Language Overflow

yubraj sharma

00:07

Good morning !!!

What's a word in English for chewing or moving teeth when no foods is there in mouth. We all normally do so.

I'm not referring it to a habit, we all do it.

Anonymous

01:06

@yubrajsharma We do?

mike

I would have said 'grinding our teeth', but certainly not everybody does it

yubraj sharma

01:23

Sometimes we normally do so.

Is it grinding teeth ?

mike

01:47

@yubrajsharma: grinding our teeth is what immediately came to mind. but that wouldn't be something that everybody does

it's considered a bad habit that most people would like to stop

Jude

03:53

Greetings all!

Be at hill street at 11 o'clock

In this sentence, I have used at 2 times. is this usage is correct?

Mick

@Jude No problem.

Jude

04:16

WHat do we call the proper usage of punctuation marks?

Mick

It's just called punctuation. You either get it right or get it wrong.

Jude

alright

QuokMoon

05:09

Good morning

CowperKettle

Namaste, QuokMoon ji

QuokMoon

zdrah-stvooy CowperKettle

Anyone want to review my transcript ?

Me : Let's go for lunch .
Friends: Sure . Where we should go for lunch ?
Me: One famous restaurant I have found near our office.
It's famous for their Italian food.
Friends: I am a fond of Italian food let's grab a bite to eat.

CowperKettle

> Where should we go for lunch?

> , let's grab a bite to eat.

Jude

@CowperKettle it sounds better

Anonymous

05:24

It's part of orthography, @Jude.

Anonymous

And rather than just being right or wrong, there's a considerable amount of acceptable variation in punctuation style.

Jude

Thanks snail :)

CowperKettle

For orthography, Jude,
Is like drink and food,
Skip it, Jude, if you don't like it
But we'd rather you would

^_^

QuokMoon

@CowperKettle ok

QuokMoon

05:44

And thanks for the review .

V.V.

06:56

@CowperKettle THANKS.

CowperKettle

07:23

@V.V. You're welcome! Happy New Year!

Anonymous

07:43

Happy New Year's Eve's Eve's Eve's Eve!

Jude

@CowperKettle hehe :D good one

This is awesome

^_^

allearsenglish.com/episodes

New year's resolutions?

mtaqi

Hi, guys, what should be the ideal practice to increase skills for speaking English with fluency?

Anonymous

Have lots of conversations, expose yourself to as much English as possible :-)

Jude

@mtaqi go to a english speaking country

snail; what are your new years resolutions?

Anonymous

I don't have any. I'm not sure if they're a good idea. Sometimes we make plans and feel good about declaring the plans, and we forget to ever act on them.

Anonymous

07:57

I think I should do things rather than resolving to do them :-)

Jude

how about if you write them somewhere; then you won't forget them :p

but; if gives more clear vision of your life

Anonymous

What are yours?

Jude

all hands down for my list of goals I've set for

Increase my GPA more than 3.5

Do my own tech conference

Obtain IELTS !!!

basically; those are the highest prioritized ones

Anonymous

Worthy goals! :-)

Jude

but this looks so challenging

snail; are you married>

@DamkerngT. how do you ring in the new year?

CowperKettle

08:08

@Jude (0:

> Starting dose of 150 mg b.i.d. (twice daily) BIBF 1120, followed by dose escalation of 50 mg for successive cohorts, up to a maximum of 250 mg b.i.d. (concomitant with BIBW 2992)

Is this "concomitant" okay?

I would write "simultaneously" or "in parallel with"

Anonymous

Can you define the acronyms?

CowperKettle

the acronyms are drug names

Anonymous

The passage is difficult for me to understand

Anonymous

I think concomitant is okay…

Anonymous

What is b.i.d.?

CowperKettle

08:14

> bis in die

twice daily

0

Q: Is this use of the word "concomitant" natural? What other words can be used?

