Language Overflow

Damkerng T.

00:55

@Færd For me, every sounds a lot better than all, so I would answer D, but I don't know why they think A is correct. She works all day except Sundays doesn't make much sense to me. It's like She works full-time except Sundays, which is an okay sentence but not a very good one, IMO.

Anonymous

01:46

@DamkerngT. It could make sense if, for example, she worked only half of the day on Sundays.

Anonymous

Full shift on Monday through Saturday, half shift on Sunday?

Anonymous

Something like that.

Damkerng T.

02:17

@snailplane I agree it's possible, but I don't think it's very realistic. I mean, nobody is supposed to work every day!

Færd

@DamkerngT. The problem with D is that Sundays is in plural. When I'm reporting a weekly schedule, I say every day except Sunday, not Sundays, but I've resolved that this is more of a matter of style than grammar.

@snailplane Yes, for example. Even if she didn't word Sundays at all (to suit @Dam's realistic taste!:). Because there could be an unstated every day hidden in that sentence.

Just a general possibility. It wouldn't be good wording though.

And thanks y'all for telling me what you thought about it.

user62015

04:15

He presented me a book on my birthday.
(A) He presented me a book for my birthday
(B) He presented me with a book on my
birthday
(C) He presented a book for my birthday
(D) No improvement @DamkerngT. @snailplane

Damkerng T.

Present is not like give.

You can give someone something, but you wouldn't present someone something.

user62015

So Answer key says B'

But you mean to say all options are wrong?

Damkerng T.

Somewhat like give, which allows us to say give something to someone, we can say present someone with something.

user62015

Okay.

So answer is right?

Damkerng T.

04:34

Yes

user62015

Thank you so much.

Have a great time.

Damkerng T.

You're welcome!

Damkerng T.

06:59

> Yellow is a light which has been dampened by darkness; blue is a darkness weakened by light.

> --Goethe

M.A.R.

@DamkerngT. Nice, although yellow is just red and green.

Damkerng T.

07:26

@M.A.R. In painting, yellow is just yellow. :-)

M.A.R.

@DamkerngT. Technically, it STILL is red and green

Damkerng T.

I suppose R + G = Y is more prevalent in the digital age. I wonder if kids still use watercolors in their art classes.

(Imagining all kids in the US paint on their tablets instead.)

M.A.R.

Well, when I see some schools' walls in Iran, I see how creative Iranian kids can be.

Damkerng T.

:D

M.A.R.

@DamkerngT. Well, even in real life, our eyes have no ''yellow'' color receptors.

Damkerng T.

07:32

It depends on how you think of it, whether it's emission or absorption.

M.A.R.

@DamkerngT. You mean if something emits yellow light?

Damkerng T.

I think yellow pigments absorb the blue light, IIRC.

M.A.R.

Yeah, and they don't absorb a mix of red and green

Damkerng T.

nods

M.A.R.

And our eyes have three types of cony cells.

One recognizes blue.

One recognizes red, the other green.

Damkerng T.

07:35

@M.A.R. But our displays don't work that way.

M.A.R.

@DamkerngT. I know. The displays trick the brain

CowperKettle

Word of the day: cony cell

2

Damkerng T.

Primary Colors Part 1 (Cyan and Magenta vs Blue and Red)

►

CowperKettle

> It was a hard thing to undo this knot.
The rainbow shines, but only in the thought
Of him that looks. Yet not in that alone,
For who makes rainbows by invention?
And many standing round a waterfall
See one bow each, yet not the same to all,
But each a hand’s breadth further than the next.
The sun on falling waters writes the text
Which yet is in the eye or in the thought.
It was a hard thing to undo this knot.

Damkerng T.

Hah! "writes the text"!

M.A.R.

08:13

Adults these days . . .

Juvenoia

►

One of my favorite Vsauce videos.

CowperKettle

@DamkerngT. This line always reminds me of (the?) laser

This poem is one of my favorite

It relates to this:

Inscape and instress

Inscape and instress are complementary concepts about individuality and uniqueness derived by Gerard Manley Hopkins from the ideas of the medieval philosopher Duns Scotus. [Hopkins] felt that everything in the universe was characterized by what he called inscape, the distinctive design that constitutes individual identity. This identity is not static but dynamic. Each being in the universe 'selves,' that is, enacts its identity. And the human being, the most highly selved, the most individually distinctive being in the universe, recognizes the inscape of other beings in an act that Hopkins calls...

Based on the ideas of this man:

Duns Scotus

John Duns, commonly called Duns Scotus (/dʌnz ˈskoʊtəsˌ ˈskɒtəs/; c. 1266 – 8 November 1308), is generally considered to be one of the three most important philosopher-theologians of the High Middle Ages. Scotus has had considerable influence on both Catholic and secular thought. The doctrines for which he is best known are the "univocity of being," that existence is the most abstract concept we have, applicable to everything that exists; the formal distinction, a way of distinguishing between different aspects of the same thing; and the idea of haecceity, the property supposed to be in eac...

Afternoon, Muhammad!

M.A.R.

