New answers tagged word-choice
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What’s the most idiomatic word for “a person from another country”?
*Foreigner is the right word:".
emigrant meaning.
a person who leaves their own country in order to settle permanently in another.
"she was a Polish emigrant who came to Scotland during the ...
- 3,836
0
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Is it correct to say "don't do it mechanically" in this situation?
As others have said, "mechanically" is fine in this context.
Since this is ELL, I thought I'd also note you could say:
"Don't just skim through the passage, read the whole thing to ...
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0
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Accepted
no ... nor VS no ... or
Both sentences are grammatically correct, but they have slight differences in meaning due to the use of "no" versus "nor."
"Since there's no warning nor error thrown, I ...
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4
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Is it correct to say "don't do it mechanically" in this situation?
Your use of the word "mechanically" is apt with respect to the "algorithm" you think she used: look for words relating to purchase and gather the items purchased from the sentence(...
- 137k
3
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Is it correct to say "don't do it mechanically" in this situation?
'mechanically' means figuratively 'without much thinking and automatically'. I think 'do it with more caution or attention' would be a better remark for children. She was not mechanical but unwitting.
...
- 5,072
-1
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is it correct to say to a man "such a drama king" or "such a drama queen"?
From the wiktionary discussion about drama queen:
Seeing as the term has been stolen from Gay urban culture, It is never a woman. Queen (derived from 'Drag Queen' or female impersonator) or simply an ...
- 10.1k
-3
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is it correct to say to a man "such a drama king" or "such a drama queen"?
Your question is whether it's okay to call a male human being "a drama king(Q1)" or "a drama queen(Q2)."
The answer is yes. By extension, the expression "drama queen(Q2)" ...
- 5,072
2
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What is the correct article before "/s/ sound"?
I agree with James K, and specifically I think talking about the voiceless alveolar sibilant /s/, I would pronounce it as /s/ and write "a /s/". If I'm saying the letter, I'd say /ˈɛs/ and ...
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3
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What is the correct article before "/s/ sound"?
The OP, @O A, should realise that each letter in the English alphabet is a distinctive “word". For example, the letter L is called "el", M is called "em", N is "en", ...
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2
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Accepted
What's a word describing movement from one side to another?
Context would normally be sufficient.
Now one day Pooh and Piglet and Rabbit and Roo were all playing Poohsticks together. They had dropped their sticks in when Rabbit said "Go!" and then ...
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0
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What's a word describing movement from one side to another?
Simple terms to describe crossing the width of a bridge:
OP's Query:
"He walked across the bridge".
means he walked the entire length of the bridge, from one end to the other.
"He ...
- 3,836
0
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What's a word describing movement from one side to another?
The phrase opposite parapet as commented is good. ResearchGate has this diagram.
He crossed over to the opposite parapet.
- 22.1k
12
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What is the correct article before "/s/ sound"?
It is impossible to tell from the written text how the non-word "/s/" would be pronounced in speech.
You could say "/ei s saund in ðə wərd siti/"
You could say "an es saund ...
- 231k
1
vote
Can I use “can” here?
we can also use could. This sentence could means possibility.
will be able to capability or ability
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0
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What is the correct article before "/s/ sound"?
There is ( a - an - the - no article ) /s/ sound in the word "city".
an /s/ sound, because to say it you need a vowel sound: the /ɛ/ as in set.
/s/ sound Listen to sound made by the lady in ...
- 49k
0
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Can I use “can” here?
standard English for formal contexts:
This is the only port still under our control. If the enemy occupies it in their next attack in December, they will be able to cut off the supply line to our ...
- 49k
2
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What is the correct article before "/s/ sound"?
I.Rule for using the indefinite article:.
OP's query:
There is ( a - an - the - no article ) /s/sound in the word "city". What's the correct choice here?
The Google search answer is ...
- 3,836
1
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Can I use “can” here?
Considering "can" versus "will be able to"...
Each of the actions occurs at a different moment in time:
the next attack (in December)
cut off the supply line (beginning of 2025)
...
- 10.1k
13
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What is the correct article before "/s/ sound"?
Quite simply, because 's' is pronounced 'ess'. It sounds as though it begins with a vowel, so we use 'an' before it.
- 61.4k
4
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Accepted
Is "are we forgetting something?" wrong?
There's nothing remotely wrong with OP's Are we forgetting something? - but idiomatically, we're far more likely to use the negated version as found in the Oxford dictionary. Here's the usage chart of ...
- 74.6k
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Is "are we forgetting something?" wrong?
"Are we forgetting something?" might be used, asking for confirmation, if the idea of forgetting something had already been raised.
On the other hand, "Are we forgetting anything?" ...
- 43.2k
2
votes
Difference between “new” and “young”
Generally, young is used for anything in the early stages of a natural aging process that eventually results in maturity. It can be a person, as you say, but animals, plants, cheese, or wine can all ...
- 12.2k
4
votes
Accepted
When speaking of a language is countability of nouns a 'concept' or a 'notion' or something else?
"[C]oncepts" is idiomatic in this example.
"Notion" has connotations of "novelty", "new idea", "idea that is not widely held", or "idea that has ...
- 24.4k
1
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Is it correct to say "I have paronychia in my finger" or "I have paronychia on my finger"?
The word "paronychia" is too rare to have any real idiomatic colocation with particular prepositions.
To the extent that the word would follow the pattern of more common words like "...
- 231k
17
votes
Accepted
entertaining programmes or entertainment programmes
They mean two different things:
entertaining program
means a program that people enjoy watching because it delights them or entertains them.
entertainment program
means a program that is in the &...
- 10k
1
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What's more preferable: "method of obtaining" or "method to obtain"?
Language is changing constantly and dictionaries and many people with strong opinions what is right and wrong tend to be stuck in the past. An alternative to listening to people's opinions and ...
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