English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

RegDwight АΑA

09:06

Now what is this

0

I would like to know what is the differences of 2 following sentences 1) A PM (project manager) can only track so many items 2) Only PM can track so many items Is the first sentence grammatically correct ? Please clarify it for me. Thanks

american-english

Matt Эллен

I'm not PM, so I can't track that many items

> "This sentence" is a noun phrase and indicates a particular sentence. — Matt Эллен when he become that snarky

RegDwight АΑA

Oh Matt. You forgot to tag it this-sentence-meaning. Umexcusable.

Jez

what's "umexcusable"?

RegDwight АΑA

09:22

The opposite of "excusable".

Like "umpossible".

Matt Эллен

09:37

@RegDwightАΑA I sorry. I precise would the tag as indicated

RegDwight АΑA

wikipediaredefined.com

OMFG how dare they touch nohat's stuff.

Matt Эллен

Jmagine? that's not a word. piffle, I say!

RegDwight АΑA

> The compound word wiki-pedia, is divided into italic and regular. The italic wiki part will later be used as a prefix for other sub-brands.

1998 called. They want their crap idea back.

> A huge family of various wikis is represented by dominant first letters.

Guess which is which?

I only got Wikisource right.

And that's because it's three letters.

Matt Эллен

@RegDwightАΑA I only got metawiki right, but I don't know why, because this is the first I'd heard of it

RegDwight АΑA

Actually that's the one I found most confusing.

I didn't even recognize the letter. I still don't.

Is that a mu?

Matt Эллен

09:51

I think it's an upside down W

RegDwight АΑA

Or just an upside-down W masquerading as an M? That's a crime against humanity.

Don't let @tchrist see that.

Matt Эллен

:D

RegDwight АΑA

But what do you expect from, people who place, commas like this?

Matt Эллен

the leadership and luck with the ladies of Kirk

RegDwight АΑA

Kirk would leave Wikipedia alone. And he would do that like a man.

Matt Эллен

09:53

true

RegDwight АΑA

> Jf one needs to quickly shift from Wikipedia articles to, let's say, Wikiquotes, s/he simply...

Hahaha.

Who needs content? On Wikipedia? People come there to look at giant icons galore.

Matt Эллен

mmmm. Iconicious

It's nice people are thinking about these things. Fail quickly, fail often!

RegDwight АΑA

I'm trying to find any talk pages dedicated to this proposed design...

So far only this bit here. But it has a link to Hackernews...

Jez

10:09

@RegDwightАΑA Wtf? They're redesigning Wikipedia?

Matt Эллен

> It's hilarious from the start - first thing they do is throw out the logo that incorporates multiple languages and says 'fuck you, we're going English for Wiki'. They compound this by then making all the various logos English-derived, so these guys have basically shouted to the world that they don't grasp the basics of their client.

yeah, that's a good point

Jez

lol?

this drive for brand simplicity is somewhat nauseating

stop representing yourselves with one letter, people!

it makes sense if a brand needs to be on all sorts of things, big and small, monochrome and colour

but not if it's just on a few things which are capable of complex graphics

RegDwight АΑA

@MattЭллен even with that aside, the whole idea is so unoriginal it stinks. There are OVER 9000 companies in Germany alone that have been doing this "use one font for one half of the word, another font for the other" thing for decades. Opel, Deutsche Bahn, insurance companies, you name it.

The one-letter variation is less original still. First we had myThis, myThat, mySpace, myFart; then we had iPad, iPod, iStink, iScream; now they propose wBooks, wQuote, wTionary (wTionary!), and wUpsidedownw.

And yeah. Icons instead of content. Fabulous.

BRB

Matt Эллен

gah. Xavier thingy thing is awake

Sorry, but abstract concepts can only be noncount nouns, even if they may be used as count nouns to express specific meaning. So abstract words can include - for example - 'feminism' and 'sexism', not meeting, party and events! Due to these facts your question is clearly unanswerable! — Xavier Vidal Hernández 17 mins ago

Jez

10:25

there have been a bunch of companies embracing stupid (re)designs though. London 2012 comes to mind, as does Firefox and my ISP, Be.