\o

CowperKettle

It's +15C in Tabriz, and minus 15C in Yekaterinburg

M.A.R.

You're my evil twin.

Or I'm your evil twin. We can decide on that.

Let's bring negotiators to a place that's 0 degrees right now.

CowperKettle

@M.A.R. I'm your evil Tween 80

M.A.R.

08:24

New meta post!

0

Q: Questions about "formal" English

We get a lot of questions from quaerants who are concerned about the use of "formal" English, and I would really like to know how best to answer such questions. What should we tell them? There's no such thing as formal English? It's a cultural thing and therefore off-topic. It's just a matter of ...

discussion

M.A.R.

08:54

please flag

CowperKettle

09:45

The word written is лишишься (you will lose [something])

M.A.R.

@CowperKettle ʕ ⊃･ ◡ ･ ʔ⊃︵┻━┻

Stack Exchange

09:59

2

Q: Answering questions about "formal" English

We get a lot of questions from quaerants who are concerned about the use of "formal" English, and I would really like to know how best to answer such questions. What should we tell them? There's no such thing as formal English? It's a cultural thing and therefore off-topic? It's just a matter of ...

discussion

CowperKettle

> If anyone other than the investigator was responsible for evaluation of clinical
outcomes (e.g., the sponsor or an external committee to review X-rays or ECG's or to
determine whether the patient had a stroke, acute infarction, or sudden death) the
person or group should be identified.

Is it right to pluralize ECG as ECG's?

I recall that I wrote WBCs in my recent translation. Is this an error?

Should I have written WBC's?

I used WBCs in a table head.

Damkerng T.

10:17

@CowperKettle IIRC, WBC's is an old style (it's still in use, though). WBCs is more common nowadays.

Damkerng T.

10:49

0

Q: What does affine mean in human relationship and interaction?

I've seen an article mentioning the term affine when speaking about humans. I'm familiar with it from mathematics and in geometry it's precisely defined relation between objects. I've tried to figure out how it reflects on the interaction or relationship between people but I'm not totally certai...

word-meaning

Isn't this a GR question?

Affine, affinity, affinal

Damkerng T.

12:39

1

Q: What grammatical function does "for" in the sentence have?

Yet it is amazing that this deal works at all – however imperfectly . For it breaches countless generations of human social arrangements. And I'm not sure what the last sentence is talking about also.

grammar meaning-in-context

Sometimes I wish I wasn't right. Seeing that For at the beginning of that sentence, I thought at once, probably written by a non-native speaker, no matter what proficiency level they are at.

Turns out I was right. sad

Færd

@DamkerngT. You have as much reason to be happy as sad!

If there was a comma behind for instead of a period, would that be more native-like to you?

Damkerng T.

@Færd A little bit more, yes.

But maybe it's better not to use for at all!

Færd

It's certainly not usual.

As far as I am aware of usual registers, which is not much.

Damkerng T.

I think if they'd used two dashes or two commas, it could've looked much better, at least for me.

Færd

Two commas where?

Damkerng T.

12:50

One in the place of the dash, and the other in the place of the period.

Færd

Yeah, the punctuation looks like a mess.

Care to edit it?

Damkerng T.

I meant, in the original.

Færd

I see. The origin is not mentioned in the question though.

Damkerng T.

The original indeed uses one dash, and writes it in two sentences. (AFAICT)

@Færd I got curious, so I searched.

But I'm not sure if the source I found is legally fine.

Færd

Still the question can be edited, if you're sure of a better way of punctuation.

Take care Dam. I'mma scram.

Damkerng T.

12:56

@Færd See you!

I guess I can quote a page that in turn quotes the book.

Damkerng T.

13:35

3

Q: Should it be "runs" or "run" in the following sentence?

I was watching Planet Earth 2 yesterday and came across this line said by David Attenborough: At the first sign of danger, the young ibex instinctively run back to steeper ground. I am thinking it should be "runs" and not "run." Am I right or I am missing something?

verbs subject-verb-agreement

Word of the Day: ibex

2

CowperKettle

15:47

@DamkerngT. Thank you!

Damkerng T.

@CowperKettle My pleasure!

CowperKettle

The pleasure is all mine!

CowperKettle

16:08

Millay of the Day:

> Mistake me not - unto my inmost core
I do desire your kiss upon my mouth;
They have not craved a cup of water more
That bleach upon the deserts of the south;
Here might you bless me; what you cannot do
Is bow me down, who have been loved by you.

Damkerng T.

16:20

Beautiful!

CowperKettle

16:30

She had very little capacity for writing bad poetry, so yes, beautiful

Damkerng T.

17:13

Note to self: In translation, bending word order in the target language might be desirable. It might seem impossible to, say, deliver information in an unusual order, e.g., OVS, OSV, or VSO, and so on in English, but it's possible. Imagine a character in a novel with an inquiring face asking, "Chicken? Eat?", and after a short pause, "Yes, you." It might sound a bit odd, but the meaning is clear, and if the original work is written as such, it's probably better to keep it that way.

CowperKettle

My cony cells neved did behold a wiser comment.

