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02:00 - 16:0016:00 - 00:00

02:19
Hello @DamkerngT.
How is it going here?
 
2 hours later…
04:17
It's minus 21º C in outdoors. It's cold. Even for us.
Morning all.
!!wiki/pancake
A pancake is a flat cake, often thin, and round, prepared from a starch-based batter that may also contain eggs, milk and butter, and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or frying pan, often in oil or butter. In Britain, pancakes are often unleavened, and resemble a crêpe. In North America, a raising agent is used (typically baking powder). The American pancake is similar to a Scotch pancake or drop scone. Commercially prepared pancake mixes are produced in some countries. They may be served at any time with a variety of toppings or fillings including jam, fruit, syrup, chocolate chips, or...
Ah, this is international.
Should be "outdoors " or "in the street ".
!!wiki/coffee
Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted coffee beans, which are the seeds of berries from the Coffea plant. The genus Coffea is native to tropical Africa, and Madagascar, the Comoros, Mauritius and Réunion in the Indian Ocean. The plant was exported from Africa to countries around the world and coffee plants are now cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in the equatorial regions of the Americas, Southeast Asia, India, and Africa. The two most commonly grown are the highly regarded arabica, and the less sophisticated but stronger and more hardy robusta. Once ripe, coffee berries are...
04:52
sunny morning, minus 14°C
05:05
With snowflakes!
No, these are not snowflakes
These are ice crystals on the balcony window
@Man_From_India Hello! It's been quite a while! Hope everything is well and good over there.
@CowperKettle Ahh
"frosty windows"? I don't know the correct term
@CowperKettle Could be a good question on the main site!
05:10
Coffee and pancakes... sounds yummy!
@CowperKettle Nice find!
@ColleenV Hehe!
@CowperKettle Fern frost is new to me, though.
to me too
05:37
!!translate/เอาหูไปนา เอาตาไปไร่
th: เอาหูไปนา เอาตาไปไร่
en: turn a blind eye to blatant
A-ha! It knows this idiom!
(But why to blatant?!)
It must've learned this from some translations in the past, which the source was เอาหูไปนา เอาตาไปไร่ and the translation was turn a blind eye to, and it misparsed and mismatched the phrases in the two languages.
If I understand the OP correctly, the OP worried that As a research assistant for professor X, my objective was to do... might be a case of a dangling modifier, and some people may consider this incorrect. — Damkerng T. 16 secs ago
A +2 answer should do better than that, I think.
2
Q: Is this correct: It is I whom you saw in the window

Ronald SoleWhile there's no problem with It's me whom you saw in the window. if I prefer to use the formal It is I whom you saw in the window. Am I required to follow up with the subject who pronoun or the object whom pronoun? Seems like I'm breaking a rule whichever I choose. (PS. I've checked ...

> While there's no problem with
It's me whom you saw in the window.
But there are two problems with It's me whom you saw in the window, aren't there?
One is addressed in an answer: It was me is better than It's me.
(If there wasn't the joke, I would've upvoted it.)
The other is It's me whom (or It was me whom) is a bit odd.
It sounds like a mismatch of something informal and something rather formal, at least in this decade.
Who or that would be more natural these days, I think.
06:09
@123 I agree that none of the had sentences by the OP is idiomatic. But your suggestions have no connections between the clause and the speaker, either. (E.g., "I've had him happy throughout the year." links (or tries to link) three things together: him, happy, and I (who've caused that), but "She's been happy this whole year." links only two: She and happy.) — Damkerng T. 8 secs ago
In case anyone wants to add anything.
BTW, the OP's sentences for ('ve) had are:
> I've always had the system unbalanced to the computer
I've had him happy throughout the year.
I've always had the system being unbalanced to the system.
I've had her being happy throughout the year.
I'm not sure what they mean by "(having) the system unbalanced to the computer", though.
Especially when it's "unbalanced to the system" in another example.
"I've had him happy throughout the year." -- I've kept him happy throughout the year, probably?
Sawasdee kha Dam.
Sawasdee khrap! :-)
I 'd rather say "It WAS me whom you saw".
nods
I was the one you saw is probably way more common, nowadays, I think.
"Saw" is in the past.
06:58
0
Q: Is the question "Where is it the map of?" correct?

