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Imagine a person who deflects all (constructive) criticism and is incapable of seeing that their actions (e.g. excessive alcohol consumption) or inaction (chronic procrastination) are the root cause of all the disappointment in their lives. What one word best describes such a person?
I want to ask if "what are the odds" is a recognised phrase or not,because I looked it up on Google and I do not see it cited on any of the famous dictionary websites,except for one. What's the odds is there, Yes but it doesn't cite the meaning I am looking for In movies, I have seen people use "what are the odds" as an exclamation to something of a rarity that has taken place, please do correct…
What is the 'regent' of a Duchy called? Specifically in the case where the Duke is the reigning monarch. For example if His Majesty, the King were to appoint a 'regent' to rule the Duchy of Lancaster: 'The King, Duke of Lancaster'
This is a question in an English test paper. Who doesn’t respect him ________ knows how much he has sacrificed for the country? A. that B. who C. / D. but Some think the answer is “D. but”, which to me is not logical. I think “A. that” is the right choice. Who doesn’t respect him that knows how much he has sacrificed for the country? →Who that knows how much he has sacrificed for the country…
my name is Suzuki, and I’m from Japan. I am currently developing incense in collaboration with an incense manufacturer in Japan. In addition to tabu powder, the incense contains other naturally derived ingredients, and one of its main characteristics is its gentle, subtle fragrance. I would like to ask for your advice on the English wording to use on the packaging. Generally, I understand that…
Singular they , appearing of course just as "they", can be used only to refer to “she” or “he” as a gender-neutral third-person pronoun, for instance The murderer was wily; they never once exposed themself to a CCTV camera. [gender unknown or kept under wraps] Why is “they” only used with plural agreement when referring to an it , that is an inanimate object / thing or gender-unspecified non human…
Preposition Query It is correct to say "According to" example sentence: According to ChatGPT, “with” is the answer. So is it ever acceptable to say "in accordance to" ? Like in this example: The decision was made in accordance to the recommendations of the independent review. ChatGPT stated that it can only be "in accordance with" , which I agree does sound correct, but is "in accordance to"…
{The bench is located in New York state, and it dates to the 1890s.) When I was taught the shall/will distinction, I was told that in the case of the third-person plural ( those ), the use of will indicates simple futurity whereas shall indicates intent on the speaker's part. Shouldn't it be "To those who will sit here...", given the speaker has no control of, or designs on, the sitting?
Context : The video clip from Facebook is about TikTok CEO questioned by a US senator. Below are captions. So, you said today as you often say that you live in Singapore. Of what nation are you a citizen? Singapore. Are you a citizen of any other nation ? No, Senator. Have you ever applied for Chinese citizenship ? Senator, I serve my nation in Singapore . No, I did not. Do you have a Singaporean…
For an example of what I mean; I enjoy eating apples. However, I find I enjoy apples more if I or someone else has put in the effort to cut them into slices. Similarly, I love being handed a bouquet of roses, but I appreciate them more when someone has taken the thorns off where I would hold the bouquet. I love being given my clothes freshly cleaned, but I enjoy if they have also been given a…
Dictionaries describe adverbial lest in current usage as meaning "so as to prevent the possibility that" or "for fear that" (see Britannica: lest and Cambridge: lest ). In these uses, I'd understood that lest introduces either a subjunctive clause or a should -clause. The OALD (yes, the strikethrough is verbatim) and Collins explicitly corroborate this understanding: Lest usually takes a verb in…
Should the highlighted commas be present in the following sentences? If he arrives, his girlfriend will be happy(,) but I will have to prepare another place at the table. If her hypothesis is true(,) and his theory is right, then the experiment should be successful. Since this is a set of natural numbers(,) and no natural number is negative, it is clear that its sum must be positive. Therefore,…
I’m Japanese and currently working on the packaging design for an incense product. I’m trying to decide how to indicate the number of incense sticks on the package, and I would appreciate some advice on which wording sounds the most natural in English. Here are the options I’m considering: A: COUNT 30 STICKS B: COUNT | 30 STICKS C: COUNT: 30 STICKS D: COUNT / 30 STICKS I assume that C is the most…
I am aware that "Good grief"/"Goodness gracious" are also used to display one's annoyance/frustration/exasperation. But what is a word/phrase that can be used when you are ecstatic/overjoyed at the sight of something which you think you are blessed to have occurred to you or to your loved ones?
When it comes to general and ecological usage , there is no doubt that invasibility has won against invadability. For illustration, here is a Google Ngram of the two: (Interestingly, it’s not so clear for invasible vs. invadable. ) In ecological papers, Google Scholar finds invadability ca. 1000 times, but invasibility 28.000 times¹. However, from both intuition and my understanding of language, I…
Can I write "Class 8th"? Someone said it was wrong to do that and I should instead write: a) Class 8 or b) 8th Class Why is 'Class 8th' wrong?
I made an editorial change that the author won't change because "it means the same thing." Her sentence: Under section 16-90-111, a finding is clearly erroneous when, although there is evidence to support it, the appellate court, after reviewing the entire evidence, is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made. Millsap v. State, 2025 Ark. 38. My edit: A finding under…
I need a word that describes anecdotal cases, for example, when someone cherry-picks a case to prove their point about a research topic.