JSBձոգչ

@tchrist heidi was the one that i knew well. i've met geneva

i'm still facebook friends with heidi and andy, FWIW

Matt Эллен

did you meet her at a convention?

JSBձոգչ

12 hours ago, by RegDwight АΑA

Apr 25 '11 at 15:38, by JSBangs

and my claim to fame is that for a while i went to church with Larry Wall's daughter, where we were friends and hung out in the same circles. i once met larry when he came by to visit his daughter and son-in-law

Matt Эллен

I can't tell if you are deliberately ignoring my pun

JSBձոգչ

i don't see any pun

Matt Эллен

10:31

Geneva Convention

JSBձոգչ

oh, geneva

Matt Эллен

sorry

RegDwight АΑA

Don't hide your pun in a bun, it's no fun for anyone.

Matt Эллен

Conceal your crime in a rhyme and your won't end up doing time.

all the puns!

RegDwight АΑA

"Wee knights" I don't get.

Matt Эллен

10:44

I took me a few tries too

RegDwight АΑA

Do they mean week nights?

Matt Эллен

yes

RegDwight АΑA

That's not a pun, then.

Matt Эллен

the knights have M T W T F on their shields

and they are small (wee)

RegDwight АΑA

I saw the picture.

Matt Эллен

10:45

it's a bit of a stretch

RegDwight АΑA

I broke it.

Matt Эллен

congrats! what did you do?

RegDwight АΑA

Click on the back arrow.

The sword is now on top of everything.

Matt Эллен

I cannot reproduce the bug

RegDwight АΑA

FF, Ubuntu. I clicked rather fast.

Jez

10:51

what is "words apart"? a phrase?

RegDwight АΑA

A pun on A List Apart?

No idea.

Jez

what's a list apart??

RegDwight АΑA

A quality publication for webmasters.

With articles on typography, CSS, and the like.

alistapart.com

Matt Эллен

"words a part" because the words represented are split up.

RegDwight АΑA

@J.R. & Andrew: finally RegDwight has disambiguated the question! Now that is answerable! — Xavier Vidal Hernández 3 mins ago

Yay me.

I get the POMO seal of approval!

Matt Эллен

11:03

woot!

Robusto

11:53

@Cerberus: If I were coining a new logical fallacy in Latin (which I just did: "argumentum ad NGram"), how would I Latinize the word NGram? NGramiam?

Robusto

3

A: Difference between "fell to the ground" vs. "fell on the ground"

You can fall to the ground only if you are in the air.

This is simply not true.

KitFox

@RegDwightАΑA drools It's so pretty.

RegDwight АΑA

Glad to see you're a fox again.

KitFox

Well, nobody liked the real me.

Matt Эллен

Change your name to KitBazooka, then see if people complain!

RegDwight АΑA

12:00

@KitFox It was way too associated with Knight Industries.

KitFox

Words Apart is a pun on Worlds Apart, innit?

RegDwight АΑA

The boy group?

Matt Эллен

@KitFox I thought it might be

KitFox

@RegDwightАΑA Menudo?

RegDwight АΑA

Wha?

KitFox

12:01

Which boy group?

RegDwight АΑA

Well dunno. What's its name?

KitFox

Menudo?

RegDwight АΑA

Worlds Apart (boyband)

Worlds Apart were a multi-national boy band of the 1990s that featured Marcus Patrick (billed as 'Patric') in the original (5 piece) group and Totally Scott-Lee's Nathan Moore in one of the later incarnations of the band. After scoring a few hits in the United Kingdom, the band re-emerged as a 4 piece and became chart stars in France. Discography Albums {| class="wikitable" ! Year ! Album !width="40"|UK !width="40"|FR !width="40"|BE !width="40"|DE !width="40"|AT !width="40"|CH ! Sales |- | 1994 | Together |align="center"| 88 |align="center"| 46 |align="center"| - |align="center"| 84...

