Discussion Forum
This is a forum to discuss the gray areas of the English language for which you would not find answers easily in dictionaries or other reference books.
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Latest Posts : Usage
Is the term ‘foreigner’ still acceptable, if not (as I belive) do we have another word or phrase we can use to refer to people that don’t hail from the speakers home country?
This sounds highly ungrammatical to English ears, yet seems to be an increasingly common US usage (cf Br Eng “different from”, “different to”). If it is indeed considered correct, surely this makes the use of the word “than” in this context uniquely non-comparative - in all other cases that I can think of it has a comparative function - eg “faster than an eagle” or even “Icelanders are even more different from average Europeans than the Danish”. American speakers, any comments?
Which is correct? 1. Let’s begin from page 10. 2. Let’s begin at page 10. (UK?) 3. Let’s begin on page 10. (US?) Thank you.
Which is correct? 1. ‘at’ mark 2. ‘at’ symbol 3. ‘at’ sign 4. any other? Thank you.
I have been wondering about the use of these terms, especially when they came up repeatedly in the Presidential Debates. I am taking a Linguistics Class and my Professor asked me to do some research. I don’t even know where to start, what are these terms referred to as, and what are the constraints on their use? They always sound awkward to me when I hear them, but I am starting to realize that that doesn’t mean anything.
Thanks in advance,
Elizabeth
Thought of one. I’m aware that there is an area of controversy surrounding the capitalization of words in English pertaining to the Divine (What- or Whoever you may think Him, Her or It might be).
Most Christians write “God” and “the Supreme Being.” (Quakers write “the Divine Light.”) Entities worshipped by other religions are referred to as “gods” by Christians. Scientists also refer to the “gods” of various cultures and civilizations.
Modern Pagans write, for example, “the Mother Goddess” and “the Horned God,” or “the Green Man.” Islamic writers write “Allah (blessed be He),” Hindu writers sometimes write “the God” when they are referring to a member of the class of Entities that they worship. Atheists mostly insist on writing “god/goddess/gods,” although I am an exception; I think that usage is nothing more than defiant.
Any time I am asked, I say that it is customary in English to capitalize the name of God and all pronouns referring to Him, no matter what religion the writer happens to profess or not profess. It is no longer a question of respect, but of proper English capitalization.
Commenters, what is your view?
Hi Everybody!
“The chances for my ever being interrogated were nil, but I nevertheless felt better that way.”
Sounds English?
PS: Ben! Now, I am really confused about future in the past and tense coordination!
Today I found myself in the position of wanting to use “volatile” in the sentence “The bombs rested volatile on the edge of the shelf.” I immediately realized the sentence seemed choppy. I also realized, however, that “volatilely” is not a word. I was thinking of “precariously” but wanted to express a more explosive mood instead of the somewhat timid-sounding “precariously.”
Are there situations where an adjective can be used in place of an adverb? For instance, tonight I heard a teleivision show use the phrase “You’ve done nothing but wax idiotic.”
Any examples, rules, or guidelines relating to the use of this kind of adjective/adverb structure would be a boon to my understanding. Thank you.
“As if” and “as though”, does it mean the same thing? Is one more colloquial and the other more formal? How do you use them?
I am told by my business partner that using “Can I get a...” from a waiter is verging on the rude and that you should use “please may I have...”.
Would you agree?
