_id
stringlengths 1
6
| title
stringlengths 15
150
| text
stringlengths 18
6.44k
|
|---|---|---|
11547 | Is there a word meaning "an unwanted eponym"? | An eponym is one way to eternal (if posthumous) fame. But is there a word meaning an eponym someone would sooner not have? (One would presume that Captain Charles _Boycott_ , Mr Justice _Lynch_ , and Patrick _Hooligan_ would not appreciate their undying notoriety.) |
11549 | "Password Reset Mail" or "Reset Password Mail"? | We are working on a web project that has a password reset feature. Now the problem is, between "Password Reset Mail" and "Reset Password Mail", which is better? |
123851 | Are homonyms considered single words? | There are many homonyms in the English language, words that are spelled the same and pronounced the same but have different meanings. A few examples: * A grizzly _bear_ can _bear_ great weight. * I _stake_ out the house while perched on a _stake_. * I took a _bow_ after shooting my _bow_. * Take your _pick_ of any _pick_ or shovel. * I came to _see_ the Bishop's _see_. Are these considered one word or two? Does it perhaps depend on their etymology? Maybe if both meanings can be traced to the same root they are one word and if they derive from different sources they are two? Alternatively, how are words defined? Is it in terms of spelling, of meaning, of origin or a combination of the three? The free dictionary defines _word_ as > A sound or a combination of sounds, or its representation in writing or > printing, that symbolizes and communicates a meaning and may consist of a > single morpheme or of a combination of morphemes. That definition can be read as describing homonyms being both single (a word is a representation of sound in writing) and multiple (a word communicates a meaning) words. |
116661 | Which of these phrases are equivalent, if any, and why | Some say the following two phrases are equivalent because of Raising (linguistics)! Example 1 > He doesn't believe that bigfoot exists > He believes that bigfoot doesn't exist Are those two phrases really equivalent? In case they are, are the phrases from the examples below also equivalent? If so, why? Example 2 > He doesn't love that bigfoot exists > He loves that bigfoot doesn't exist Example 3 > He doesn't hate that bigfoot exists > He hates that bigfoot doesn't exist Example 4 > He doesn't know that bigfoot exists > He knows that bigfoot doesn't exist To me none of the examples contains two equivalent phrases. The example that seems more likely to have equivalent phrases, to me, is example 1, but, if the guy i'm talking about in example 1 doesn't know what bigfoot is, how can he hold a belief of any sort about the existence or nonexistence of bigfoot (phrase 2)? I mean, phrase 1 doesn't state that he believes something about bigfoot, so phrase 1, in this case, seems to be right. IMPORTANT SIDENOTE: I don't mean to state or imply that all possible sentences that can be written in the stated format will not be equivalent and I also don't mean to state or imply that the linguistic principle of raising is somehow incorrect. |
102236 | is it correct to use "wide range of courses that has opened my eyes"? | Please tell me if the following sentence requires "have" or "has": > My degree in Cell Biology and Genetics has allowed me to take a wide range > of courses that **has/have** opened my eyes to new aspects of the field. |
91901 | "The current crop of X (was/were)" - Which is correct? | > **Possible Duplicate:** > Is the usage of “are” correct when referring to a team/group/band? > Is “a wide range of features” singular or plural? From here: > The current crop of golfers were getting ready for the afterlife, one way or > the other. My question: * Is this the correct verb agreement? * I thought that `of golfers` was a prepositional phrase, and that `crop`, which is a singular noun, should dictate the verb agreement. |
177507 | Present simple form for City/group of people | Let's say we have a group of people who starts an activity together. The name of group can be: York speaks English! - as York is 3rd person singular. But at the same time: York speak English! - as York could be understood as a group of people, thus 3rd person plural. The group is suppose to practice English together. What is a correct form? |
80798 | "... the top ten issues that the voting public care about" | > **Possible Duplicate:** > Are collective nouns always plural, or are certain ones singular? > Is “staff” plural? This feels wrong to me (sounds like it should be `cares`) but `issues` is plural and in the case of "the people that the public care about" there it feels much more natural (though still somewhat awkward). What is the actual rule? |
112990 | Which one is correct in the context:"have" Or "has" | > 1) Our team of nationally recognized trainers has earned multiple titles…. In the first version _team_ is the object making _has_ correct. Or > 2) Our team of nationally recognized trainers have earned multiple titles…. In the second version _trainers_ is the object making _have_ correct. |
182056 | "XYZ caterers is.." or "XYZ caterers are.."? | In the following statement, which one is grammatically correct? > XYZ caterers **is** on to something big OR > XYZ caterers **are** on to something big I thought that it should be 'are' as caterers is plural. But it has been suggested that I might be wrong. What do you think? |
130867 | Would 'There are 300,000 dollars in my bank account' be correct usage? | Would using _there are_ instead of _there is_ be acceptable in utterances that talk about quantity? For example, > * There are 300,000 dollars in my account. > * There are 20 gallons of petrol in my tank. > |
17821 | Is the following sentence grammatically correct? It doesn't sound right | > **Possible Duplicates:** > "A total of 10 babies is sleeping." v.s. "A total of 10 babies are > sleeping." v.s. "Ten babies in total are sleeping." > Is "a total of 10 payments" singular or plural? > A total of 315 questionnaires was received from your area, and in particular > the response to Question 10 was most positive. Was / Were ? |
