Damkerng T.

@CowperKettle Aww

V.V.

18:49

Plus 25 is eternal summer.

Damkerng T.

It's cool over here. :D

V.V.

You should like rains, it's hot.

Damkerng T.

I'm used to warm weather, anyway :-)

V.V.

I still have flowers inthe garden. Yellow,blue.

Connection is just to develop tolerance

Damkerng T.

19:11

Not sure what you mean in the last message, but flowers are always lovely!

I wish I had more flowers, but on second thought, I think I like trees more than flowers. :-)

CowperKettle

Bodhi Tree

The Bodhi Tree (Sanskrit: बोधि) also known as Bo (from Sinhalese: Bo) and "peepal tree" (Devanagari: पीपल) was a large and very old sacred fig tree (Ficus religiosa) located in Bodh Gaya, under which Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher later became known as the Buddha, is said to have attained enlightenment (Bodhi). In religious iconography, the Bodhi Tree is recognizable by its heart-shaped leaves, which are usually prominently displayed. The term "Bodhi Tree" is also widely applied to currently existing trees, particularly the Sacred Fig (Ficus religiosa) growing at the Mahabodhi Temple...

Damkerng T.

Oh, that's a sacred tree!

Damkerng T.

19:46

I just took a peek at EL&U for a bit. Surprisingly, I don't think questions on the main page are any different from those on ELL's!

Damkerng T.

19:59

Thanks billj. It means both sentance are correct as you explained up. — Meraj hussain 1 hour ago

sad

Question of the day: What is "correct"?

Anonymous

20:16

@DamkerngT. Good question! I do prefer to say things like is grammatical or is acceptable or makes sense or is appropriate in context.

Damkerng T.

That'd be much better than just correct!

Damkerng T.

20:39

npr.org/sections/ed/2016/10/24/495186021/…

Teacher 1: 'We need to make sure they succeed, we need to guarantee their success.'

Teacher 2: "The schools are being run a little bit more like on a business model of constantly collecting data and then (that's) driving all of our decisions."

Teacher 3: "I was teaching a reading class and I had no books to read!"

Teacher 4: "But I can't emphasize enough how, ever since I was a kid, my goal was to be a public school teacher. And that opportunity seemed to be taken away from me."

A lighter side of the election: #makeamericacakeagain

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. I think America might have actually had enough cake for now.

Damkerng T.

Hehe!

Damkerng T.

21:00

> amazon.com/Float-Anne-Carson/dp/1101946849

> Presented in an arrestingly original format--individual chapbooks that can be read in any order, and that float inside a transparent case--this collection conjures a mix of voices, time periods, and structures to explore what makes people, memories, and stories "maddeningly attractive" when observed in spaces that are suggestively in-between.

That makes me wonder how this "arrestingly original" format really looks like!

> “The transparent slipcase also allows the book’s conceit of a floating white thread to always be visible,” says Hughes, “no matter which of the 20-plus chapbooks was removed and re-inserted.”

> quillandquire.com/bookselling-2/2016/10/03/…

A-ha!

> MetLife to Snoopy: You're fired!/924‌52986/

It was a sad day for Snoopy!

Anonymous

> MetLife to Snoopy: You're fired!

Damkerng T.

Thanks for fixing the link!

Anonymous

> during a time when insurance companies were seen as cold and distant

Anonymous

As opposed to now?

Damkerng T.

I'm not sure! :-)

Damkerng T.

23:06

people-positive and planet-positive are newfangled jargon. The construction is analogous to "planet-friendly". In IKEA's case, planet-positive would mean conscious of the effects upon the environment of the manufacturing and sale of household goods and furniture. People-positive would mean something like "offering affordable merchandise which meets the needs of people, and free lunch when you spend above a certain amount". — TRomano Sep 22 at 23:10

thinking about making 'newfangled' our Word of the Day...

yubraj sharma

Hi.....

Damkerng T.

Hi!

yubraj sharma

Good morning.....It's 4:56 Am here !!!!

Damkerng T.

It's 6 already over here. :-)

yubraj sharma

Which country?

Damkerng T.

23:12

I live in Bangkok. :-)

yubraj sharma

Umm....Okey

yubraj sharma

23:33

Use of would have to ---Is it opposite of "will have to" ? If I say "I would have to agree that you're from Bangkok". What does it mean ?

Damkerng T.

Would itself means nothing much. It suggests how the speaker think about what he or she says.

"I have to agree that you're from Bangkok' but that's too much for me to say. I don't want to admit that wholeheartedly. I want to detach myself from saying that a little."

FWIW, with or without would, agree sounded odd to me, assuming that you tried to use it in our context, in our chat.

yubraj sharma

Yess I tried to use but failed

Damkerng T.

Are you using your computer or your mobile?

yubraj sharma

I'm using mobile

Damkerng T.

For me it's not very fun to type anything long on my mobile phone.

yubraj sharma

23:45

Really!!!

Damkerng T.

Is it difficult for you to use or access a computer?

yubraj sharma

Really!!!

Damkerng T.

Oh!

yubraj sharma

You're using computers

Damkerng T.

I'm on my iPad at the moment.

Still, it's not very fun to type.

yubraj sharma

23:48

Umm .....I don't have my computer so I'm using mobile

Damkerng T.

I see. That's tough.

yubraj sharma

Yeah !!! And you know ? I'm Surfing with "data"

Damkerng T.

I'm not sure what you mean. What do you mean by "data"?

yubraj sharma

Mobile data

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. 《noun》 + -positive is actually a fairly productive way of forming compounds.

Anonymous

23:57

Popular in recent years.

Anonymous

They might be taken as phrases.

Damkerng T.

nods

(strill scratching my head over 'mobile data')

(maybe it's an Internet package or something)

Anonymous

Hard to distinguish in that case between phrases and compounds.

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. What about mobile data?

Damkerng T.

Ah, iPad converted my internet to uppercase!

Anonymous

23:59

The phrase mobile data usually refers to accessing the internet over a phone.

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