English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

kiamlaluno

15:00

@MrHen Mmmmmm! Sweet coal!

RegDwight

Mymoona's previous question was this:

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Q: Is this sentence grammatically correct?

The medium of instruction was English for all the subjects except for Arabic language, French and Islamic studies. Is this sentence correct?

Writing.SE, if you ask me.

MrHen

@RegDwight Agreed.

Robusto

@MrHen — I'm wondering how you know about that practice. Good children get presents in their stockings.

MrHen

@Robusto Some people have bad siblings.

kiamlaluno

@MrHen We don't use Christmas stockings, but thank you for the thought.

Actually, the first time I saw one I was in USA.

MrHen

15:02

@kiamlaluno Yeah, after I made the reference I realized it may not be too common elsewhere

kiamlaluno

MrHen It's not your fault; it's our fault. :-)

We have Santa Lucia, the Befana, Bambin Gesù to take us gifts, though. :-)

Robusto

@kiamlaluno — It's @kiam's fault. None of the rest of us had anything to do with it.

kiamlaluno

We don't know this kiam.

MrHen

Is it @kiam? I thought it was @kia.

kiamlaluno

Let's say it's @k.

MrHen

15:05

Haha...

kiamlaluno

Now I guess I alerted all users with a nick starting with k.

MrHen

@kiamlaluno I wonder how that works.

Yitzchak

About Mymoona's first question: Once I realized she was probably translating from Arabic, I was able to figure out what she meant to ask and edit it. I leave it to someone else to answer with their preferred variation of "No, no a thousand times NO!!"

kiamlaluno

Let's try with @R; this should reference three users.

Yitzchak

Sorry, not the first, the latest

RegDwight

15:09

@kiamlaluno: Single-letter at-mentions don't work. You should know that, as a mod.

MrHen

How about uno@?

kiamlaluno

Am I?

Robusto

@MrHen — KIA is a car and also an acronym for "Killed In Action"

RegDwight

@kiamlaluno Nobody told you?

Your name is in blue.

kiamlaluno

@Single-letter surely works, if somebody has such nick.

Oh, that is true. I thought it meant I was sick.

RegDwight

15:11

@kiamlaluno No, because no.

Robusto

@R you listening?

RegDwight

Now Robusto at-rs himself.

kiamlaluno

Or should I say "that is blue?"

Robusto

Nope, you can't @ yourself.

RegDwight

@kiamlaluno Deto isu buru.

@Robusto That is true, I can't. But I was talking about you.

kiamlaluno

15:12

@RegDwight: Prosit!

(What does that mean?)

Robusto

@RegDwight — And you were wrong. Deal with it.

RegDwight

@kiamlaluno Cheers.

@Robusto I was not wrong.

I knew it all along.

kiamlaluno

@RegDwight Cheers!

Robusto

No, I was right. You were wrong.

kiamlaluno

I was rather asking what "Deto isu buru" means.

RegDwight

15:13

@Robusto Ah, now I understand. Yes.

You most definitely were.

kiamlaluno

(I am searching some Tylenol.)

RegDwight

@kiamlaluno: stop wasting precious parentheses already. Seriously.

Chat ≠ LISP.

Robusto

)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) is the last half of the most important Lisp algorithm ever written.

MrHen

@RegDwight Imagine the closing line for chat...

RegDwight

Jinx!

kiamlaluno

15:16

Whoops... Do you mean I was not writing any Lisp code, so far?

MrHen

@RegDwight What? I see no Jinx

kiamlaluno

That explains all.

RegDwight

@MrHen It's a sprinx. A jinx in spirit.

kiamlaluno

I was wondering why I always get a different result than the expected one.

MrHen

@RegDwight That sounds like a crappy shoe brand.

RegDwight

15:17

@MrHen Yes, wooden shoes. Them's sold in Holland.

MrHen

@RegDwight With spoilers?

kiamlaluno

((search 'Tylenol) (take 'Tylenol) (wait) (wait))

RegDwight

Where's our three-headed puppy, btw?

MrHen

@Three-headed-puppy: Here, boy!

RegDwight

@MrHen No, you have to start talking in Latin.

MrHen

15:18

@RegDwight Dammit. The dog is smarter and speaks more languages than I.

RegDwight

@Cerberus mucho Latinum est.