11810 | Conjugating verbs for nouns referring to groups of people | > **Possible Duplicate:** > Is staff plural? Frequently when reading tech articles, I see sentences like "Microsoft have released ..." or "Apple have announced ...". This seems wrong to me because the nouns are singular; Microsoft and Apple are individual companies, even though they refer to groups of people. I have not seen this usage outside of tech journalism, but it's pervasive enough that it makes me wonder: is this actually the correct usage? As a follow-up question, is it correct to use a plural pronoun for a singular antecedent like this? For example, "Apple **has** announced **they** are changing **their** name to Orange" or "Apple **has** announced **it** is changing **its** name to Orange". The second form seems technically correct but sounds awkward. |
4501 | Is the usage of "are" correct when referring to a team/group/band? | > **Possible Duplicate:** > Is staff plural? It always sounds wrong to me when people refer to a a proper team/group/band/etc in plural form, e.g.: > Nirvana are the creators of grunge. > The Avalanche are on the road to the Stanley Cup this year. To me, this sounds correct: > Nirvana is the creator of grunge. If the name is plural, it sounds correct: > The Foo Fighters are on tour this year. What is the rule for this? I seem to be hearing this more and more these days. |
175150 | Is wrong to say "two and two are not five"...? | Since the childhood days we have been memorizing the tables of numbers saying : **two ones are two (2 x 1 = 2)** **two twos are four (2 x 2 = 4)** **two threes are six (2 x 3 = 6)**.... However recently I came across a rule stating that if the mathematical operation of two or more fixed numbers(constants) yields a fixed numeral, then the singular form of verb should be used to denote the operation connecting the operands and the result. This makes the sentence look like : **Two twos is four**. Is it really so?? |
168653 | Potential issues with passive voice usage | I checked the grammar of my research article using a leading software. This is my sentence: * _A total of 12.3 million sequences_ **_was used_** _for the establishment of database._ The error is: _'Potential issues with passive voice usage'_ Anything wrong here? ( **NOTE:** Er, the OP's question is about **passive voice** , but the "duplicate" linked thread is about subject-verb number agreement. Perhaps there's a related issue here, on subject-verb number agreement (which is debatable), but the OP's main question on passive voice ought to be addressed. Anyway, a short answer post here would probably be more appropriate than a related link. -- F.E.) |
71259 | "Is equal to" or "equals" | Are both _is equal to_ and _equals_ similar in meaning? Which is the more natural? For example, _one plus one equals two_ or _one plus one is equal to two_. |
167405 | Which is correct "is" or "are" | Whilst watching the football last night I ended up starting a small debate and now I would like to know which sentence is correct, would it be: Chelsea are losing 2-0 or Chelsea is losing 2-0 Many Thanks |
11476 | “Is on” or “are on”? | > **Possible Duplicate:** > Is staff plural? > * The family _is_ on a tour > * The family _are_ on a tour > Which one is correct and why? |
120630 | "is" vs "are" when followed by a number | I read the following sentence on YouTube and initially thought it was grammatically incorrect: > Here are 10 minutes of the movie Black Hawk Down! I thought "are" should have been "is" but then I realized _minutes_ is plural so the plural form, _are_ , is used correctly. I also thought how most people would naturally say "Here is ten dollars in change" but is the use of the singular form, _is_ , correct since _dollars_ is plural? Am I misunderstanding a rule? |
192720 | Grammatically correct? | Which is correct? The coaching staff at Smith Sports ARE the best? Or The coaching staff at Smith Sports IS the best? |
44459 | Which is correct: The rest of the staff is or are? The rest of my family is or are? | I hope you can enlighten me. I get varying answers in Google and I need to find out which is the correct grammatical structure for these sentences. > The rest of the staff is/are on leave at the moment. > > The rest of my family is/are arriving late. |
190304 | Should I use loves or love | This is a quote that I got from one of our customers: "I'm proud to be part of an elite group of individuals that genuinely **loves** going to work on a Monday morning!" |
167240 | "All I need (is/are) cigarettes and alcohol": which one is correct? | In one of Oasis's songs — _Cigarettes and Alcohol_ — there are two sentences that make me confused: > All I found was cigarettes and alcohol ...and... > All I need is cigarettes and alcohol Why would _is_ and _was_ be correct in these sentences instead of _are_ and _were_ , since they're referring to more than one thing? |
8545 | "A total of 10 babies is..." vs. "a total of 10 babies are..." vs. "Ten babies in total are..." | Which one is the correct one? > 1. A total of 10 babies is sleeping. (A) > 2. A total of 10 babies are sleeping. (B) > 3. Ten babies in total are sleeping. (C) > For me, both (A) and (C) are correct. But (B) is also used in speech. |
97772 | Should I use "has" or "have" to describe what a company [has/have] done | > **Possible Duplicate:** > Are collective nouns always plural, or are certain ones singular? I am writing a company profile, and am struggling with the language style. Which of these is better? > [company name] has developed three technology platforms. or... > [company name] have developed three technology platforms. Are they both grammatically correct? |
1338 | Are collective nouns always plural, or are certain ones singular? | I'd say _Microsoft have a way of bending the rules_ and _I know that McLaren have won the championship_. While this sounds strange, I believe it is correct English (sorry, I'm not native). But when it's a small company, would you still use it this way? Is a company always plural, or are small companies singular? I.e., would you say _Bakery Johnson makes fine bread_ or _Bakery Johnson make fine bread_? Is it _My book seller, Woody's, have moved_ or is it _has moved_? |