From a clinical trial synopsis: Dose: Starting dose of 150 mg b.i.d. (twice daily) BIBF 1120, followed by dose escalation of 50 mg for successive cohorts, up to a maximum of 250 mg b.i.d. (concomitant with BIBW 2992) BIBF 1120 and BIBW 2992 are names of drugs. Is the word "concomitant" fel...

word-usage

> AMA style avoids use of this abbreviation (spell out "twice a day")

List of abbreviations used in medical prescriptions

This is a list of abbreviations used in medical prescriptions, including hospital orders (the patient-directed part of which is referred to as sig codes). This list does not include abbreviations for pharmaceuticals or drug name suffixes such as CD, CR, ER, XT (See Time release technology § List of abbreviations for those). Capitalization and the use of periods are a matter of style. In the list, Latin is not capitalized whereas English acronyms are. These abbreviations can be verified in reference works, both recent and older. Some of those works (such as Wyeth 1901) are so comprehensive that...

@Jude good luck!

Jude

@CowperKettle Hey; is that the highest level of hat you are wearing? Superman

CowperKettle

"bis in die" reminded me of "Die, Bart, Die!"

The Simpsons - Die Bart Die (English)

►

Anonymous

@CowperKettle Ohh, I think I knew that, once upon a time :-)

Damkerng T.

08:39

@Jude How do I ring? Sounds like a phrase in the mobile phone era. -- Well, I guess I'll stay home. (^_^)

Jude

@DamkerngT. yeah, It's a new idiom i just learnt

idioms.thefreedictionary.com/ring+in+the+new+year

Damkerng T.

I wonder if it's old or it's relatively new.

Jude

I couldn't found the origin of it

Anonymous

Old.

Anonymous

Think bells :-)

Damkerng T.

08:42

Ah, I see. Thanks! :-)

Jude

I was listening to podcasts and heard it

Anonymous

poets.org/poetsorg/poem/memoriam-ring-out-wild-bells

2

Jude

Could you please hold this for me?

Can you please hold this for me?

Which one is correct? Or are these totally 2 different meaning? I don't know the difference

Damkerng T.

Another possible alternative: Could you hold this for me?

Anonymous

They're both grammatical and make sense.

Anonymous

08:44

I suggest using could, as it's less direct and more polite.

Jude

could -> past tense of can

isn't it?

Anonymous

@CowperKettle Cowper Kettle alert! I posted a poem about ringing out and ringing in :-)

Damkerng T.

I guess Could you please is okay, but Can you please might come off wrong.

Anonymous

Yes, sort of. With modal auxiliaries, the past–present connection between forms is a bit more tenuous, but you can still see could used as a backshifted form of can.

Anonymous

Both could and can are used with non-past meaning, though.

Damkerng T.

08:46

@snailplane Happy bells for happy snails! :D

Anonymous

:-)

Jude

okay... seems like Could is being used that I can add some humble to my requests

Anonymous

I think it adds politeness rather than humbleness.

Jude

got it :)

Anonymous

But politeness aside, the basic meaning of both sentences is the same.

Jude

08:48

clear :)

Anonymous

I feel like could goes well with please.

Jude

@snailplane (In such a case; how can I express that I understood it well? Like my previous reply)

Damkerng T.

3

A: How can I say it in this situation?

Would you please slice it ? You could say this sentence, of course, but there are two serious problems you might have. These are not about which verb you use: slice or cut. The first thing that we need to understand is about where you put the word please. Please Could you slice it, pleas...

Anonymous

You expressed that successfully :-)

Damkerng T.

^Worth reading

Jude

08:50

I'm reading...

Damkerng T.

But I think our tone is more important.

Anonymous

I agree with most of the answer, but please doesn't necessarily make it more like an order in medial position.

Jude

Yes, It does

Anonymous

It does depend on context and tone of voice.

Damkerng T.

nods

Jude

08:51

and sometimes facial expressions will do the same

Anonymous

On Japanese.SE, we recently got a question without any context. The interesting part is, the question asked for context! :-) japanese.stackexchange.com/q/42092/1478

Anonymous

"context please"

Damkerng T.

Hehe!

Anonymous

If you just say "<noun phrase> please", it does sound like a bit of an order.

Anonymous

Not exactly, but it's certainly less polite than "Could you add some context, please?"

Anonymous

08:54

I suppose it's related to the general idea that the longer your utterance, the more likely it is to be perceived as polite :-)

Damkerng T.

