Questions tagged [semantics]
The semantics tag has no usage guidance.
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Why does work out mean physical work or physical training?
How does the physical training meaning relates to the "finding a solution meaning" using the particle out? What's the perspective?
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the syntax and the semantics of the word 'flat' in the sentence
If they get a chance to lay their eggs, we are going to have everything eaten flat with hoppers later on.
Context: People are trying to stop locusts to land on their farms. So they suppose that they ...
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Group Noun with singular verb vs Group Noun with plural verb— What's the difference?
The government has made up its mind. Vs The government have made up their minds.
Semantically,What is the difference in meaning ?
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"There, but for the grace of God, go I" - Breaking this down grammatically
There is a phrase in a book I am translating.
"There but for the grace of God goes God".
I googled this phrase and find the original version of this. Which is "there but for the grace ...
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'she must NOT have made it' vs. 'she mustn't have made it' vs. 'she must have not made it'
In this passage there is a slight pause after 'must' and a stress on 'not':
'I saw Isabella she had a blank expression on her face. I'm not sure what happened with the knife she was carrying it looked ...
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What is the difference between "I think ........." VS "I just think .........."?
This is from an interview with a celebrity where she is asked many questions in a short period of time. At some point, in between two questions, the reporter says to her:
"You were valedictorian ...
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Meaning: She hoped she would never wake up from the awful nightmare that was about to unfold
(Jo's sister said yes to a marriage proposal.) Hearing those words, Jo fainted. She hoped she would never wake up
from the awful nightmare that was about to unfold.
-- from a graded reader
I think I ...
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Semantically vague sentence (I think?)
I spotted it in a junk shop in Bridport, a roll-top desk. The man said it was early nineteenth century, and oak.
I think the author can use "be+of" here, but why only "be"???
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Semantically vague sentence
That man is not to be trusted.
Is this sentence semantically ok?i don't think the sentence is so straightforward.
(I found this word on Cambridge dictionary website)
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Is it correct to place "smiling" after the verb instead of at the end? "She reread smiling the typed note"
She reread the typed note, smiling.
The phrase "the typed note" is serving as a direct object to the verb "reread" as it raises the question of what. While the participle "...
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(Semantics) Using the definite vs indefinite article before singular generic nouns
Let me start with a few examples (I wrote all of them myself so they might have a few mistakes in them):
Before you begin the questioning part of the procedure, make sure that the interviewee feels ...
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Is "couldn't help doing something" used when you did have some control over doing it?
I know the phrase can't help sth/doing sth is normally used to say that you cannot stop yourself from doing something, as in:
I couldn't help eating more. It was too delicious.
My question is, is ...
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Is “should” sometimes ambiguous between “if” and “ought to”?
I know that nowadays in American informal English “should” almost always means “ought to”, as in “I should treat my family well”, but that it can also mean “if” or “in the event that”, as in “Should ...
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Take oneself by the collar
Others can see the difficulty, but the boy must take himself by the collar and make himself cultivate a poise and calm that smothers the fidgets.
What does "take oneself by the collar" mean?...
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"For no money would she leave" vs "For no money she would leave"
I read a linguistic paper saying that the two sentences have opposite meanings.
For no money would she leave.
For no money she would leave.
The paper says...
(1) means she wouldn't leave even if ...
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A collective idea - noun pharse
" The concerns that the teachers have risen is an indicator for having training the soonest .
My question here is , can I use the singular verb "is" with the main plural subject "...
Wael Tarek Mohamed
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for less OR for the lesser
Some people were punished for less.
Less sounds like a noun here.
Now I wonder, can it be substituted with "the lesser", as "the lesser" is also a noun. "The lesser of two ...
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When I go to the cinema/to the sea/to my grandma's
I feel happy when I go to the cinema/to the sea/to my grandma's etc.
What does exactly "go" mean? Does it mean a) the moment when I am leaving for b) the process of going to c) the time ...
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Admitted to have been / to having been
Look at these sentences:
He admitted to have been arrested last year.
The applicant has not admitted to having been convicted of this misdemeanor.
Police say both subjects appeared to be under the ...
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(The) people he might hurt. The definite article or no article at all? [duplicate]
From my quick Google search, it seems like such constructions can be used both with the article and without it.
So, how does the article change meaning in the following sentences:
He showed little ...
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Is there a difference in semantics between these verbs?
1 I'm always drinking like crazy when I see her. The meaning: I start drinking and after a while I see her.
2 I always drink like crazy when I see her. The meaning: At first I see her, then I start ...
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Rheme and theme in connection with a tense
This is an explanation by a native speaker. It includes the notions of RHEME and THEME
The explanation
"I live in France but I usually travel abroad", sounds odd because there's no context, ...
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I forget/I am forgetting
I am forgetting German. (I am gradually forgetting my knowledge of German)
I forget German. (What does it mean? Does it mean that I don't remember it?)
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What does the bold sentence mean in the following excerpt? [closed]
In pennsylvania, a celebrity cardiologist who rages against the inflated price of crudités faces a tattooed lieutenant governor with heart trouble. In Georgia, the choice is between a pastor on one ...
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Denotation and connotation of the phrase
As doctors often do, I took a trial shot at it as a point of departure. "Has she had a sore throat?"