162608 | "Led Zeppelin was" vs. "Led Zeppelin were" | > Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. (Source.) Is "were" really the right word here? It feels like it should be "was". After reading the answers and my own searching, it appears to be correct in this case Should I use American English or British English? |
133105 | Organisation - singular or plural? | In formal (not colloquial) English, is an organisation such as a sports club singular, plural, or is it discretionary? E.g. is it preferable to write "The X club WAS formed" or "The X club WERE formed", or doesn't it matter? |
74680 | My family *is* or My family *are*? | > **Possible Duplicate:** > Are collective nouns always plural, or are certain ones singular? > Which is correct: The rest of the staff is or are? The rest of my family is > or are? I've done a bit of research and I understand that "family" should be preceded by singular or plural verb depending on how you want it to be treated. For example, > His family _is_ one of the oldest in the county. and > His family _are_ all doctors. These are apparently both correct. But in the following instance, could a grammar expert tell me which should be be? > When his family are abducted or > When his family is abducted ? Thanks. |
22082 | Are units in English singular or plural? | I am a little bit confused about using units in English, sometimes I hear that people use singular units for plural things, sometimes they use plural ones. Which one is correct? * 3 meter(s) long? * during a 2 week(s) period? * 0.5 dollar(s) |
81484 | The first batch of special prizes "have vs. has" | > **Possible Duplicate:** > Is "group" singular or plural? Which is correct? > The first batch of special prizes **has** been distributed. > > The first batch of special prizes **have** been distributed. Google says "have" but I find it hard to believe. |
134461 | Google "have" or "has" been acquired | Saying either: Google have been acquired and Google has been acquired both sound correct, however I'm wondering what differences "has" and "have" bring to the sentence? What it, in linguistic terms, is the difference between the two? |
183003 | Can the name of a country be considered a plural noun, as a collective of e.g. its citizens? | > Brazil have Neymar. Argentina have Messi. Portugal have Ronaldo. Germany > have a team! I read this on Facebook, and someone said the singular "has" is supposed to be there instead of the plural "have" in all cases within the quoted phrase. I got myself thinking, though, whether the plural wouldn't be correct, making each country's name a collective of the people that are part of it, or perhaps a collective reference to the national team of each country in this specific case. I've seen uses such as > the police are conducting an investigation making the noun "police" a collective of all people within a police force, but I'm not sure these kinds of usage are a recurring mistake by native speakers or something of that nature. |
71266 | Are monetary values plural? | > **Possible Duplicate:** > Are units in English singular or plural? I want to say: > Those sixty dollars are gone > > That sixty dollars is gone The reason I ask is because I was originally typing: > Those $60 are gone But that looks funny to me. Which is more correct? |
41583 | "The committee has" vs. "the committee have" | > **Possible Duplicate:** > Is a company always plural, or are small companies singular? I have two statements like this: > * The committee has approved expenditure of hundred crores. > * The committee have gone on holiday. > The uses of _has_ and _have_ in the above statements confuse me. Can anyone explain me why _has_ has been used in the first sentence, why I shouldn't use _have_ in the place of _has_ in first sentence, and vice versa in the second statement? |
128973 | A pack of wolves run through the woods | Is the correct to say > A pack of wolves run through the woods or is the correct English > A pack of wolves runs through the woods The former sounds right. However, I think the subject is _a pack_ and _of wolves_ adds a description to the subject. In this case the subject is singular, so therefore the verb must be singular. Am I correct? It just doesn't feel right. |
79668 | Collective nouns and subject-verb agreement: general rule or arbitrary? | A newspaper ran this headline recently: > (1) Police _crack_ down on IAC protesters. _[emph added]_ Why did it not read: > (2) ? Police _cracks_ down on IAC protesters. I have found instances of `police cracks` in newspapers: "Police cracks whip" and "Chesterfield police cracks down on drunk drivers". However, google's ngram viewer suggests that `police cracks` is significantly less frequent:  I think that the difference between `Police _crack_ down` and `Police _cracks_ down` is influenced by subject-verb agreement and that the difference in this example reflects the grammatical number of the verb's subject. Here, `cracks` is inflected for singular number, which implies that its subject is singular, and `crack` is inflected for plural number, which implies that its subject is plural. E.g.: > The army cracks down on IAC protesters. _[singular]_ > > The armies crack down on IAC protesters. _[plural]_ The confusing thing about (1) and (2) is that the subject, `police`, looks like it is singular; the plural form would be `polices`, but I have never heard this form (for the noun). It sounds like `police` fits the definition of a collective noun, which Wikipedia says is "the name of a number (or collection) of people or things taken together and spoken of as one whole. For example, in the phrase 'a pride of lions', pride is a collective noun." `Police` fits this because it refers to (i) some relevant police force or (ii) some relevant group of police officers, which are both collections of people taken as wholes. It does _not_ refer to a single police officer. **So one might conjecture that verbs whose subjects are collective nouns are inflected for plural number.