Worlds Apart!

I is right.

KitFox

How did I get this confused already?

No, the expression 'worlds apart.'

Robusto

Gracias.

RegDwight АΑA

12:03

Des nadas.

Robusto

@RegDwightАΑA Nothing genitive, nothing gained.

KitFox

Oh, I thought I did that. disappointed

Robusto

Stop fighting. I love you both equally.

RegDwight АΑA

@KitFox you did, just a minute too late.

Matt Эллен

Best not ask how much

RegDwight АΑA

12:05

So the version you're seeing is Kit's, in point of fact.

KitFox

Well, I thought it looked like I didn't do anything.

And I didn't.

Matt Эллен

that's the secret of being a mod

RegDwight АΑA

Only mods can see that.

Robusto

I bet there is no difference between the two. You both did the job quite well. Have a cookie.

RegDwight АΑA

Kit's timestamp is nicer. It's divisible by four.

KitFox

12:08

Aww, Reg. You always know how to make me feel better.

RegDwight АΑA

So. Where was we. Worlds apart. Hm. Well, where was we before that.

Robusto

A Band Apart?

RegDwight АΑA

Yes!

Matt Эллен

Girls Aloud?

Robusto

A Band Apart

A Band Apart Films was a production company created by Quentin Tarantino and Lawrence Bender, which has been active since 1991. Its name is a play on the French New Wave classic, Bande à part ("Band of Outsiders") by filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, whose work was highly influential on the work of the company's members. Thanks in part to the popularity of Quentin Tarantino's and Robert Rodriguez's films, the company quickly gained cult-like status within Hollywood. History Tarantino formed A Band Apart in 1991, naming it after his favorite Godard film, Bande à part. The company's logo was a ...

RegDwight АΑA

12:09

Yes, yes.

That's what I was actually thinking about thinking about.

But then I thought about a boy group instead.

Matt Эллен

hehehe

Robusto

Maybe you were thinking about 少年ナイフ (Shonen Knife), which is a girl band whose name means "Boy Knife"?

RegDwight АΑA

Maybe I was. But I wasn't.

Robusto

How about now?

Matt Эллен

nope

Robusto

12:13

Fine. I'll just take my girl groups and go home.

Matt Эллен

lol

I wonder if my mind is more indecent than normal today

KitFox

Hello, girl group. I have some recording devices I'd like to show you over here in my van.

Robusto

You're either indecent or you're not. Once you're beyond the threshold it doesn't matter.

Noah

Hello guys and ladies or the other way around

RegDwight АΑA

Who you call the other way round.

Robusto

12:15

The ladies are the other way around. The guys were trying to take advantage of that before you stuck your oar in.

Noah

ladies and guys

Matt Эллен

calling the other way round makes it hard to hear

Noah

@MattЭллен you migh have your earmuffs on...

RegDwight АΑA

Earmofos.

Matt Эллен

@Noah no, the phone is the other way around

Robusto

12:16

Maybe you mean these guys? They are the other way around.

RegDwight АΑA

Now those are some serious earmofos.

KitFox

OMG, is that Kenny Loggins?

RegDwight АΑA

Konny Leggins.

Noah

OMG... they look like girls

RegDwight АΑA

Very observant.

Robusto

12:18

They are Mothers.

Noah

Can we say that ladies have builtin earmuffs...

KitFox

...uh, not any girls that I know.

Robusto

MIWNLTFs.

KitFox

Hahahaha

RegDwight АΑA

Moms in White Negligés?

Robusto

12:19

The Mothers of Invention

The Mothers of Invention were an American rock band from California that served as the backing musicians for Frank Zappa, a self-taught composer and performer whose diverse musical influences led him to create music that was often impossible to categorize. Their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an R&B band called The Soul Giants, the band's original lineup included Ray Collins, David Coronado, Roy Estrada and Jimmy Carl Black. Zappa was asked to take over as the band's guitarist following a fight between Collin...

