English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

@Mahnax I learnt how to pronounce the world "pickles" with Boston accents because I couldn't get my damn pickles in my sandwich before the 10th day, when I found some way of pronouncing it that the shop tenant understood

Mahnax

@Fx Heh, nice.

F'x

OK, before I go, I want to make sure I have given everyone here a reason to waste some more more time in their day/night

kiamlaluno

6:43 AM

I paak my caa in Harward yaad.

F'x

so, with some help from my friend The Internet, here's today's timewaster for all of you

Cerberus

You have succeeded.

F'x

pippinbarr.com/games/letsplayancientgreekpunishment/…

Let's play to Ancient Greek Punishement!

Mahnax

@Fx Friggin boulder.

F'x

@Mahnax being a scientific guy, my own personal favorite is Zeno

Mahnax

6:46 AM

@Fx Hm.

That is fiendish.

Cerberus

Haha, nice.

But Prometheus is unrealistic.

The eagle never lands.

Mahnax

I don't like it. I'll just play Super Mario on my NES tyvm.

F'x

@Cerberus I'm sure that's what Prometheus thought in the first hour

@Cerberus but you are bound to stop pressing the g and h keys, aren't you?

Cerberus

One gets tired.

F'x

and on that not, I wish you all a good day/night

Cerberus

6:49 AM

Zeno is brilliant.

F'x

I'll be gone before Cerb :)

Cerberus

But I'm almost at the finish!

I'm nearly there, only 6.25 m!

OK, night!

Mahnax

@Fx Alright, bye!

Cerberus

Now I'm reallly gone, bye!

Mahnax

Alright, bye to you too.

simchona

8:28 AM

@Mahnax--on an editing spree?

kiamlaluno

(Is that like cheese spreading?)

Gigili

Hello @all. I have a problem, I cannot make sense of this sentence as it is: "Useful books/materials for private lessons in German" ..

It means the books or materials need to be in German, right?

But when I change it to "Useful books/materials for German private lessons", it means it's about German language, right again?

kiamlaluno

@Gigili I would say yes.

simchona

9:07 AM

@Gigili Just for reference, you can't ping everyone in the room by using @all--just specific users

kiamlaluno

The count of my badges is almost my birthdate, except the year is wrong.

simchona

@kiamlaluno Keep going then?

kiamlaluno

@simchona Maybe moderators can, but @Gigili is not one of them.

simchona

@kiamlaluno I don't think even moderators can

kiamlaluno

@simchona Too late. I was not born after the 1974.

simchona

9:09 AM

@kiamlaluno I think you're overusing articles to make up for Sonic's underuse of them

On a side note, why are we pinging each other if we're the only ones here

kiamlaluno

@simchona They can. They can ping all the users with an account on a SE site. It has been a while since I have been a moderator, but I remember that. :-)

simchona

Wow. Live and learn, huh?

kiamlaluno

@simchona No, I am over-using implicit words, as year. :-)

simchona

I want to face palm at this:

-1

Q: "Until" and the past perfect

Having seen one sentence in "Practical English Usage" by M.Swan (a very popular grammar book), I was really puzzled. I waited until the rain had stopped. The past perfect is generally used to show that one past action was completed before the other one, but here, trying to analyze the sente...

kiamlaluno

@simchona I dunno. It seems trendy.

simchona

9:11 AM

Surely it's a dupe somewhere?

kiamlaluno

@simchona Do you mean face palm who asked it?

simchona

Or face palm myself for having to try to think about it

kiamlaluno

My question is, why does the OP keeps using multiple periods at the end of a sentence?

simchona

Is there something wrong with that?..

I don't remember who said it, but using and ellipsis makes everything sound...ominous...

kiamlaluno

It's like using multiple question marks. Does the question become more a question?

simchona

9:13 AM

This isn't a super-question??????

kiamlaluno

Ominous… not to get confused with omnivorous.

simchona

Yum.

kiamlaluno

I am not sure there is a duplicate, but the question doesn't make sense.

If I say, "I waited until the rain had stopped" it doesn't mean the rain stopped, and then I waited.

simchona

I think there's a valid question in there somewhere, but I don't know how to explain grammar points when the native speaker in me says "because that's how English is"

kiamlaluno

Yes.

Gigili

9:18 AM

@kiamlaluno Thank you.

@simchona I know, but couldn't find any better way to say hello to all. =)

kiamlaluno

It's like asking why English uses the subjunctive mood as it does. It is because it's English. If it used it as Italian does, then it would be Italian.

@Gigili Yvw.

simchona

Oh thank heavens someone else managed to answer.

Gigili

Maybe you'll like this @kiamlaluno

kiamlaluno

One trouble less.

@simchona Can I say "men's blog"? I dunno why, but it seems wrong, to my ears.

simchona

@kiamlaluno There are 500 question about how to apostrophize things like that

It sounds okay to me?

kiamlaluno

9:29 AM

@simchona Actually, I was asking more about using the plural of the word. :-)

simchona

See the title of this magazine's website

kiamlaluno

@simchona OK, I am convinced.

Dank you.

simchona

De rien.

