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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Is it true for others that you lose all logic and sense after editing too much in one sitting? Hope I’m not alone!
I want to switch “from” to “by,” but then when I asked myself if you could really gain “by” something, I wasn’t too certain of my answer. Some reassurance or recommendations would be terrific! Thanks to all of you as always! ~s
“I gained expertise in effective communication as a project director in Ecuador and in Mexico, from negotiating in professional settings, meeting with my staff, and presenting to volunteers.”
I’ve been editing my sister’s med school app, and she includes a series sentences as follows.
I know she resorted to this style of structuring the sentence in the interest of space (there are character limits for the app), but this makes me feel awkward with its semicolon usage, which I usually take as a sign that there may be a grammatical error....any thoughts?
A young woman faced the birth of her first baby; I gave support and comfort. She was filled with questions; I provided education. She struggled physically and emotionally; I gave reassurance and encouragement. During this extraordinary time of life, I built with her a relationship based on trust.
Hi
Would it make a major difference to the meaning of the sentence below if “now” were omitted?
“Three months after his father’s death, Dave was now running the shop.”
Can anyone tell me why “by” and not “with” was used in the following?
“In the course of his narrative he refreshes himself by a draught from the drinking-horn into which meanwhile Hagen has pressed the juice of an herb.”
“or succeedeth in smuggling in a drink, or after much importuning, the janitor is induced to cool the coppers by a draught from the spigot that sizzes and adds to the thirst that is not quenched;”
“With these preliminary remarks, and after wetting his whistle by a draught from a small pocket flask, he made the echoes of Kenmuir ring with the following, which he sung to the old Gaelic air, ‘I am asleep, do not waken me:’-”
Hi
I’m a non-native English teacher. We did recently some work on assimilation of /d/ + /j/ as in ‘Could you...’ or ‘Did you...’
I was trying to elicit some other examples from my students and I got back this sentence:
There is a dead yak.
Clearly, the two sounds meet here but I wonder if native speakers would really use any assimilation at all. To me, ‘dead Jack’ sounds odd..
Can I replace smaller with littler always, sometimes, or never. Is the use of littler ever proper?
How would one punctuate the following sentence?
We walk with you every step of the way from initial conceptual design, through case illustration, document drafting, and implementation.
(I feel like there should be something between ‘every step of the way’ and ‘from initial conceptual design...”)
Which is correct? (Intentional use of telegraphic style) Assists attorney in drafting documentation. Assists attorney with drafting documentation.
Thanks
I have a question about punctuation in a manuscript. We are writing a manuscript about research that was carried out in the Mojave National Preserve.
Here’s what we write “Our investigation occurred between 2001 and 2003 in Mojave National Preserve. The preserve was established in 1994…” The question is whether the preserve, in the second sentence should be capitalized.
Thanks for your help!
What does this joke mean? “Utility knickers - one Yank, and they’re off.” I’ve heard it in the movie, Enigma by Michael Apted and have no idea what that refers to. There was nothing in the context that could help either. By the way, the story takes place during the World War II (if you haven’t seen the movie.)