Ohhh... I just noticed the new hat! @snailplane

Anonymous

(-:

Anonymous

I feel like this is the best hat for my snail avatar.

Damkerng T.

It fits your avatar perfectly! :-)

Okay, my short break ends. See you all later! o/

Jude

catch ya late

Anonymous

08:57

See you soon!

CowperKettle

09:36

@snailplane thank you, Snails! (0:

I've been jogging, and now for some registering for exams and mail sending and clinical trial book reading and then I'll read the poem

Jude

10:05

tini_tiny I heard this; but i'm not sure what is that means

Anonymous

@Jude Heard tini_tiny? With your ears?

Anonymous

I don't know what tini_tiny means.

Jim Reynolds

10:29

Teeny-tiny, perhaps.

Or is it teenie-tiny? I've heard it with my itsy-bitsy ears.

Anonymous

Oh! Yes.

Jude

10:56

@JimReynolds yes. Might be one of these. Because I'm not sure about the spellings

It should be Teeny-tiny

I was wondering how much small they are talking about

Anonymous

@Jude It is more emphatic than tiny alone. It means 'very small'.

Mick

11:23

@Jude Also teeny-weeny.

Stack Exchange

0

Q: Is this a hat problem? Date seems to be off

I just got an Mmmm Bacon hat which is described as ask, answer, or vote on December 30th but it's still December 29th??!! Whom do I need to tell?

bug hats

Mick

Brian Hyland - Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

►

Jude

Too many adjectives :D

just for a bikini

lol

Anonymous

11:41

@StackExchange What does bacon have to do with December 30, anyhow?

Anonymous

12

A: Why is the hat called 'Mmmm Bacon'?

While it's not an official holiday, and people over the world are celebrating it on different days of the year, like the first Monday of September, some American people celebrate National Bacon Day on December 30th. More information can be found in the links advertisements* below: https://jbsf...

Anonymous

National Bacon Day? Really?

Anonymous

It doesn't seem like much of anyone has heard of National Bacon Day before.

Anonymous

I can find some scattered Google results, but mostly for different days, not December 30th.

Anonymous

Must be some sort of inside joke.

Færd

12:21

> - Do you think he'll come to the meeting?
+ No, he will have forgotten.

So this test book of mine says that the only way to interpret the future perfect here is that it refers to now with emphasis: He has already forgotten.

Okay. That's, of course, possible

But can it really not refer to the future to mean something like He will have forgotten by then?

Maybe the by part (either expressly stated or understood from the context) is a necessary requirement for the future perfect to refer to the future?

Damkerng T.

@Færd I think it's unlikely. I'd read it the same way your book says it does.

Færd

Care to say why? :)

Anonymous

I think your interpretation is possible.

Færd

Ah. Thanks.

But I still think that the by complement is a necessary part of the future perfect.

Anonymous

In your theory, it is necessary but can be omitted?

Færd

12:33

Yes, if it can be understood from the context.

Anonymous

Works for me.

Færd

The theory?

Anonymous

I mean, I wouldn't analyze it that way, but it works out to the same thing as saying the idea is understood, so I'm not going to be fussy about it :-)

Færd

Let's be fuzzy about it then. :)

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. It's hard for me to figure out how likely or unlikely it would be. I feel like I could only make that sort of judgment if I had a complete context for the utterance.

Anonymous

12:35

That's why I went with "possible" and left it at that.

Damkerng T.

I think I will understand He will have forgotten by then and He will have forgotten differently.

Anonymous

I don't understand the "emphasis" part of the description.

Anonymous

I would have said will indicates epistemic modality.

Damkerng T.

I'm guessing, I could be wrong, but I'm guessing that the textbook uses BrE.

Anonymous

Could be. Do you feel like this use of will is a bit more common in BrE?

Anonymous

12:39

One BrE speaker I know puts will into all sorts of sentences where I'd go modal-less.

Damkerng T.

nods -- Yes, I think so.

I didn't mean to say that it never happens in AmE, though.

Anonymous

I don't know how representative an example his speech is, but it was enough to make me wonder if that was the case, too.

Anonymous

But I still don't think it's emphatic.