** However, it sounds like `group` also fits the definition of a collective noun because it refers to a collection of individuals taken as a whole. And I think that both of the following sound acceptable. > (3) The group crack down on IAC protesters. > > (4) The group cracks down on IAC protesters. The above conjecture also doesn't explain why it is sometimes okay to use `police cracks`. **My preliminary questions:** Do (1), (2), (3) and (4) all sound acceptable to everyone else? Are `police` and `group` both collective nouns? **My main questions:** If (3) and (4) are both acceptable and `police` and `group` are both collective nouns, then why does (1) _but not (2)_ sound acceptable, or at least why is `police crack` better than `police cracks`? How do you determine the correct conjugation for a verb whose subject is a collective noun? Is there a general rule, or does it vary from case to case? **My secondary questions:** Does the behavior of (1) and (2) have to do with synesis? Is using `police` to refer to the police force more like a synecdoche or other kind of rhetorical trope? Does it matter if you add `the`: > (5) The police crack down on IAC protesters. > > (6) ? The police cracks down on IAC protesters. I ask these secondary questions because I find it interesting that `police` is, to me, a near synonym of `police force`, but `police force` (ngram verb comparison) behaves oppositely to `police` (ngram verb comparison) when it comes to subject-verb agreement: > (7) ? The police force crack down on IAC protesters. > > (8) The police force cracks down on IAC protesters. [Note: the question mark at the beginning of an example indicates questionable grammaticality.] |
152106 | Equal, is equal to, equals, are equal to | Which is correct? Given 240 kph (240 kilometres per hour) = 149 mph (149 miles per hour) How does one say this? > -240 kph **equal** 149 mph. > -240 kph **equals** 149 mph. > -240 kph **is equal to** 149 mph. > -240 kph **are** 149 mph. Is 240 kph _singular_ or _plural_ (kilometre or kilometres)? Or 240 kph is a seperate kind of thing? |
11589 | Is "the USA" singular or plural? | On the one side, the USA is just one country. Logic says it should be, then, singular, just like the United Kingdom is. Example: > The USA owns this domain. On the other side, if I however expand "the USA" to "the United States of America", I'd tend towards using plural -- the noun the verb agrees with, "States," is definitely plural. Example: > The United States of America own this domain. → The USA own this domain. What form should I prefer? |
190191 | "Her whole family IS/ARE biologists"? | I'm not sure whether to put _is_ (number agreeing with the singular _her whole family_ ) or _are_ (number agreeing with plural _biologists_ ) in this sentence: > Her whole family is/are biologists. * * * After some more searching, it seems to make it correct, the _whole_ would need to be removed. Based on this other question, I think "Her family _are_ biologists." is technically correct but " _All of_ her family _are_ biologists sounds better." Still not certain. |
43474 | "Who is" or "Who are"? | > **Possible Duplicate:** > Is a company always plural, or are small companies singular? When asking about the identity of a business/company, which of these is the most correct? "Who is [Company]?" or "Who are [Company]?" |
175596 | Plural/singular form for a company in American English? | Somewhere on the internet a guy claims that in American English it's proper to use the singular form for conjugating the predicate of group terms such as _company_ , _band_ , _team_ etc. In British English, he claims, it's more common to use the plural form for there. My question is threefold. 1. Is it true that it's not the _intended_ meaning that governs numerus? 2. If so, how profoundly rooted is that difference in the dialects? 3. If it is, how does one formulate the following in American English? > \-- The diversity level amongst the people you've hired must be low? > \-- No, our staff **is/are** actually quite different individuals. |
164832 | Conjugation of answer to "How much money is there?" | I'm using a website - www.ixl.com \- to teach my child how to count American coins, amongst other activities. The site also has many questions on English grammar. One thing that doesn't seem right - and perhaps I'm missing something here - is their conjugation of the response to "How much money is there?" Here is an example of what I'm referring to:  I've never encountered the question where there's only a single penny (1¢) displayed. Thus there are always several cents. I would have thought that the answer should be conjugated with the plural conjugation. Is the correct answer to "How much money is there?" (in the case of the three 1¢ coins and the 5¢ coin shown in the image) "There are eight cents."? Or am I missing something? **EDITED:** There might be a previous question on this site whose answer would be applicable to this OP's question, but neither of those two threads cited to mark this OP's thread as a "duplicate" has an answer for the OP's question: the 1st "duplicate" thread discusses _"A total of X"_ and its number when it is a subject, the 2nd thread involves a possible subject-dependent inversion with a measurement phrase with a sentence beginning with "Here". This OP's specific question deals with numerous topics, and its sentence also involves a leading "There", which ends up making the issue even more involved. Please get the **_duplicate_** mark off this thread so I can give the OP an answer. -- F.E. |
147712 | Is *Network operator* considered singular or plural? | > Network Operator pays Company X, and Company X pays Ringtone Provider > Network Operator pay Company X, and Company X pay Ringtone Provider Which one is correct? |
163800 | I am still confused about have or has | This is the sentence: > "... Has established a committee who has/have been appointed as the > custodians of ..." Do I use _has_ or _have_? Do I use _custodian_ or _custodians_? |
164657 | Family go vs family goes? | I am wondering which one is current? > -my family go... > \- my family goes... Which is correct? |
119668 | usage of believe in 3rd person | I was watching a video about a car company. The narrator was talking about the company Tesla and said: > Tesla believe it can lead the revolution and change the face of motoring > forever. The statement was made when describing the principles of the company. No other person was present in the narrative. Shouldn't it be _believes_ as that is the 3rd person singular form of _believe_? |