RezaHow can I say "Where does this map belong to" that asks about where the map is showing, using the "Where". Is this sentence below right?: Where is it the map of? I create the question above following the form of the question below: What do you think of?

I think almost all suggestions in there are pretty an unlikely thing to say.
If both the speaker and listener can see the map (and of course, the OP's context assumes so), I think the speaker would simply ask, What place is this? or What map is this? or maybe Where is this?
The suggestions are like asking What dish you're eating are you eating? (instead of What are you eating?)
(Maybe not exactly like, but almost like, IMO)
Can you please tell me if there is any error in the sentence below?
According to a spokesman for the government, the charge of corruption is a contemptuous lie inspired by political motives.
07:20
@Nagendra What error do you have in mind?
(BTW, the sentence somehow sounds familiar. Maybe someone has asked about a similar sentence in this room.)
Don't know if it was asked earlier or not. I don't think there is any error in the sentence. But I might be wrong. Did you find any?
I don't see any error in the sentence
Be careful with the word error or wrong. It can mean different things to different people. FWIW, I don't think it's ungrammatical.
I might reword the beginning to 'government spokesman', but the sentence makes sense to me
But in some tests, it's possible that they might expect you to choose a better alternative.
nods -- I agree with Mike.
07:37
@mike But one of my books says it should be contemptable instead of contemptuous. I couldn't find the word in dictionary. Maybe it means contemptible, but I couldn't understand what's wrong with contemptuous.
contemptuous: manifesting, feeling, or expressing deep hatred or disapproval
@Nagendra It should be contemptible. One is contemptuous of something that is contemptible.
Mick is correct actually - my apologies
I wasn't paying attention
I suppose it's similar to trying to say that a puzzling smile is more correct than a puzzled smile.
@Mick Is it wrong to say contemptuous lie?
I have seen two sentences in Oxford dictionary. 1.He evaluates the host culture from his own perspective and approaches it with a condescending or even contemptuous attitude.’
2. ‘His bitter frown transformed itself into a sneer and then a contemptuous smile.’
07:48
It is incorrect. Contemptuousness is an attitude.
If Mick says yes, I will have a puzzled smile. If Mick says no, I will have a puzzling smile. :-)
(By yes, I mean if Mick says it's correct.)
Now I'm puzzled.
It depends on the intended meaning, doesn't it?
@Nagendra A smile can be contemptuous since it reflects a persons attitude. Of course, someone else could call that smile contemptible.
I would argue though that a 'contemptuous lie' is a lie that expresses contempt
whereas a 'contemptible lie' is a lie that we express contempt for
07:56
!!translate/презрительный
ru: презрительный
en: contemptuous
!!translate/презренный
ru: презренный
en: despicable
!!translate/minions
en: minions
en: minions
07:59
I suppose Google is right this time! :D
08:10
!!translate/а зори здесь тихие
ru: а зори здесь тихие
en: Dawns Here Are Quiet
!!translate/Путин хэллоу, ла ла ла ла ла ла ла ла
sr: Путин хэллоу, ла ла ла ла ла ла ла ла
en: Putin HelloI, la la la la la la la la
!!translate/Путин хэлло, ла ла ла ла ла ла ла ла
sr: Путин хэлло, ла ла ла ла ла ла ла ла
en: Putin hello, la la la la la la la la
08:14
!!translate/ฮ่าฮ่าฮ่า
th: ฮ่าฮ่าฮ่า
en: Ha ha ha
ла ла ла ла ла ла ла ла ♪
:-)
Russian khuilo sounds much like hello but means, well, a very obscene thing. Hence the song about Putin. (0:
@Mick Thanks!
08:16
@CowperKettle Oh! I didn't know the nuance!
He is praising Putin, singing "Putin hello!" but the text makes it clear what he really means
"Very many people think the way I do." Is it right.
@CowperKettle I guess it's something we shouldn't give to Ellbot!
@Nagendra In what context? Also, in what dialect?
@DamkerngT. Yes, Ellbot is too young for this
50 mins ago, by Damkerng T.
Be careful with the word error or wrong. It can mean different things to different people. FWIW, I don't think it's ungrammatical.
Right, correct, incorrect, etc. are along the same lines.
@CowperKettle Haha!
@DamkerngT in Any dialect. I've read in some websites that very many is used with negative and interrogative sentences. But is right in positive sentences also?
I'm sure some people will think it's incorrect.
But do all the people in a language think the same?
A rule of thumb in any language. The less often people use something, the bigger chance that more people will think it's wrong.
Not to mention some (prescriptive) rules some people put explicitly in usage and style guides.
A vendetta against these passive voice exercises is being gone on by me. — TRomano Jan 29 at 15:55
Haha!
(I'm sure some editors will consider that sentence incorrect, too.)
 