Damkerng T.

nods -- I'm not sure about the emphatic part either.

Færd

> expressing certainty about the present or past

> We can use will to talk about the present - to say what we think is probably or
certainly the case.

> There's somebody at the door.- That'll be the postman.

> Will have ... can express similar ideas about the past.

> It's no use expecting Barry to turn up. He'll have forgotten.

Anonymous

12:42

Yep, although really it expresses uncertainty.

Anonymous

Just, not very much of it.

Færd

It was the title that lead me astray.

Anonymous

If you compare those examples with will to the same sentences but with will removed, the versions with will removed are more certain.

Færd

In the body it says "what we think is probably or certainly the case".

@snailplane True.

Anonymous

@Færd The past tense and participle /led/ is spelled led, the past tense and past participle /red/ is spelled read.

Færd

12:46

You're right. Thanks.

Anonymous

It's one of those quirks of English spelling that trips everybody up.

Færd

I make all sorts of petty mistakes when I don't have enough time to reanalyze everything a few times (esp in conversation). I'm slow that way.

But it's good to be corrected. Helps you remember not to repeat it. For me personally, that is.

Some say teachers should not correct learners, because they won't learn much that way. I guess there are studies backing up this theory. And I think it's true for some levels.

I do learn form it though. It makes the point stick in my mind.

Damkerng T.

I suppose correction is like many things, moderation is the key.

Too often may interrupt the flow. Too rare may not help the learner much.

Færd

Mhm.

Damkerng T.

3

A: You slept well AT night or IN night?

None of the mentioned alternative, that's how you should say: I hope you slept well last night. When using last night,which is a period of time, no preposition is necessary, at/on/in, none of them will be used before last night, and it also works for others periods of time: last month, last...

> You are only allowed to use prepositions in that sentence if you are talking about a night, not a specific one, from which a period of time hasn't been mentioned, see: I hope you sleep good at night/morning/evening.

Hmm...

I suppose On that night is not allowed in this opinion, then.

Anonymous

13:05

If the OP is talking about last night, then on that night would be strange.

Anonymous

On that night is grammatical though, of course.

Anonymous

So their principle isn't quite right.

Anonymous

It looks like they tried to come up with a generalization beyond what the OP asked, but didn't realize when their generalization didn't work out.

Damkerng T.

nods

The answer starts out pretty good; it's good up to that point, IMO.

QuokMoon

Shall I ask like that for deprecated item ?

Here it is one more operator XYZ I found but it seem like deprecated.

Damkerng T.

13:13

@QuokMoon You aren't technically asking a question, but deprecated is okay.

"... but I think it's deprecated." "... but it seems deprecated."

QuokMoon

@DamkerngT. Oh yes

Jude

13:33

@DamkerngT. how are you?

Damkerng T.

@Jude Fine, thanks!

We were here together just a few hours ago, BTW. :-)

Jude

accidentally I forgot to ask it earlier

I learnt a new way to response

A: How are you?
B: I'm doing good. What about you?
A : *Likewise*

Likewise - same like you

Damkerng T.

Nice :-)

Jude

is it correct?

Mick

13:49

@Jude It's fine.

CowperKettle

14:22

@snailplane Do you like that poem? I find it a bit dull.

Maybe I'm missing something.

I mean not "dull" but.. to my taste, there's not too much poetic spice.

There are poems by him that I like htough

My internet connection was down for 10 min.

An accident in an electric substation near the Southern Bus Station

Jude

14:49

whom are you going with?

Is it correct?

user2684291

I'd say "With whom are you going?" or "Who are you going with?".

(I'm not a native speaker of English, mind.)

Araucaria

Hi folks ...

user2684291

Hi, how are you going?

Araucaria

@user2684291 Great thanks, you?

user2684291

Good.

Araucaria

14:53

Folks (@DamkerngT., @CowperKettle) we need some serious persuasion to help this poster:

Damkerng T.

Who? What? Where?!

Araucaria

Oops:

3

A: You slept well AT night or IN night?

None of the mentioned alternative, that's how you should say: I hope you slept well last night. When using last night,which is a period of time, no preposition is necessary, at/on/in, none of them will be used before last night, and it also works for others periods of time: last month, last...