When you take care of someone , including yourself, you " 'take' it" and you don't 'give' it (or any other verb). Why is this?
My roommates and I were discussing an upcoming sports game in a text thread. I stated "I asked my coworker, who doesn't follow sports, which team he liked better: X or Y. He chose team Y." My roommate then responded that he was an idiot. I responded by stating verbatim "I already qualified he is a non-sports knower." My other roommate tried to correct me and state that I should have use…
I am racking my brain over Etymonline’s information on the verb “entreat” ― Old French entraiter "to treat," from en- "make" (see en- (1)) + traiter "to treat" (see treat (v.)). I don’t know any Old French. In simple lay man terms, what does “make” + “treat” mean? At first sight, I thought “make” + “treat” meant “make someone a treat”, or “make a treat” for someone or something”, as in this…
I need to break the long title of a research paper into several lines. My question is: Where does the preposition of go in the part "the revolts of landlords' peasants"? Should the line break occur before or after of ? What is the rule?
I am looking to understand when a comma, involving a prepositional phrase, shifts from being a mere stylistic choice to a factor that determines the strict grammaticality of a sentence. For standard descriptive endings, a comma feels purely optional or stylistic: "We decided to meet at the park, near the old oak tree." "We decided to meet at the park near the old oak tree." However, when we move…
the dog --> [ the ] [dog] the big dog --> [ the ] [big dog] the grouchy man's dog -->[ the grouchy man's ] [dog] his dog --> [ his ] [dog] Noun phrases such as those shown in (1—4) typically come in two parts. There is an often optional introductory phrase consisting of one or more words, in bold in the examples above. And then we have the phrase containing the Head noun plus any adjectives or…
Context: In an English proficiency exam, there was a grammar question that asked us to point out an error within a short passage which happened to contain a phrase "There is a growing number of students..." to which some people have claimed "is" should be replaced with "are." Question: "A number of" is a well-known idiomatic adjective synonymous with "many," so "There are a number of students..."…
I have a question about when to use plural vs. singular 'possessionals' with plural-referent 'possessor nouns'. I know this is determined case-by-case; this case involves avoiding repetition in a comparison between two income groups. Singular/Plural: Participation was three times higher among adults with an annual household income of $45,000 to $60,000 than those with incomes of $90,000 or more.…
When to use one or two commas with appositives? discusses appositives and other descriptive phrases that are followed by a person's name. I was taught that an appositive was a clarification of the noun that precedes it and should always be set off with commas. But lately, I have encountered (in many published works) names followed by descriptions with no commas. Has this become the "accepted…
If I am not wrong, the linkage between words happens naturally when you try to pronounce the words quickly. Unlike American English, where the ending R is always clearly pronounced, British pronunciation has very specific rule that the ending R is only pronounced when it is followed by words starting with a vowel. I wonder if this linkage in British English in particular is a conscious and…
I'm looking for a more general term to describe any sort of weather or weather-like condition which includes reducing visibility, specifically those which do so to what might be considered a dangerous degree (see examples at the end), but which isn't necessarily associated with a specific form of such conditions in common usage. This word would be used for the purpose of naming a magic item in a…
I wanted to know if there is a specific word for the person who is/the act of willingly taking the punishment of another person who is convicted of a crime so that they don't need to face the punishment. For example, Jesus willingly took the punishment of the sins of mankind by dying on the cross for them. Here what is the single word for this act and how we can distinguish Jesus in this context?
When the Sun or the Moon shines through a window, there's a corresponding bright spot on the floor or wall. Conversely, when an object blocks light, it casts a shadow. What would the term be for this opposite? EDIT : I'm searching for a word that describes the bright spot, not the shadow. Maybe some context will help. I have this large picture window in my living room that, on the night of a full…
I recall reading an article a few years ago that discussed a period in English when intellectuals began forcing Latin grammar onto the English language, and split infinitives (among other grammatical quirks) became "bad English". My hazy memory is telling me this was some time around the 1700s or 1800s (so this would be unrelated to the Norman Conquest and Middle English). I also found this stack…
The real evils, indeed, of Emma's situation were the power of having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself; these were the disadvantages which threatened alloy to her many enjoyments. The danger, however, was at present so unperceived, that they did not by any means rank as misfortunes with her. What does Jane Austen mean when she writes "which…
I’m referring to the similar definitions of these four nouns – something raised and rounded. Why do these four rhyming words have similar meanings? I have not found very specific sources for these words on the Online Etymology Dictionary and Wiktionary . Hump is “probably from Dutch homp.” Rump is “from a Scandinavian source,” “from Old Norse rumpr” ultimately from Proto-Germanic “rumpo.” Lump is…
I'm referring to the peculiar habit I sometimes see in formal documents, where a number is given numerically after it's spelled out. It seems quite redundant: I need five (5) kumquats, stat! (Though it isn't always in a legal context, might it be related to this answer on this question ?)