If they did, they somehow hid it from my neurony cells

Damkerng T.

@CowperKettle You sure love poetry!

CowperKettle

(0:

> Thus far, with rough and all-unable pen,
Our bending author hath pursued the story,
In little room confining mighty men,
Mangling by starts the full course of their glory.

Damkerng T.

Ohh, hath!

Hi! @Hanaa!

Hanaa

Hi @DamkerngT. How are you?

Damkerng T.

17:20

Good, thanks! I'm taking a short visit, and probably have to retire to my bed soon. :-)

But it's nice to see you again!

I've seen you in our chat log. Looks like things are going well for you.

Hanaa

Your bed is healthy too :). Thank you . Fine.

Damkerng T.

:D

See you soon! And on that note, I have to leave. :-)

Hanaa

Run in there in that example is a past action as i think.

Good night

CowperKettle

I'm busy translating, but it's nice to see you around, @Hanaa!

Lurk mode on

Arrowfar

17:39

Good evening

CowperKettle

@Arrowfar Good evening!

Arrowfar

howdy @Hanaa. long time no see, how is life? good I hope.

Good evening @CowperKettle!

How is Russia in winters? :)

My hands are cold at the moment although not very cold here.

no way it is 22 C here and I feel cold. I'm a sissy ;-)

Hanaa

@CowperKettle No problem :)

@Arrowfar Thanks! Fine !

Arrowfar

17:55

@Hanaa so Hanna how is Algeria these days?

CowperKettle

@Arrowfar It's okay, only minus 15C outside

I jogged today, and it was fine

I'm thinking of bying a face mask for jogging

lurk mode on

M.A.R.

chat mode on

CowperKettle

@Arrowfar check your blood TSH level! My hands were cold a year ago, turned out a hypothyroidism

^_^

Arrowfar

@CowperKettle Wow, minus 15. I feel frozen just reading about it.

@CowperKettle okay I will. Thanks for the tip :D

CowperKettle

it will hit minus 31°C on Saturday, and then it will get warm again

So jogging is off the question on Saturday

I should have a date instead

(0:

Lurk mode on

Arrowfar

18:04

Your date will be very cold ;)

Date with a girl right? I hope I didn't misunderstand the meaning heh

I was also thinking calendar 'date'.

well, anyway :)

CowperKettle

18:16

(0:

I hope it will not be the fruit date.. or the calendar date.

Although I love fruit dates, and some calendar dates.

Arrowfar

Heh! :-)

CowperKettle

> Russian Pharmacopoeia XII

I wonder if the reader will understand this as "Russian Pharmacopoeia, 12th edition"

Another translator used this for clarity's sake.

Hanaa

Here it's cold too. Sad news too @Arrowfar :)

CowperKettle

@Hanaa ah, I remember that your Uni is in the mountanous region

Hanaa

@CowperKettle Uni?

CowperKettle

18:24

university

Hanaa

@CowperKettle I got my master degree and left that cold uni; waiting for calling me to teach in my city

CowperKettle

@Hanaa Congratulations!

Hanaa

@CowperKettle Thanks!

I'm reading a book about teaching. Feeling cold and afraid at home when i remember that tomorrow i will be at home without work or study.

CowperKettle

@Hanaa Everything will be alright

Nothing bad can befall a smart and beautiful girl who knows how to teach English

Hanaa

@CowperKettle I hope so. :) That's the point. Maybe i'm kind but not smart enough .

Arrowfar

18:31

@Hanaa Aww my prayers are with you Hanna.

I have been giving interviews too these days. Looking for a job.

CowperKettle

@Arrowfar Good luck with your job hunting!

Arrowfar

@CowperKettle Thanks man!

Hanaa

@Arrowfar Good luck! Since you are a man, you will find. It's a matter of going here and there and meeting people without feeling shy :D

CowperKettle

@Hanaa Only stupid people believe themselves to be smart. A smart person is always unsure.

Hanaa

@CowperKettle This is right.

Arrowfar

18:39

@Hanaa Heh thanks. Masters in English is a good and useful degree to have. Just starting sending CVs in the HR departments of colleges and schools etc. You will be fine I'm sure :-)

In the last two years I have sent my CV to like 50 companies here, big and small. Sometimes I get a call sometimes don't.

Hanaa

@Arrowfar In a poor country, i don't think so :) Anyway see u later

Arrowfar

@Hanaa See you later. Good luck! :D

user62015

19:11

The old, grey horse that was carrying/A had a sad look in its eyes when / B shotgun that the farmer was carrying / C no error / D @DamkerngT.

user62015

19:28

@V.V. Hi could you answer the question?

V.V.

19:51

I didn't understand what should be done.

And what was that horse carrying?

Don't see any sense.

Færd

21:21

Darn! When did I get a golden badge?!

Yeah, for asking a popular question. When you search Google for Hi there! that question comes up as the first link (at least for me).

I'm surprised there's still so many unasked popular questions.

suməlic

22:04

@Færd Congratulations!

@user62015 That almost looks like poetry to me. But like V.V., I don't understand how it's a question. It seems incomplete

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