Damkerng T.

Oh! Lots of comments now! -- reading...

Hmm...

I think this is not the first.

Some learners are more confident than they should be (and some less).

Araucaria

@DamkerngT. Yes, some need our help more than others... !

Færd

15:21

> And then Zubaria's down almost before any of us realize it.

> Hardly any of them talk about it, because it sounds gross.

> I don't give a damn whether any of you like me or not!

And,

> I'm not sure any of us knows enough about them.

> There is no evidence that any of this works

> There's no way to figure out what any of it means.

user2684291

@Araucaria I knew about whom you were talking even before you linked the discussion here. The feller is as stubborn as a mule all right. ._.

I suspect he's a contrarian pursuant to entertaining himself.

Færd

I didn't know a non-singular form of the verb (or whatever it's called) is possible there. Or rather, the question never occurred to me.

I wonder when the singular form is preferred.

Maybe after any of this/that/it/etc.

Damkerng T.

@Færd IIRC, any of PLURAL is formally thought of as singular, but informally thought of as plural.

In other words, either is fine. (IIRC)

Færd

Oh, yeah?

Do you know where this recollection comes from?

Damkerng T.

I think PEU has an entry for this. Not very sure.

Færd

15:26

Ah. Thanks.

It's starting to bother me to blame EVERYthing on the formality and informality of the language. It's like that coupon never expires.

Damkerng T.

Hehe! :D

Færd

It's like there aren't any other words besides formal.

Damkerng T.

If you don't like formal, perhaps traditional or prescriptive might do. :-)

sad -- I won't have HBO channels after the new year.

(Hmm... maybe I should've capitalized New Year ...)

user2684291

Apologies for interrupting the discussion but, can "it (the meaning) escapes me" be used to mean that you don't understand something even after looking up its definition?

Damkerng T.

Hmm... probably. I'm more familiar with its related uses, though.

"How did I miss that point? I should've noticed it, but it somehow escaped me."

Færd

15:33

@DamkerngT. We didn't have a TV for a while; it made us figure other ways to fill our time with! Maybe it's for the best.

But why won't you?

Damkerng T.

@Færd Looks like the deal bombed.

Færd

Ah.

user2684291

@DamkerngT. Hm, TheFreeDictionary.com lists that meaning, and its extension could definitely fit there.

Damkerng T.

I'm not sure if HBO demanded too much or our operator wanted to pay too little.

user2684291

Thanks.

Damkerng T.

15:35

@user2684291 Sure! :D

Færd

You can't watch HBO online?

Damkerng T.

I suppose I could, but I don't normally watch anything online.

Except for YouTube, probably.

HBO Go is not available in Asia yet, AFAIK.

Færd

Well, there are ways ...

@DamkerngT. I don't like the bipolarity, is what it is.

Damkerng T.

@Færd Hehe! Okay! :-)

Færd

:)

Damkerng T.

15:41

-1

Q: learning phrasal verbs

I am preparing for CAE advanced, but I need to revise some aspects. By the way, I am filling in the right verb in use of english part 1. This is the piece:But closer inspection reveals a milky surface covered in enamel dots, which______about two thirds of light. The choice is between put down, ...

meaning word-usage grammar word-choice verbs

It looks like it's answerable by dictionaries indeed. Still, I don't know if we should close it. Should we? Or should we not?

Maybe someone will come up with a good answer for the OP. Hopefully, the answer won't just repeat what dictionaries say.

Sometimes, I think I overuse 'maybe', 'perhaps', 'may', 'probably', and so on ...

user2684291

Change it up a bit: use "mayhap(s)" and "perchance".

Damkerng T.

:D

0

Q: What does this joke mean?

Q: What do you call it when Batman skips church? A: Christian Bale Does the word 'Bale' has a special meaning in this joke?

meaning jokes word-play

This reminds me that Christian reads "kris-shuhn", but Christen reads "kris-uhn".

Isn't that a bit strange?

Hmm... I think I mistranscribed it. "krist-shuhn" would be better.

-1

A: why "is + verb + gerund" is possible?