RegDwight АΑA

How fitting you would quote that.

The mother of invention made it good for me
Tighter in the rear
Longer in the seam
Kicked out yards of leather
Wrapped around her waist
Trimmed it to perfection
And left a little space

Yeah they got competition now
All across the world
But there ain't been no looking back
Since God invented girls

From the album "Reg strikes back".

KitFox

Hawt.

Noah

No, God invented Adam and he was a guy

KitFox

Hahahaha

RegDwight АΑA

That's what God says. Bernie Taupin begs to differ.

Now I know what Brian Wilson meant
Every time I step outside
I see what Heaven sent
There may be seven wonders
Created for this world
But one is all we need
Since God invented girls

Matt Эллен

12:21

@Noah I think you mean "No god invented Adam."

Noah

@MattЭллен, God created Adam... so I object to what you jsut said

KitFox

♫ I'm lying in bed ♪ just like Brian Wilson did ♫

tchrist

I want GenRef close options on SO:

-1

Q: Multidimensional arrays in Perl

Is there a way to create/simulate a 3D (or higher dimension) array in Perl? I've tried to search on the web, but found nothing.

perl multidimensional-array

Matt Эллен

@tchrist how else are people to get reps on SO if not for repeating general references?

Robusto

@Noah Maybe he created Adam Sandler ... for which he has a lot to answer.

RegDwight АΑA

12:23

@tchrist I thought they were going to introduce that for PHP.net lookups, no?

english.stackexchange.com/suggested-edits/3098

KitFox

Wowza.

Robusto

*A lot of people don't bother about their
friends in the vegetable kingdom. They
think: Oh, ah, what can I say? What can
a person like myself say to a vegetable?
But the answer is simple, my friends:
Just call, and tell them how you feel
about muffins...pumpkins...wax
paper...Caledonia, Mahoganies, elbows
...green things in general...and
soon, a new rapport...you and your
new little green and yellow buddies,
grooving together...Oh, no! Maintaining
your coolness together! Worshipping
together in the church of your

RegDwight АΑA

@KitFox I like how he took his time to write up an edit summary, too.

Matt Эллен

lol

tchrist

@RegDwightАΑA I don’t look at PHP anything if I can possibly help it.

KitFox

12:25

Well, copypasta an edit summary.

RegDwight АΑA

@tchrist not everyone is as smart as you. No seriously, not everyone.

KitFox

I had a brilliant plan this morning.

RegDwight АΑA

@KitFox pasta still requires effort, copy or otherwise.

KitFox

Tru dat.

RegDwight АΑA

So what's with the plan.

Noah

12:26

@Robusto yea, God created him too, but his dad is responsible for him:)

Matt Эллен

@Noah God has a dad? Crazy!

RegDwight АΑA

@Robusto I. Um. Er. You need help?

Noah

@KitFox waht does Wowza mean

RegDwight АΑA

@MattЭллен yes, Chaos.

Noah

@MattЭллен no, i mean Adam Sandlers dad

KitFox

12:27

@RegDwightАΑA Oh, well, just that I would stick the test database on the back of the demo site. Save me hours of updating the demo database.

RegDwight АΑA

@Noah Again, Chaos.

Matt Эллен

@Noah Adam Sandler's dad is responsible for what God created?

RegDwight АΑA

@KitFox gum or glue?

Matt Эллен

sucks to be him

KitFox

@RegDwightАΑA duct tape should work.

simchona

12:28

0

Q: Can you "walk around" an event rather than a location?

Is it wrong to write: to walk around a meeting/party/event I would think that one can only walk around a physical location — a room, a street, a ship, a forest. But meeting, party, and event are activities, not places.

grammaticality verbs nouns prepositions

NS. Just waiting.

RegDwight АΑA

►

Noah

@MattЭллен To some extent... but not for everything...

KitFox

@Noah urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=wowza

tchrist

@RegDwightАΑA Maybe they were smart before the started looking at PHP, which is known to inflict brainrot in small children.