1 hour later…
10:49
> Into the wells of vertical rows 2–4 add 100 µl samples of calibration curve solutions (in triplicate).
Is there a need for a comma before add, I wonder
11:12
@CowperKettle I think it's recommended. I'm not sure if it's can't be omitted, though.
But why not Add ... into the wells ...?
@DamkerngT. thank you! I haven't found a mention of this. If this an adverbial clause of position?
11:35
0
Q: Comma in "Into the wells of vertical rows 2–4, add 100 µl samples of the calibration solutions."

CowperKettle Into the wells of vertical rows 2–4, add 100 µl samples of the calibration solutions. Is a comma necessary before "add", or can it be omitted? "Into the wells of vertical rows 2-4" is an adverbial phrase. I can't find a grammatical rule for such a clause staring a sentence, but it reads be...

@CowperKettle Looks like a typical "fronting" to me.
I'm not sure what style guides say about fronting, if they say anything at all. Hopefully, someone out there on the main site knows. :-)
I'm so busy reading about chromatography and stuff that "fronting" lights only a very dim light somewhere in the basement of my brain.
I haven't read about statistics yet.
> Is a comma necessary before "add", or can it be omitted?
I wonder if I can omit a before 'comma'
I don't think we should.
One good thing about PVR, if you have it record an entire season of The Voice, playing the whole season continuously is like attending a big concert!
Personal video recorder?
Yes! It's a feature of my set-top box provided by my cable provider.
11:44
Ah
I listened only to one song from The Voice
still in the third Blind Audition of season 11 (^_^)
@CowperKettle Oh! What song?
She is so cute
And bawls so loud
My heart breaks, in short
She's quite good!
11:46
Yes
applauds!
!!translate/จิ๋วแต่แจ๋ว
th: จิ๋วแต่แจ๋ว
en: Turn just
Hmm... that isn't quite right!
!!translate/เล็กพริกขึ้หนู
th: เล็กพริกขึ้หนู
en: Put a little pepper
Haha! It doesn't know any of these idioms!
11:48
add a bit of pepper into something to make it more spicy?
spice something up?
The basic idea is "small but powerful".
ah
tiny but shiny
And we compare it to chilli peppers, which are small but very spicy!
A-ha!
@DamkerngT. We have that as a proverb.
11:50
Thanks!
@Færd Oh! In Persian?
Yup!
Hah!
I wonder if this is just coincidental, or we just borrowed it from yours. :-)
> Don't look at how small the pepper seed is, break (and taste) it and see how pungent it is.
Or maybe vice versa.
> 1- I will have completely finished tomorrow.
> 2- I will completely have finished tomorrow.
> 3- I will definitely have finished tomorrow.
> 4- I will have definitely finished tomorrow.
11:54
Hmm... I think finished it is more idiomatic than finished with it.
We can be done with it, of course.
I prefer 1 to 2 and 3 to 4.
Hmm...
I'm concerned about the order of the words, where the adv goes.
I can't tell it now, because I can see all of them on my screen!
Closing my eyes and trying to say it aloud, I think I agree with you.
I like the former better.
But see what PEU has to say about it.
momento
11:58
!!translate/маленький да удаленький
ru: маленький да удаленький
en: small yes udalenky
("tiny but shiny" in Russian)
Aww... it doesn't understand удаленький!
yes, "udalenky" is an endearing form of "udaloy" which means "powerful, dashing, swashbuckling etc."
@DamkerngT. Ah, sorry. PEU agrees with us.
12:00
Oh! -- Phew!
> This room is cold as ice.
Sounds OK, right? Now this one:
> This room is small as a closet.
I wonder what is wrong with the second one, if anything is.
I think it's okay, colloquially.
But of course, adding another as would make the sentence sound more "complete".
Maybe with adjectives of measurement it's not normal to drop the first as.