Verb+Gerund also functions as a infinitive clause, it has no explaination, just that there are some verbs that -ing will always replace 'to', and it's obrigatory, it's a rule, here are some verbs that don't take the preposition 'to' but the '-ing'. Stop - He stopped looking at me as soon as...

"Verb+Gerund also functions as a infinitive clause"

I don't know which grammar book he's using!

An infinitive clause in the form of stop doing -- Hmm...

user2684291

That's just what I used as an example, buddy—OF COURSE no one is going to say that.

Damkerng T.

I suppose such an example would defeat its purpose.

user2684291

TTJ.

My word of the morning: "pandiculation". :>

2

Damkerng T.

15:58

Good word!

Mick

Heavens above! I've been pandiculating for the past half-century, and never knew it.

Damkerng T.

Cats are very good at this, BTW. :)

Mick

Don't I know it. Right now, he's got his back turned towards me because I haven't given him his ration of steak tartare. Apart from killing things, it's his only pleasure in life.

Damkerng T.

Mine is rather lazy, except when he spots a house lizard. :-)

user2684291

@Mick This reminds me—d'you assume or at least call an animal a "he" unless proven/told otherwise?

Mick

16:07

"It" is fine for an animal. No one will be offended, even if "it" is a pet.

Well, some people will be offended, but you can't please everyone (and I don't try).

Damkerng T.

I guess a safe strategy is to call the pet the same way the owner does.

user2684291

I didn't mean a pet, I meant some random animal on the street, like a stray cat or a duck.

Damkerng T.

It would be fine, in that case. I don't think we can tell the gender reliably all the time, either.

Only two days left before the New Year!

Oh, new hat!

Mick's already wearing this hat.

Okay, I'm now Damin Bacon. :P

Mick

Mmmm, bacon!

user2684291

I've just realized that notion I'd had might've been completely wrong — maybe the person in that sketch could tell the animal's sex by looking at it...

Mick

16:15

Where's my steak tartare?

Damkerng T.

Nice shot!

user2684291

:D

Damkerng T.

I think the hat fits my avatar, in a silly way. :)

user2684291

Ah, yes, I wasn't wrong: From en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_in_English#Animals "However, animals viewed as less important to humans, also known as ‘lower animals’, are generally referred to using it; higher (domestic) animals may more often be referred to using he and she, when their sex is known. If the sex of the animal is not known, the masculine pronoun is often used with a sex-neutral meaning."

Damkerng T.

An interesting point. A cultural one.

Intuitively, I think when we don't know the sex and happen to feel like using he or she, we just presume. But to be honest, I can't say if everyone speaking the same first language as mine will think or do the same.

Some animals may look more masculine than others.

user2684291

16:24

I reckon it's vestigial or surviving usage or something, but it often surprises me because I either expect the "it", or sometimes it's due to the gender of the noun being different than the one in my first language (e.g., a cat is always a she (unless proven otherwise), because the noun is feminine).

Damkerng T.

Ahh... my first language doesn't really have these neutral, default choices.

Mick

MONTY PYTHON . The Cheese Shop

►

"The cat's eaten it."
"Has he?"
"She, sir."

user2684291

How fortuitous is it that I'd been thinking of a similar Monty Python sketch, but with a duck, I think (I can't find it at the moment).

Damkerng T.

@Mick Nice example!

@3:00 (in case someone wants to jump right to that part)

user2684291

Thank you, haha.

But yeah, that's the thing I noticed.

Damkerng T.

16:31

I wonder why there's no Monty Python running on any channels on my cable TV!

Ah! Another hat!

Mick

I don't know who's starring my posts, but a story is developing in the sidebar that isn't entirely true. :(

2

Damkerng T.

Haha!

user2684291

(:

QuokMoon

16:48

Upload some interesting audio tracks or podcast onto/into your iPad .

Can we use both "onto" and "into" sentence ? Is it change meaning of this sentence ?

Damkerng T.

I think a native speaker can give you a better answer. For me, either may work, but my strongly favored choice is onto or just to or just on.

But wouldn't the verb be download, rather than upload?

Mick

"Onto" (or just "to") is good. "Into" would be understood, but it sounds a little odd.

Transcript for