RegDwight АΑA

Giving PHP to children is abuse.

Noah

12:29

@KitFox Tanx

Ohh, forgot the h

guys I suck at spelling.... any advice?

tchrist

@Noah Read books.

Matt Эллен

practice spelling. type more slowly. read what you've typed before you hit enter.

tchrist

wonders whether spelling is practiceable

Matt Эллен

it is

RegDwight АΑA

I'm with tchrist. You can only get an idea of how stuff is supposed to be spolen by actually looking at how stuff is spolen and observing how it is spolen.

Matt Эллен

12:31

I'm with me, and I know if you practice writing things, you get better at writing them

tchrist

More spiel.

Matt Эллен

mussel mammaries are real

RegDwight АΑA

@MattЭллен not if you practice writing them wrong.

Which is what the entire planet is doing right now.

People should write less and read more.

KitFox

Boys, boys, he should do both those things.

Matt Эллен

@RegDwightАΑA but noticing you are wrong is part of practice

RegDwight АΑA

12:33

@MattЭллен not to humans, not on the Internet.

tchrist

How would you notice you were wrong?

Matt Эллен

@RegDwightАΑA you've misdefined practice

KitFox

Speaking of writing, @Reg, (Kit blinks sweetly) would you look over my draft for me again?

RegDwight АΑA

@MattЭллен Well, you never defined it.

Matt Эллен

@tchrist Noah did just now.

tchrist

12:33

Everyone who is ever wrong about anything has thought they were right.

Typos are not systemic errors.

Matt Эллен

4 mins ago, by Noah

Ohh, forgot the h

RegDwight АΑA

@KitFox later this evening I guess.

tchrist

Typos are still not systemic errors.

RegDwight АΑA

@MattЭллен practice won't help you prevent typos.

KitFox

@RegDwightАΑA You are kind.

tchrist

12:34

Er.

Noah

reading

tchrist

One can practice typing. This is a different thing.

Matt Эллен

@RegDwightАΑA practice will help you prevent typos. muscle memory will see to it. This is a real thing

RegDwight АΑA

@MattЭллен I still produce typos every day. And I have been practicing typing and playing musical instruments for years.

Matt Эллен

I never said reading isn't part of practice.

@RegDwightАΑA but you produce fewer than when you started

RegDwight АΑA

12:35

I'm not really quarreling with you, I just have nothing else to do.

KitFox

glowers

RegDwight АΑA

Well yes, reading Kit's story I guess.

Matt Эллен

:D

RegDwight АΑA

But I already procrastinated that one.

KitFox

Haha. I meant to glower about the bickering.

I must have missed.

RegDwight АΑA

12:36

You must practice, Kit.

Matt Эллен

did you ever glower at Cerberus and Mr Shiny and New?

RegDwight АΑA

Start by reading books.

KitFox

glowers

Noah

Okay...

RegDwight АΑA

See, very much better.

KitFox

12:37

Well, now that's starting to feel kind of weird.

Noah

@RegDwightАΑA I am reading the grapes of wraths....

seems to be an old book

RegDwight АΑA

So, Noah, have we ignored your dilemma to your heart's content?

KitFox

facepalm

Noah

@RegDwightАΑA ?

RegDwight АΑA

@Noah I take that to be a yes.

KitFox

12:38

@Noah You are too young and illiterate to appreciate that book. You should read some Lloyd Alexander books.

Noah

@RegDwightАΑA I didnt get what you said

RegDwight АΑA

That was my intention.

Nevermind.

Noah

@KitFox can you send me a link

RegDwight АΑA

Kids these days.

KitFox

@Noah amazon.com/The-Chronicles-Prydain-Boxed-Set/dp/1250000939/…

Noah

12:40

@KitFox thanks.

KitFox

nods

Do you like Harry Potter?

Noah

@KitFox I just read the first two of Harry Potters

KitFox

Just now, or only?

Noah

well, only

just a few days ago

tchrist

Reading Harry Potter novels is hardly apt to expand your command of English. What are you expecting, Tolkien or something?