Well, I'm off for the night.

kiamlaluno

The night? Here it's day.

Have a good one. Buh bye.

user19161

@kiamlaluno Why does it sound wrong? Well, I know you said you don't know why.

kiamlaluno

9:37 AM

I dunno. It doesn't sound right to use the plural in these cases.

It would like saying barbers shop.

user19161

@kiamlaluno Well, what do you want to mean with men's blog exactly?

kiamlaluno

I guess it means a blog for men.

user19161

@kiamlaluno Hmm, men's blog is fine in this case, though others may not know what you want to mean. If I say men's shoes, everyone will understand. But men's blog could also mean other things, like a blog written by men.

kiamlaluno

I was correcting a question on Drupal Answers, and changing mens blog with man's blog.

user19161

@kiamlaluno I would prefer to write men's blog in this case, though blog for men would be best.

user19161

10:37 AM

@waiwai I know you usually don't chat, but Happy New Year! You have been a great mod on EL&U.

kiamlaluno

10:49 AM

@JasperLoy Why do you say "you have been"? Isn't he a EL&U moderator anymore?

user19161

@kiamlaluno Because I was referring to him being great on the basis of his past actions.

user19161

Of course I could also use are, but have been is also natural.

user19161

And you should use an instead of a.

kiamlaluno

11:19 AM

@JasperLoy That is because I have my own style, but I am used to write questions with a question mark at the end. ;-)

user19161

@kiamlaluno writing

kiamlaluno

@JasperLoy Yes, I am writing. How did you guess that?

user19161

@kiamlaluno You must be scratching your armpit now. Wait, you did not sleep at all last night?

user19161

I just took a nap, during which I had no dreams or nightmares.

kiamlaluno

@JasperLoy That depends on whose night you are referring. :-)

I don't usually scratch my armpits, if not when somebody said something he thought to be funny, and it was not.

I slept from about 8:00 PM to 3 AM my time, less or more.

I thought I could not reach 15k on MSO, and I did it.

Actually, I thought I could not reach 10k in any SE site, but I did.

user19161

11:27 AM

@kiamlaluno Congrats! You just need to believe in yourself. Like my previous motto said, Justin Bieber, Just believe.

kiamlaluno

@JasperLoy In which language is that?

user19161

@kiamlaluno English. Wait, is this a joke?

kiamlaluno

Oh, wait. That is a name.

I thought you wrote a phrase in a language, then translated it in English.

user19161

@kiamlaluno Indeed it is. More common than kiamlaluno.

kiamlaluno

It's not my fault: Justin is close to just, and Bieber could be believe in some language.

@JasperLoy If kiamlaluno were a name, I would not have used it as nickname.

user19161

11:32 AM

@kiamlaluno I purposely wrote the lines this way. The point is to make them sound similar.

kiamlaluno

Actually, Kiam is a name, in some countries.

@JasperLoy I don't recall: Did you born where you actually are?

user19161

@kiamlaluno Yes.

user19161

@kiamlaluno You should use were instead of did.

user19161

@kiamlaluno Which grammar book do you use if any?

kiamlaluno

11:51 AM

@JasperLoy Why do you think I am using any grammar book? Do you think that who is writing noöne on chat is using a grammar book?

user19161

12:27 PM

@kiamlaluno Maybe you write your own?

user19161

@barrie Are you still being downvoted regularly or has it subsided?

kiamlaluno

12:56 PM

@JasperLoy I didn't write any dictionary, but I sometimes write something wrong on purpose, especially when I know there is somebody who is correcting me.

Barrie England

@Jasper: Haven't noticed it for a day or two.

kiamlaluno

1:12 PM

2

Q: The implication of "turn the mattress"

The following sentences are from Agatha Christie: She had at one time been their housemaid. Such a nice girl, Mrs. Hargraves always said–thoroughly to be relied upon to turn the mattresses every day―exept Friday, of course. Why if a girl (housemaid) is a very nice girl, is she relied upon ...

expressions

Is asking why a housemaid is a nice girl if she turns the mattresses every day on-topic?

It has nothing to share with English language.

user19161

@kiamlaluno He does not know that turn the mattress is interpreted literally.

user19161

I myself never turn my mattress.

kiamlaluno

@JasperLoy The problem is that he is asking a different thing, not what "turn the mattress" means.

user19161

So we should try to look at things from the OP's perspective. I try to look at things from others' perspective, but usually others don't try to do so from mine. That's why I don't belong to this world.

user19161

@kiamlaluno Well, his last line asks if the phrase has some connotation or implication.

kiamlaluno

1:18 PM

@JasperLoy So if I ask, "What time is it?" I am really asking a question about timezones, aren't I?

@JasperLoy The connotation of being a nice girl, which is what a grammar book generally reports.

user19161

@kiamlaluno Very funny. Now I must scratch my armpits too!

kiamlaluno

@JasperLoy Just one at time; remember, you are still a beginner, with that.

user19161

@kiamlaluno Yes. If one is not careful one will tear off the skin.

kiamlaluno

@JasperLoy No. You risk to seem exaggerated.

Or that, or to seem a monkey.

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…