9053 | Should I use the singular or plural verb in mathematical formulae ("Two and two make/makes four")? | I remember somebody correcting me once when I said, "Two and two makes four", since the conjunction _and_ would imply the use of a plural verb. They would prefer I said: > Two and two make four. I've been thinking about it and wondering if one or the other is correct, or if both are. It would seem that using the plural verb is grammatical. However, I've heard the singular verb being used more often and feel that it is correct. Is there some exception about using the singular verb in logical statements and mathematical formulae? |
3288 | Is "staff" plural? | Which one of these two statements is correct? > Our staff do ... > > Our staff does ... Is _staffs_ correct? |
132622 | Why do they use "Apple are" instead of "Apple is"? | Examples taken from OMG Ubuntu: > * Apple are expected to finally give a release date for OS X Mavericks, > the latest update to their desktop operating system at an event today. > > * For Mavericks Apple are adding even more functionality. > > Why do they use _are_ instead of _is_? |
71154 | Destroy or Destroys | > **Possible Duplicate:** > Is a company always plural, or are small companies singular? I came across a mocked up newspaper article earlier and there was a discussion about whether the following is grammatically incorrect: > "Black Friday as Sweden destroys us" To me, this looks wrong. I'd always say: > "Black Friday as Sweden destroy us" To add context this comment would relate to the Swedish national football team defeating the English team. I presume therefore that Sweden is treated as a plural/collection, but I can't find a definitive answer anywhere. |
181598 | Is Football/Soccer/news lingo special? | While reading up on todays match, there was this line: > Thomas Muller wants a penalty before Algeria counter and have a chance but > Germany survive. Breathless!1 I would have written this as either _before the Algerian counter_ or _before Algeria counters and has_. Is there some grammar rule or even basic knowledge I'm missing, or is this phrasing special to sports reports and possibly known to be off? |
144405 | Which of these is correct? | Which of these film introductions demonstrate the correct use of English Grammar? I have used example (1), but have been taken to task for so doing. > 1. Eagle Films present > > 2. Eagle Films presents > > |
184525 | Why doesn't the word 'confirm' have "3rd person -s" in this text? | http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jul/11/liverpool-luis-suarez- barcelona-transfer-medical The issue is in the headline 'Liverpool confirm Luis Suárez’s £75m move to Barcelona pending medical'. Nevertheless It says "A Liverpool statement said: “Liverpool FC confirms that Luis Suárez will ..." in the third paragraph I don't catch the difference. Can someone explain it to me? Lot of thanks. |
166773 | Pluralisation of sports teams in British and American English | Why do British and American English differ in this respect: British > Southampton **are** eyeing up a ready-made replacement for Luke Shaw American > Southampton **is** eyeing up a ready-made replacement for Luke Shaw American sports journalism differs in their reference to teams. The American style is to treat the team as singular, whereas the British use plurals. What are the rules in other variants of English (Aus, NZ etc.)? |
56449 | Usage of "its" and "their" | > **Possible Duplicate:** > Is a company always plural, or are small companies singular? > Is "staff" plural? When a political candidate gets an endorsement from a newspaper, the sentence would be > The Los Angeles Times gave Candidate x **its** endorsement. Is it appropriate to use _their_ instead of _its_ if we rewrite the sentence to include _editorial board_? > The editorial board of the Los Angeles Times gave Candidate x **their** > endorsement. |
166173 | "Equal" versus "Equals" | I've seen variants of this question, but nothing explicitly like the one below: > Three feet equals/equal a yard. Which is correct? Is there a definitive explanation? Please indicate BrE vs AmE if you have a view. |
5588 | Is "a total of 10 payments" singular or plural? | > A total of 10 payments were made. OR > A total of 10 payments was made. Which is correct? Or can both be correct? |
130948 | the rest of her family was or the rest of her family were | which is correct: a) she didn't mind a mild storm when the rest of her family were present b) she didn't mind a mild storm when the rest of her family was present |
151807 | Subject–Predicate Errors | The following quotes all seem to contain agreement errors between their subjects and predicates: > A total of five youths were arrested in both incidents. Shouldn't it be "A total . . . was"? The sense is plural overall, but the subject is the singular "total." The object of the preposition is "five youths." Nonetheless, the verb should be the singular "was," agreed? > Early returns from rural areas indicated that support from the Communists > remain strong. Shouldn't it be ". . . support . . . remains strong"? > A group of neighborhood volunteers are identifying these houses and forcing > owners to fix them up or tear them down. Shouldn't it be "A group . . . is"? > The council's actions, concluding more than six hours of testimony on the > matter, effectively nullifies a city hearings officer's decision. Shouldn't it be "The council's actions . . . nullify"? |
113234 | "India have won" vs. "India has won" | I would like to know when to use singular or plural verb agreement when talking about a country. E.g., > 1. India have won the match. > 2. India has won the match. > Which statement is grammatical? Please illustrate with some more examples. |
46609 | Is the word "management" singular or plural? | > **Possible Duplicate:** > Is a company always plural, or are small companies singular? Which one of the following is correct? > Management gets its ideas from its employees. > Management gets their ideas from their employees. |