consults COCA
I'm guess that maybe it's the a that throws the rhythm off a little.
why?
12:06
Because! :P
"as closet"?
That doesn't work, I think.
It's like those too X a Y phrases.
> You're cold as a snowman.
What about this?
I'm okay with it, if it's spoken.
FWIW, I can turn this as into like in my mind if I think it sounds a little to odd.
Well. I went blank. I don't know anything right now.
12:11
Is there any book saying that it's ungrammatical or something?
Yeah, a testbook associated with PEU (by Swan and another person) says "This room is small as a closet." doesn't work.
It must be as small as a closet, I guess?
Maybe so. It refers to a section in the original book. Let me see..
136.12
> We use the structure as ... as ... in a lot of traditional comparative expressions.
as cold as ice as hard as nails
as black as night as ... as hell
The first as can be dropped in these expressions in an informal style.
She's hard as nails.
I'm tired as hell of listening to your problems.
I don't have the book with me now. What does it say, in short?
Oh, thank you!
Huh? It also says that it's okay in an informal style!
Yeah, but only for those traditional phrases.
12:16
Oh!
So maybe the point is there is no such idoim as as small as something.
I don't know.
Hehe! I don't know, either!
Well, there's lots of things we don't know. To hell with it.
> his balls were small as raisins
> He had quick, darting eyes that were small as raisins
(from COCA)
> Her feet are small as buttons.
12:19
Can you find an instance of small as a in COCA that has only one as?
> she was small as a child (x2)
A-ha!
It sounds like the book may be wrong.
> He was small as a twig
But compared to how often other adjectives (like cold) go in those constructions, it's not as common.
@DamkerngT. But yeah, maybe.
Nice conversation. Thanks for the time.
It was nice for me to think about it, too!
Thank you for bringing this up!
No, a comma is not necessary there. It doesn't read better with a comma, IMO. — TRomano 7 mins ago
12:26
A-ha!
13:07
IMO it does read better with a comma...but commas are often a matter of individual style and preference. — stangdon 9 mins ago
A-ha!
sad
I just wrote "..., clarity is of highly important." in an answer earlier today!
I want to edit it, but I don't want to bump the question up again, so I'll leave it like that.
@CowperKettle NCIS!?!
LOL
I dunno what NCIS is
Just a very funny hacking scene
> sadly, on the other end of the line were 3 Hackers using a single keyboard and so there was no way that they could stop them...
a comment (0:
> the solution is simple. 4 hackers using half a keyboard.
> A real hacker would never make it so obvious and keep it a secret as long as possible. Otherwise you get 2 people on 1 keyboard counterhacking you + the big boss who will pull the plug, scary stuff. Hackers, watch out!
13:25
In any case, two people, one keyboard just doesn't work!
3
A: Are we to use any with plurals or singulars?

PeterYour first sentence is correct Does he have any cars that are black in color? which means "Are any of his cars black?". However, your second sentence should read Does he have a car that is black in color? which means "Is at least one of his cars black?" Both questions are asking if "he...

Huh? Does he have any cars that are black in color? is correct, and Does he have any car that is black in color? is incorrect!!!
3
A: Are we to use any with plurals or singulars?

Tim PederickBoth are correct. However, the second ("any" + singular) is less commonly used nowadays, and so it sounds somewhat old-fashioned. As for difference in meaning, in theory, the first is asking if he has multiple black cars, while the second is asking if he has at least one black car. In practice...