Or something.

kiamlaluno

Cogito ergo sum.

RegDwight

@kiamlaluno You misspelled coito.

kiamlaluno

So did Descartes.

RegDwight

That's why he's dead.

Not my definition of sum, you know.

kiamlaluno

15:20

Domino et domo.

RegDwight

Doremi, solati, solati, famisol.

kiamlaluno

Is that an ex sum?

RegDwight

It's an ex sum laude.

kiamlaluno

I prefer a magna cum laude. I still have to understand what I should eat, though.

Robusto

Dominos ergo Yahtzee.

kiamlaluno

15:22

I hope there isn't a comma after each word.

RegDwight

Not, in, English,

MrHen

I just found "don't not hear it it" in an answer:

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A: "I hate when..." vs "I hate it when..."

I think this is more a matter of mumbling than leaving 'it' out explicitly. I (AmE) don't not hear it it feels like it should be there, and if an AmE speaker said clearly and distinctly 'I hate when...' it would sound really wrong ('hate' doesn't feel intransitive at all).

kiamlaluno

What does "I don't hear it" mean? If he feels it, then he cannot hear it.

It's the first time I note my nick is blue. I have not seen it blue, on Safari.

RegDwight

@kiamlaluno: I'm not really sure what you're asking here:

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Q: Are the smart quotes used in question titles seen using all the browsers?

In english.SE, the quotation mark (") used in the title is replaced by a smart quote. Are they visible in all the browsers, in any platform?

support questions

kiamlaluno

@RegDwight I am asking what I am asking. ;-)

RegDwight

15:30

“ and ” have been standard for as long as I can remember.

I am fairly certain I first used them in 1997.

kiamlaluno

I am asking if the smart quotes used from SE to replace the quotation marks is visible from all the browsers.

I asked a question about '', and somebody thought my title was not clear.

To me, it was evident the title contained two single quotation marks, not a single double quotation mark; therefore, I was wondering if other users would not see what I was seeing.

RegDwight

Um, wait a second, so you're actually asking about that ditto sign? That's not how the question reads...

kiamlaluno

I am speaking of the title. I do see a difference between the ditto sign I reported, and the quotation marks around ditto.

RegDwight

Yes. I will go out on a limb and say that that difference is visible to anyone.

kiamlaluno

Can I stop holding my breath? :-)

RegDwight

15:39

But what is not visible (until you start highlighting the text or something) is the difference between '' and ".

kiamlaluno

@RegDwight Perfect! That is what I needed to know. :-)

RegDwight

But such is life. I mean, the difference between ... and … is not immediately obvious, either.

kiamlaluno

How can I make a mental note without parentheses?

MrHen

@kiamlaluno Is this an actual question?

kiamlaluno

@MrHen It's a mental note; you should not read it.

RegDwight

15:42

MrTelepathicHen!

MrHen

You people have confusing minds. I choose to no longer read them.

RegDwight

Fair enough, at least you still have the choice.

kiamlaluno

Do we have minds?

RegDwight

Come on, @kiamlaluno, that so invites the answer "you don't".

This is an evil place. Don't push it.

kiamlaluno

@RegDwight Grrr... You keep to say my secrets.

Anyway, I was pushing for "no, we are minds."

Martha

15:45

My mind (what little there was left of it) is leaking out of my ears at an accelerated rate due to this @#$#@% ftp software I'm trying to format.

MrHen

I can haz mind?

RegDwight

@Martha "@#$#@% ftp software" is an oxymoron.

kiamlaluno

By the way, is that you plural, or singular?

Martha

Where the heck is it getting that 100px left border for the header image, anyway?

RegDwight

All FTP software is awesome.

Always.

Rhodri

15:47

Well, it's got awe in it somewhere.

Quite a lot of awe.

RegDwight

@Martha Wait, what? It adds borders to images? Whoa, now how awesome is that!

kiamlaluno

@RegDwight That is not true, if you have CuteFTP.

Rhodri

One could even say it was full of it.

Martha

This FTP software was made by the boss' son-in-law. Nepotism sucks.

MrHen

@Martha Ouch.

kiamlaluno

15:48

I just learned what a father-in-law is; what is a son-in-law?

Martha

I can't believe the guy sells this stuff to people. There are dialogs in here that are textbook examples of how not to do a dialog: hundreds of controls, no organization to speak of, and half the stuff doesn't work.