11023 | Is a music band a singular or a collective entity, grammatically speaking? | > **Duplicate:** > Is the usage of "are" correct when referring to a team/group/band? What is correct to say? > Korn* is a great band OR > Korn* are a great band. (* You can replace your favourite band's name here) Of course everybody there is no doubt about the following sentences: > The Beatles **are** a great band > > Led Zeppelin **is** a great band But with certain kinds of names, the situation becomes difficult. > Metallica are a great band OR > Metallica is a great band Is there any consensus on this matter? |
76371 | Jury was divided or Jury were divided? | > **Possible Duplicate:** > Are collective nouns always plural, or are certain ones singular? > Is "staff" plural? What is correct? The jury was divided or The jury were divided? I am told that the latter is accurate because all of the jury do not have the same opinion in the particular case. Then, how does the subject verb agreement fit in 'The jury is still out' ? I mean, 'The jury is out' would allude to a situation were the opinion on a matter is (are?) still divided. |
172448 | Staff and percent. Which one of these two statements is correct? | **Which one of these two statements is correct?** 60% of staff work or 60% of staff works |
39838 | Is "group" singular or plural? | > **Possible Duplicate:** > Is a company always plural, or are small companies singular? When I'm referring to a group _of multiple things_ , should it be considered singular or plural for the purposes of applying a verb to it? For example, which is correct in the examples below? > A sentence is a group of words that is followed by a period. > A sentence is a group of words that are followed by a period. > > The group of people constitutes a jury. > The group of people constitute a jury. > > A group of crows is called a 'murder'. > A group of crows are called a 'murder'. My instinct is that it depends on whether the verb is referncing the group itself or the members of the group directly, but is that right? |
77835 | Company names, use of "have" and "has" | > **Possible Duplicate:** > Are collective nouns always plural, or are certain ones singular? Should company names be followed by "has" or "have"? It depends on whether a company is treated as a singular proper-noun: > Samsung has gotten itself in a lot of trouble recently. Or plural proper-noun: > Samsung have stated they don't imitate cooler products. Are both acceptable? |
166397 | "Two and two makes four" vs. "two and two make four" | > 1. Two and two makes four. > 2. Two and two make four. > Which is grammatical? Please provide your reasoning. |
5983 | "Caretaker" vs "Caregiver" | What is the difference between the two? I think that "caretaker" is more appropriate for someone who takes care of things or inanimate property; whereas "caregiver" would be someone who takes care of a person. I'm just amused at how the opposite roots of "give" and "take" are used to mean the same thing. |
5980 | How to pronounce family names? | Does anyone know a tool to look up names like _Rumbaugh_? Sometimes I hear something like "rumba" or even "rambo". Is there a dictionary where I could look up the correct pronunciation? |
19394 | Is "so" a pronoun? | Reminded by What is the grammatical function of so in this sentence, something that has always bothered me is that the word "so" can be used as a pronoun: > It looks like rain Responding with: > No, I don't think so. (Where "so" refers to the statement about rain "that it looks like rain".) Definition of 'so' \- see items 21, 22, where they say it is a pronoun: > **–pronoun** > > * such as has been stated: _to be good and stay so_. > > * something that is about or near the persons or things in question, as in > number or amount: _Of the original twelve, five or so remain_. > > Rather, I am not bothered that it might function as a pronoun (weird things happen). I am perfectly fine with it being a pronoun and using it...so. But it never seems to be mentioned in a list of pronouns (as much as memory can serve). It is not in the set of canonical pronouns. "Thus" seems to share this use. So...(clears throat), what is the provenance and history of this usage? Do other languages have a similar use of a word that introduces a deduction as also a pronoun for a sentence? (And are there any other such non-canonical pronouns?) |
24519 | Proper punctuation for parentheses | > **Possible Duplicate:** > Is there any rule for the placement of space after and before parenthesis? Should you put a space in between the outside of parentheses and punctuation? |
19391 | What is an "Open loop"? | In "Getting Things Done", David Allen refers to "Open Loops", meaning things that are incomplete. Q: What past reference to an "Open loop" is he alluding to? Is that phrase "Open Loop" something that's been used in other areas before and is being redefined by David Allen, or is this a brand new phrase? |
5985 | Would you use the word "swum" these days? | Would you use the word "swum" these days? I mean, grammatically, it is the past participle of the verb "to swim", but it seems to me that no one uses it anymore. If it's the case, how would You describe the fact that You have already performed an act of swimming today? With "swum" it would be like this: "I've already swum today" |
127479 | Push-up vs.Press-up | What's the difference between push-ups and press-ups? I browsed the Internet but it seems that both words are used interchangeably. |
148705 | how do I use a hyphen when defining an acronym in the middle of the term? | Example: "Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) level unemployment" I need a hyphen between "Area" and "level". Later in the document the term appears as "MSA-level". Should it be: "Metropolitan Statistical Area- (MSA) level unemployment" [note the spaces/lack thereof] or "Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) -level unemployment" [note the spaces/lack thereof] or "Metropolitan Statistical Area-(MSA) level unemployment" [note the spaces/lack thereof] or "Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)-level unemployment" [note the spaces/lack thereof] or "Metropolitan Statistical Area-level (MSA) unemployment" or "Metropolitan Statistical Area level (MSA) unemployment" [no hyphen at all] or ??? Note: this is the first instance of the term/acronym being introduced within the document, so definition here is necessary. (Or is it?) Thoughts appreciated! |