KitFox

12:42

@tchrist He must walk before he can run.

Noah

Well, FumbleFIngers said they were fine...

tchrist

I don’t know his age or nativespeakerality.

KitFox

He's 15.

tchrist

1 out of 2.

KitFox

He's NNS.

tchrist

12:43

k

KitFox

So he shouldn't be reading Steinbeck or Tolkien yet.

RegDwight АΑA

Alice in Wonderland. Can't repeat that often enough.

Jul 27 at 14:41, by RegDwight АΑA

Whatever you do, start by reading Alice in Wonderland. Otherwise you'll never understand English, native speaker or not.

Noah

So can you guys agree on a list

I will go with Kit's suggestion...

What do you think?

tchrist

Yes, the question is open-ended, but I would precise that this unhelpful distinction persist in some exemplar of thoughtful conservatism informed by an acute literary sensibility. However I feel a sense of intellectual kinship when meet people that are able to think on this issue! — Xavier Vidal Hernández 24 hours ago

@Xavier Vidal Hernández: Your command of English is inadequate to both the tone and level of discourse you attempt. I am disheartened that ELU of all sites should upvote such garbled text. — FumbleFingers 11 hours ago

Yes, well.

RegDwight АΑA

Ahahaha. At last, the two have met themselves.

tchrist

12:45

All this precising is making me hot and bothered.

RegDwight АΑA

All this bothering is making me hot and precise.

Matt Эллен

Will you two please precise what you are saying?

RegDwight АΑA

I will!

Noah

Thanks, guys... gotta run

Thanks @KitFox

RegDwight АΑA

When should I start?

Noah

12:46

C U...

Matt Эллен

C U @Noah

RegDwight АΑA

Auruguai !

Matt Эллен

@RegDwightАΑA with impunity

KitFox

@Noah Depending on your level of English reading comprehension, which I am guessing is around the 5th or 6th grade level, try reading Newbery books. They should be interesting reads and about the right level for you.

And bye!

RegDwight АΑA

@tchrist I should add that it was FF of all people who advocated upvoting downvote-worthy stuff, insisting on his right to vote any way he pleased.

KitFox

12:48

So @Reg, did you see the new meta post by our friend?

RegDwight АΑA

Only just now.

Looking for that FF comment first.

tchrist

Querido Haveabeer: Es preciso que digas lo que quieres decir in buen inglés, lo cual en este caso sería sin traducir preciso a precise, pues que no existe esa palabra en tal sentido.

RegDwight АΑA

Unless you deleted it, that is.

@tchrist Es cierto.

KitFox

@RegDwightАΑA Quien? Moi?

No.

RegDwight АΑA

Well I wish I remembered which question it was on.

Looking for it is a major PITA now that the flag is gone.

Ah, there it is.

I've actually upvoted a few manifestly wrong answers that have one or two delete votes against them, simply to try and stop them being deleted. As you say, sometimes an "incorrect" answer serves a purpose, so long as it's obvious most people disagree with it. — FumbleFingers Aug 10 at 21:37

KitFox

12:51

Oh. I thought you meant the one that tchrist posted just now.

RegDwight АΑA

I'm extrapolating from there, yes.

KitFox

Egads, I'd forgotten about that.

RegDwight АΑA

@KitFox first rule of Mod club: never forget.

KitFox

Why did I think I would make a good mod again?

RegDwight АΑA

Because you know the ins and outs.

Matt Эллен

12:53

indeed, we've all read the interesting factoids

RegDwight АΑA

So. Now let me check Xavier's meta post.

tchrist

@RegDwightАΑA Good luck with that.

RegDwight АΑA

Too late. I would have needed it.

KitFox

@Reg Do you object to me doing some serious comment pruning?

tchrist

I suspect that answering him constructively is not in my prime skillset. I hope it is in someone’s.

Matt Эллен

12:56

@tchrist I was thinking something similar

tchrist

@MattЭллен Mutatis mutandis, presumably.

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…