RegDwight

@Martha Well, that's what most software looks like. Arguably, it's the definition of software.

kiamlaluno

That reminds me of an OS. :-)

RegDwight

@kiamlaluno OS/2?

kiamlaluno

@RegDwight That was better: it cut half of the mistakes. OS/1 was worst.

Martha

15:50

Son-in-law = husband of daughter

RegDwight

BRB, gotta post that as a question...

kiamlaluno

@RegDwight Which one?

RegDwight

Um, there are a number of wordings I am considering. I think I will go with "What does 'husband' in 'husband of daughter' mean?"

Martha

I'm still confused. But see above about brain, leaking, and ears.

kiamlaluno

"What does in What does 'husband of daugther' mean? mean?"

RegDwight

15:52

@Martha Well, just keep this in mind: If everything is awesome, then nothing is.

Rhodri

Arthur, come out from behind that cardboard cut-out of a @RegDwight

3

RegDwight

@Rhodri Hey! My His name is Attila!

Okay, piplz, now you officially scare the hell out of me. Rhodri's message got starred thrice within two seconds.

kiamlaluno

In that case, it's easier to see where he passes.

Isn't that amazing?

Should I even pin it?

Rhodri

::is faintly scared too::

RegDwight

Coming out from behind Elton John is disturbing on more than one level.

Martha

15:55

We're just trying to get @Rhodri the 'Outspoken' badge.

RegDwight

@Martha Not on my watch! I will just delete all of his stars! Mwuahahahahahaha!

kiamlaluno

My watch doesn't have stars, just numbers.

RegDwight

See? I removed them.

Martha

@kiamlaluno, thwack.

kiamlaluno

Now, How can I know what time is it?

Ouch!

That hurts.

MrHen

15:57

@RegDwight It is amazing how you can make that sentence change meanings so quickly by removing words. I count at least three.

Martha

Ok, I give up, stupid logo is getting right-aligned. Time to go wrestle with iCalendar instead.

RegDwight

@MrHen That's how I roll.

Speaking of which, gotta head home.

kiamlaluno

16:12

@RegDwight Do you mean you have to roll home?

Cerberus

16:52

@Reg: Waaahh did you just combine Latin with one of her bastard languages? Abomination!

Not to say, incest.

Rhodri

That would be pretty normal for English, really

We like to keep it in the family.

Cerberus

Yikes!

Rhodri

:-)

Cerberus

Why can't your damn island finally open up!

Isolationism is not the way.

We can't even take our dogs with us.

Ok I have to go. Bai!

Rhodri

Bye, have fun!

kiamlaluno

17:03

I know I am late, but I will say "buh bye!" the same.

Rhodri

17:14

Time for me to roll as well. There's a leaving do for one of my colleagues that I should show my face at.

There will be entirely unavoidable drinking involved :-)

Cheers, folks.

kiamlaluno

@Rhodri One must do what one must do.

@Rhodri I know I am late, but I will say it the same: Have a good one.

Martha

19:43

Is this off-topic?

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Q: FCE use of english part 2 - where to find

Where can I find some www test with script checking for use of english? omit www.examenglish.com please.

test

MrHen

@Martha I think so. And even if it were on-topic, this is a terrible way to ask. I have no idea what is wanted.

As in: What kind of script? What does "use of english" mean?

Etc.

kiamlaluno

As the OP says "www test," I guess he is referring to some programming script. The question is not clear at all, though.

Any question about Internet resource should be off-topic, IMO.

Mark Szymanski

23:11

What exactly is this a duplicate of?

1

Q: comma question: (one, two, and three) vs. (one, two and three)

When listing items in a sentence, is it more acceptable to omit the comma between the penultimate and last item? (assume there will always be an "and" between these two items). e.g. The first three letters of the alphabet are A, B, and C. vs. The first three letters of the alphabet ar...

comma

MrHen

23:25

Arg... this question is driving me nuts

18

Q: Is there a word to describe a highly desirable cursed treasure?

Is there a single word to describe an object or idea that is so desirable that everyone wants to attain it but once they have it they are immediately cursed? The idea is often used in literature--some examples: In Lord of the Rings, the 'one ring' is a perfect example of this. In Guy de Maupas...

single-word-requests literary-techniques

So many close misses...

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…