131538 | "of both which" or "of which both" | Consider the following sentence: `This takes a lot of time and money to keep going, ... I have little.` Which would fit best in that ellipsis? `of both which` or `of which both` or `both of which` In my mind (and to my ears), `of both which` sounds correct, but I'm not sure. |
123855 | Possessive pronoun drops in fiction | Assuming the reader knows who is being referred to, what do you think is the effect on the reader when possessive pronouns are dropped in fiction. For example: > Brown hair is pulled back into a tight bun, giving cheeks a stretched look. Seems to me (note the subject pronoun drop), the result is that the reader focuses more on the narrator than the character being discussed. All reactions will be appreciated. |
103542 | Install on, install in, install to | When I say "programs to install on a new PC" it sounds alright to me, but I'm not sure if it's the correct usage. Which one of the following should I use? * Programs to install **on** a new PC * Programs to install **in** a new PC * Programs to install **to** a new PC |
103547 | Can "with" be replaced by "to" after verbs? | Does this replacement change the meaning to something wrong? Examples: I came with her or I came to her I talk with you or I talk to you |
127474 | "And" or "but" in this sentence from CNN? | > She may be one of Hollywood's highest-paid women but Charlize Theron is > using her star power to help prevent the spread of HIV in her homeland of > South Africa. That is a sentence from the CNN. And I am wondering whether the use of _but_ on that sentence is correct. As far as I understand, _but_ is used to connect two contradictory things which I cannot see in this sentence. I personally would have written that sentence as follows: > Charlize Theron is one of Hollywood's highest-paid women and she is using > her star power to help prevent the spread of HIV in her homeland of South > Africa. I use _and_ as having money and philanthrophy go together. |
120120 | Difference between “coat” and “topcoat”, etc | What is the difference between a coat and a topcoat (overcoat, etc)? I want to use a word which mean a part of clothes which I may dress up when I go to a street in the autumn. But as far as I know "coat" might mean something like lab white coat (kind of "robe"). Should I use "topcoat" or some another word? EDIT: I mean something like **this**. |
88397 | "Vanish into thin air" and "disappear without trace" | I can understand the construction like the following with _vanish_ and _disappear_. > * The money **vanished from** my wallet. > * Money seems to **vanish into** a black hole. > * A strange light appeared and **vanished into** the darkness again. > * The sun **disappeared** behind a cloud. > * His sudden **disappearance** is very worrying. > In the following sentence, > All the chocolates **vanished away** in no time at all. what if the adverb _away_ used with the verb _vanished_ is dropped? It appears to be redundant. Both of the idiomatic phrases _vanish into thing air_ and _disappear without trace_ appear to mean "vanish all of a sudden in a way that seems impossible or in a way that cannot be explained or at least difficult to explain", such as > * When the hunter looked again, the bear had already **vanished into thin > air**. > * The plane **disappeared without trace** and no survivors were ever > found. > How much does it make a difference, if the first sentence is given "disappeared without trace" and the second one is given "vanished into thin air"? Moreover, the indefinite article _a_ is quite less frequently seen with _disappear without trace_ such as _disappear without_ a _trace_. Does the article _a_ have its own meaning in some contexts or it's just optional? |
82992 | will be possible to be used | Is it (1) correct, (2) natural/wise to say the following in english: "[X] **will be possible to be used here as** [Y, ie. some function/role]"? Are there any alternatives, and if there are, are they a superior or (else) a roughly equialent thing to say? If it's not correct, could you point out what's wrong with it? What I want to express is that in the future "you will be able to use X as Y here". _Ie. you will be able to use the ladder (not yet built) as an aid to climb up to the roof._ Of course I could use this form, but I'm trying to express it with the former to see if it is possible/OK. In particular I'm trying to avoid putting "you" or "one" in the sentence, but only if it's OK to do so. |
88393 | Is “Reading strong” a popular alternative to “Read a lot more”? | NPR (October 23) reported that 8 in 10 Americans under the age of 30 have read a book in the past year in comparison to about 7 in 10 adults in general, American adults under the caption “America's Facebook generation is _reading strong_.” I don’t think I’ve head “He / she reads strong,” or “He / she is a strong reader” very often. OALED shows “strong” as the adjective to mean “great in number” in its 14th definition from the top – 1. having a great power. Is “Read strong” a popular way of saying “Read a lot (or hard)”? Can I say “listen to strong,” “Write strong,” or “eat / drink strong,” by the same token? |
173159 | What do you call the artwork you first see upon entering a place | * When you open the front doors of a building and enter, you would be greeted by this statue or painting. * After you enter a campus by car, you would encounter this sculpture or fountain. * An building's vestibule, or foyer would often have this prominent statue or painting. * A cemetery would have a statue right behind its front gates. * In the Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., it would be the elephant. What would you call this artwork or decoration placement? |
46132 | Should I say a date differently from the way it is written? | Example: October 24 ... is this said "October twenty-four" or "October twenty- fourth"? I assumed that the use of cardinal numbers applied to both speech and writing. This post seems to say that October 24 should be written with the cardinal number but spoken with the ordinal. |