Huh? Does he have any car that is black in color? is old-fashioned!
Maybe in color influenced their assessments, but the point of the question is just about Does he have any SINGULAR/PLURAL-NOUN that IS/ARE ...?
> Do you have any idea how unhygienic that is?
> Other than my testimony and character, do you have any reason to believe that my claim is true?
> Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?
Hmm... one thing emerged during my Google searches to verify this: "Do you have any * that is/are" is rare either way.
1
Q: "Someone was refreshingly honest when [...]": is the adverb an obfuscated adjunct?

Ange-à-LibertéPlease consider the following: (1) My colleague was refreshingly honest when I asked her for feedback. (2) It was refreshing to see my colleague being honest when I asked her for feedback. (3) He is amazingly handsome. (4) [Amazingly(,)] he is handsome [(,)amazingly]. I don't unders...

Another long-winded question, though the answer is very succinct!
> (1) My colleague was refreshingly honest when I asked her for feedback.
(2) It was refreshing to see my colleague being honest when I asked her for feedback.
The flaw is probably in the rephrasing.
> (a) This book is amazingly useful.
> (b) It is amazing to use this book.
(b) == (a)? No, I don't think so.
> (c) He was so contemptuously grumpy.
> (d) It was so contemptuous to see him being grumpy.
(d) == (c)? No, I don't think so.
14:31
Really? Why be so complex? I'd change places: Add 100 µl samples of the calibration solutions into the wells of the vertical rows 2–4. I think 'the" is needed here. — SovereignSun 33 mins ago
I wrote that in traditional grammar "other" is a determiner and was immediately downvoted. It's like a red cloth. People don't like to recognize the fact that learners are taught traditionally.
@V.V. If you already mentioned "traditional", it's not fair to downvote your answer on this ground, IMO.
Are you sure it was because of this point?
@TRomano That's why I've always hated instructions! — SovereignSun 2 mins ago
LOL
"Why be so complex?" "Because English, maybe."
But TRomano's comments are good enough already.
I don't care, Dam. It's always like this, when some people are nearby.
Okay.
@Samthere On the other hand, you wouldn't say Is any of you but rather Are any of you brave enough to challenge me. — 123 10 mins ago
The thread of comment is getting long, so I will write my thoughts in here.
Between Is there anyone else? and Are there anyone else?, the former is obviously the better choice.
Now, let's "bend" English a little.
Between Is there any more of you? and Are there any more of you?, I'm betting that the former is likelier.
(Though, again, either is probably not very likely.)
15:07
I'm not saying that I agree or disagree with your answer, but because your point seems to be hinged upon any kind to allow singular any NOUN (i.e., if it's a specific kind, we'd use the plural any NOUNs), These examples might be interesting to the reader: Was there any other man of his name in that ward? But never, however, was there any other man whom she loved. Was there any other man in English history so well-beloved that London juries twice saved his life by acquitting him against the clearest evidence of treason and felony?Damkerng T. 14 secs ago
Something to think about.
I just came across this "The cities New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston are where I want to go" is this sentence correct?. I think it should be The cities likeNew York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston is where I want to go.
The cities like New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston is where I want to go is not as good as The cities New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston are where I want to go,
For the subject, think of something like I deleted the files /etc/log.1, /etc/log.2, and /etc/log.3.
may I know why?
Rephrasing it as I deleted the files like /etc/log.1, /etc/log.2, and /etc/log.3 makes it a different sentence, right?
Though it's possible in conversational English to use I deleted some files, like, /etc/log.1, /etc/log.2, and /etc/log.3.
Now if you understand that the files /etc/log.1, /etc/log.2, and /etc/log.3 is a single noun phrase, it should be obvious to you that this noun phrase is plural.
The same goes to your sentence.
@DamkerngT.: hello . thanks
15:21
No problem! :-)
15:49
Word of the Day: gutterball
02:00 - 16:0016:00 - 00:00

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