English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

David Wallace

8:50 AM

Yeeha! Just got my first "revenge downvote". Is there a badge for that? english.stackexchange.com/questions/68382/…

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

You sure it was the first? It's probably the first you noticed.

And for those you don't notice, the badge is invisible as well.

David Wallace

Pretty sure. But it was a dead giveaway. Fuhrmanator earned his "critic" badge at exactly the same time that my answer was downvoted.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Yeah. A rookie mistake.

David Wallace

I think I'll get over it. It's nice having 2000.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

And we are under attack from Obama again.

It's always Obama.

1

Q: How to frame a question to get answer about the turn that somebody has taken in doing something?

Possible Duplicate: How should I phrase a question that must be answered with an ordinal number (e.g., the third prime)? How to ask a question to get a cardinal number answer I want to frame a question for which the answer will be : Obama is the 46th president I am not looking ...

question

David Wallace

9:02 AM

Hmm. But to be fair, it's probably a hard thing to search for.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

And now the chat fails me as well. Lines submitted twice.

@DavidWallace actually my point kind of is that it is not.

Since everyone uses Obama as an example, you just need to search the site for Obama.

David Wallace

Although you could argue that the question would have to be "which president is Obama NOT?".

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Also, everyone likes to use "how manyth".

David Wallace

Cool! Next time I want to know what to call Obama, I'll google manyth.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Glad I could help.

David Wallace

9:05 AM

googles manyth ... Same thing seems to happen on www.englishforums.com.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Oh, and notice how Obama is the 46th President.

Which means that he'll lose to Mitt Romney.

David Wallace

Yes, that was the point of my comment three comments ago.

I think if Obama does lose this time around, the democrats won't pick him to run again. Hilary will be the 46th president.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@DavidWallace Oh haha.

I'll whoosh myself. Wait a sec.

There, myself got properly whooshed.

David Wallace

Last time she came here, our Prime Minister mistakenly described her as "President Clinton". Could have been prophetic.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Well it's always the same two-odd clans handing the Presidency to each other.

Has been that way for decades.

David Wallace

9:08 AM

You know, "just make us look like a nation of backward country bumpkins why don't you, thanks John?"

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 Do you have a better system in mind?

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Well, where's that picture of Her Majesty's...

David Wallace

Yes, that works. Till you get a bad one.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Well shrug. At least you don't have to pay billions of dollars for false advertising every four years.

David Wallace

UK still has elections, with loads of expensive campaigning.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

UK does many things wrong.

It's a fallen empire, much like Italy. And you see where that got Italy.

-1

A: When to use "to the ..." vs. "to ..."

Ok, utilizing the info offered in these posts, I still do not come to a conclusion of when to use "to" or "to the". Does anybody have a defined rule in English for this? Examples: Let's go to the store. It's at the market. He's at the door. We are at school. We need to go to work. So, I do no...

Why do people leave their email addresses out there in the open like that?

David Wallace

9:16 AM

But yes. I don't know why USA wasn't originally constituted with a monarch and a prime minister. Would have made more sense. Then it would always be ruled by a descendant of Thomas Jefferson, which would have to be an improvement.

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 because they want people to reply to them by email? Not understanding the point of a Q&A site?

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Sure.

David Wallace

A few years ago, a Sarajevo taxi driver told me it was time for New Zealand to have a war, to get rid of Her Majesty and our English oppressors.

I laughed and laughed!

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Ahahah. Cause a war is the only way.

Those Sarajevians!

Always in for an armed conflict.

David Wallace

The idea that it quite suits us to outsource our monarchy never occurred to him.

David Wallace

9:33 AM

@RegDwight you should make your comment into an answer, on the do-support question.

but do people actually call it that?

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Call what what?

And it's a comment because I'm looking for the question to close this as a dupe of.

user19161

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 Yeah they need to learn how to be secretive like me.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Well the question is answered here, by Kosmo:

-1

Q: Usage of "What" + verb without auxiliary one

This is a subquestion to my "And lead raptivity captive" question. As I understood from a comment by RegDwight, it was incorrect to ask: What mean raptivity and phrase "And lead raptivity captive"? Do I miss something or I incorrectly memorized the lessons of: Who + Auxiliary I can f...

grammar writing-style

Except that the question itself is distilled crap.

user19161

So, the news is that Fedora 17 will use GNOME 3.4.1 which copies features from Ubuntu's Unity shell. In the software world, A copies B and B copies A until eventually everyone looks the same. QED.

user19161

Actually the same is true of ELU. A copies B's answers and B copies A's answers until their answers are the same.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

9:42 AM

Well that's how the world works.

You look up to people, you copy them.

Be it your parents or Hollywood stars.

It only sucks when nöone copies you.

user19161

Matt is not here today. He usually is at this time. Maybe he is on The Hour Of Power.

user19161

In other news, according to the latest statistics, Chrome has overtaken IE in usage measured in some way, I don't know what.

user19161

But really, the incognito mode does not work too well for me, so I am back to Firefox.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

9:56 AM

1

Q: Which is correct, "Indicates" or "Indicates that"?

Which one sounds better? "it indicates that the lane is closed" or "it indicates the lane is closed" Personally I would go with the first one without thinking, but I am reading a document, where the latter one is used consistently, therefore I started to doubt myself. which side do you...

grammar

22

Q: Are there rules about using "that" to join two clauses?

He will understand that I was not joking. He will understand I was not joking. Which of the sentences is correct? Are there any specific rules about the use of "that" in the sentences I reported as example?

grammaticality conjunctions complex-sentences

Robusto

10:11 AM

What up?

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Yo.

Robusto

Me, I always take the advice of Balkanized cab drivers. They're always right!

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

You only say that because of all the buddies in the mud.

0

Q: "barrier will open" vs "barrier will be opened"

To me "barrier will open" sounds more correct, I am not %100 sure if barrier will be opened is acceptable, what do you think?

passive-voice

Robusto

Also, not thinking for oneself saves so much time.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

WTF LOL @ %100

Robusto

10:20 AM

100% of what?

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Duh. It's %100, not 100%. So it's not 100% of what. It's zilch % of 100.

Word matters order!

Unless you're an Arab.

Robusto

I'm not an Arab. Or a Brab or Crab or Drab, either.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Never be rude to a D-Rab.

As established earlier in this chat, rab is Russian for slave.

Robusto

Too late.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Froom late.

BCCc late.

Robusto

10:29 AM

Froom latte.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Get a froom.

Robusto

Which one? The froomer or the latter?

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Lattitude > fratitude.

Robusto

Latricide > Fratricide.

Matt Эллен

lassitude == me

Robusto

10:37 AM

No. Males have laditude.

@Matt : do Brits use the word "chap" anymore?

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

-1

Q: "Don't go nowhere", what is this?

Possible Duplicate: What is the difference between “I can't get any sleep” and “I can/'t get no sleep”? Some people, who have little knowledge of grammatical correctness, would say Don't go nowhere, telling the person to stay where they are. Of course, ...