177646 | Usage of the definite article with the abbreviated name of an equipment in a user's manual | As part of my translation studies, I have to detect anomalies in a user's manual. This manual refers to an equipment whose full name is Compuwash Commander Controller - Model CC-64. Lack of coherence is considered an anomaly in technical writing. My problem is that the manual is not constant in the use of the definite article. It sometimes refers to "the controller CC-64", sometimes to "CC-64 Controller" only: * The CONTROLLER CC-64 is the brains of the system and contains the following major components: [...] * The ROC-16 Relay Centers communicate with CC-64 Controller via a 4 twisted pair shielded wire [...] Similarly, it sometimes refers to "the CC-64" and other times to "CC-64" with no article, such a in the examples below: * The memory and clock/calendar that is resident in the CC-64 has battery backup [...] * Position the DT-32 Dumb Terminal on a table top next to CC-64 or office [...]. Which of these sentences are faulty? Should I just find out which usage is more frequent in the manual and consider it the correct form? Thank you for your help. |
92203 | what is one word meaning two people who are of the exact same age? | > **Possible Duplicate:** > Word for two people who are the same age I notice this discussion was closed back in February but I need to re-open it because I heard the answer on the radio today. It was on NPR, the show "Says You!" Unfortunately, I didn't hear the first part of the discussion, when they spelled it. The pronunciation though sounded like, "yeeling." It made me think of the word "yearling," but with a definite long e in the middle. I went to the "Says You" website to try to get the spelling but their site is woefully behind: the latest episode is June 2012. I tried entering "yeeling" in Google Chrome's search engine but got no good hits. Did anyone else hear Says You today and know how to spell this word? |
148709 | Word for thing whose parts are independently movable? | I'm thinking of a specific word here for something that is broken up into pieces which are connected by a kind of joint that allows each piece free motion -- like a Rubik's cube. I believe the word may have something like "sect" as part of it, but I could easily be wrong. |
177649 | Usage of "granularities" (in plural form) | I wonder whether it is correct to use the word "granularity" in its plural form. For example: > 1. X and Y are commonly used **granularities** in Z research. > > 2. This study can be conducted at both coarse and fine **granularities**. > > 3. This study can be conducted at different **granularities**. > > Can I use "granularities" in the above sentences? Or can I simply use the singular form "granularity"? |
97156 | Word or phrase to describe an activity that is "used to pass time" | Aside from _pastime_ , what is a word or phrase that can be used to describe an activity that is not pleasurable and used only as a diversion while letting time pass? |
5913 | What is the pronunciation of the possessive words that already end in s? | > **Possible Duplicate:** > When did it become correct to add an ‘s’ to a singular possessive already > ending in ‘s’? > Which singular names ending in “s” form possessives with only a bare > apostrophe? My name is Greg — this is Greg **'s** post. If my name ended with an 's', I am aware of the proper apostrophe usage (James → James'), but how should this be pronounced? Phonetically, am I Jameses best friend or James best friend? |
98854 | What’s the pronunciation of “ s’ ”_(2)? | > **Possible Duplicate:** > What is the pronunciation of the possessive words that already end in s? > What’s the pronunciation of “ s’ ”? > Mr **Torres** will be returning to the Amazon rainforest in January next > year to investigate further as this masterful spider is yet to be recognised > as a new species. > > Mr **Torres'** discovery will be registered, verified and his findings > published if this spider proves to be biologically different from the known > species of Cyclosa. [source][1]: Report (1.1 MB) ; (1) 1:00, (2) 1:10 This is the case against tchrist’s answer. Because the BBC’s presenter clearly differentiates the two pronunciations, Mr Torres and Mr Torres’. So I need to wait a new answer. Is the BBC’s pronunciation right or not? |
79081 | Which singular names ending in “s” form possessives with only a bare apostrophe? | Many questions already ask about this topic (What is the correct possessive for nouns ending in s? , Adding apostrophe-s to a singular noun already ending in “s”, etc.) and their answers vary, but they always give exceptions to the apostrophe-s rule, for example: > 6.24 The general rule for the possessive of nouns covers most proper nouns, > including most names ending in sibilants." Examples they give include _Kansas’s_ , _Ross’s land_ , and _Jones’s reputation_. Exceptions include _Jesus’_ and _Moses’_. Which names does this apply to? Is the _Aeneas’_ form correct, or is it _Aeneas’s_ instead? |
191853 | I'm looking for the possessive of 'boss' | What is the possessive of boss; ie, how do you describe the son of the boss? |
186539 | Possessive case for a certain proper noun -ss apostrophe | In the case of the proper noun "Ross" which would be correct: 1) Ross's 2) Ross' Thank you |
92267 | Bayes' Theorem or Bayes's Theorem? (Similarly, Charles' Law or Charles's Law?) | > **Possible Duplicate:** > When did it become correct to add an ‘s’ to a singular possessive already > ending in ‘s’? > Which singular names ending in “s” form possessives with only a bare > apostrophe? Which one is correct? I thought the latter would be correct but apparently the former is always used; why? ### Edit: Another (confusing) example: Charles'(s?) law |
194528 | Jenkins' vs Jenkins's vs Jenkins'es | While my question applies to `Jenkins` (software) which was named after `Jenkins` named meant to evoke a feel of English butler, there is a historical precent: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Jenkins'_Ear Wikipedia article has `Jenkins'` in the title and `Jenkins's` in reference to historical book. However modern grammar rules seem to imply that correct possessive form in modern English would be `Jenkins'es`. So what is correct? Or are several options acceptable? |