In English, we can understand this very easily but very difficult to explain "trial ...
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Is there a difference in meaning between "many" and "many of"?
Is there a difference in meaning between "many" and "many of"? and if so what is it?
For example, if one says "many of them are confined" ("them" representing ...
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What does "the world was treated to the spectacle of Joe Biden insulting his Russian counterpart" mean?
What does this mean:
the world was treated to the spectacle of Joe Biden insulting his Russian counterpart
I can't think of something desirable or enjoyable as to make sense of this phrase, is the ...
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Why is it right to use the word "from" to say "there was no place free from them" [closed]
I would use the word "of" as the word "from" indicates origin so it sounds a bit weird.
I read this in a periodical from JSTOR talking about immigration to the old border states.
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What's the difference between “ terror attack” and " terrorist attack"
Both of the expressions are commonly seen on the media.
What is the difference in meaning?
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address problems VS address solutions
We have government recycling programs for materials like plastic,
glass, and metal, yet widespread solutions for organic waste materials
haven’t really been addressed in the United States. --from ...
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ESL Teacher to Spanish Speakers
I think I might have once read in a sample resume someone wrote as a bullet point under their work experience that for a period of time they were an "ESL teacher to Spanish speakers" --...
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nothing and not anything
Are these sentences semantically correct?
I don't see anything through these binoculars.
I see nothing through these binoculars.
A teacher says the second one is wrong because you can't say "...
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Use of two same words repeating immediately
Button, Button is the title of a short story by Richard Mathewson. The title has the same word two times. Is it the use epizeuxis to lay stress like Papa, Papa I want to go to picnic? If not, how will ...
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By road or on road
She always travels by road.
Is it correct to use the preposition by here because we use by normally with the means of transportation like She always travels by bus.?
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weak definite or regular definite: At home, we cleaned the windows
[1] At home, we cleaned the windows.
What is your reading of this sentence? Regular definite reading; i.e., they cleaned all the windows of their house? Or, weak definite reading; i.e., they cleaned ...
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Distinguishing durative verbs
I've been struggling to distinguish between durative and punctual verbs!
What I found as a rule for durative verbs is that they are typically identified when using a continuous tense, but let's ...
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what does "Most of Brisbane's here" mean?
Transcript at this TEDxSydney talk video, at 4:10
You know, I'm from Brisbane, which is a great city to live
in.(Applause and shouts from the audience) Yeah! All right! Most of
Brisbane's here. That'...
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Construction: "Is also to do."
This is a construction that lingered in the back of my mind for my entire life.
But for me "is to do" does not mean "has to do" as in:
"Surely this is also to do with ...
Ruh Muhaccer
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Is there a comma needed in this sentence, and if so, why?
The sentence in question: "I met with a psychologist to see if I was on the autism spectrum but they told me that I was not."
Is this a complete sentence: "They told me that I was not.&...
BalticSea
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The present perfect semantics
How could these explanations be understood?
McCoard (1978) (and also Sorensen, 1964: 78) takes great pains to disprove that 'He has died' means 'He is dead', a line of reasoning which he qualifies as &...
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Is it fine to use the word "completed" when we talk about an object instead of a process?
I have a small script to back up some of my files. It works completely silently and it doesn't provide any success or error messages, even if something is wrong.
The only message window popping up in ...
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seen from the helicopter VS seeing from the helicopter
Seen from the helicopter, the cars on the road are as small as insects.
We seeing the cars on the road from the helicopter, they are as small as insects.
Are both of the sentences grammatically and ...
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How weird it sounds to native ears the phrase " I rather use my phone to watch netflix"
I have heard some natives say "I rather" to express they use one thing more than the other rather than using "rather" to mean "preference". for me saying "I use my ...
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Why is this sentence "I want to tell the answers to my friend" wrong?
Is there any problem about this sentence? English is not my first language and I'm still learning it. About this sentence, I think the problem is in structure or semantics, but i have my doubts.
That ...
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Is it OK to create idioms similar to "brothers in arms"?
I know what "Brothers in arms" means. Can I use this idiom to get another idea across like "Brothers in mind/minds" to mean that they think similarly and of the same intellectual ...
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"The perfect cure-free worries scattered mind." [closed]
"The perfect cure-free worries scattered mind."
This is a sentence I heard from the video Stress Management Strategies: Ways to Unwind
(at 1:23 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fL-pn80s-c)...
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time away from him and all that - supplement? Meaning and analysis?
I came across this today morning:
Was it that he wasn’t the only center of attention? That I was busy with my career? It didn’t seem to matter that I was doing it for our family. My efforts to ...
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"How is it what ....?" versus "Is it how what .........?"
I'm confused about the emphasized parts of the following( #1,#2). I wonder if #1 means "If they had really renovated their mills, why are there 103 sick mills now under the Government's control?&...
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"Continual" if something undesirable happens or exists without stopping
If you are describing something undesirable which continues to happen
or exist without stopping, it is better to use continual rather
than continuous.
Life for her was a continual struggle because she ...
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“Pureness of the ocean”
“Pure” should modify words indicating color.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/pure
Then, I wonder, for example, to express pureness of blue of the ocean, “pureness of the ocean” ...
user139825