New answers tagged word-choice
3
The main difference between soak and drench is that Soak is used for something that absorbs water. (paper, cloth, wood etc) while Drench is used for others, like people etc.
Also, according wikidiff, "soak is to be saturated with liquid by being immersed in it while drench is to soak, to make very wet" (but not put/immerse the object in water, rather throw ...
1
If I understand your question right, you want to compare two different things (concepts, etc.), but the descriptors that you use for the things are not analogous to each other.
That can definitely sound a little weird:
"The enormous paw prints in the mud were mistaken for a tiger."
"The delightful aromas of frying onions and roasting chicken could ...
1
If you're assuming that one of the phrases is not idiomatic and both might not be idiomatic, then you would say
Is 'have greater readability than' or 'easier to read than' not idiomatic, or both?
It would be even better to repeat the question to make it more clear.
Is 'have greater readability than' or 'easier to read than' not idiomatic, or are both ...
0
It depends on context. If the author is talking about something that happened in a particular time frame then the quoted sentence is fine. For example
In September 2016 we were having problems with X. About this time Dr Le Lu joined my group ...
On the other hand, if there is no time frame reference you would need to provide one for it to make sense.
...
1
Can you? Yes. Should you? Probably not -- unless there is a good reason to do so.
Quoted phrases in an essay are primarily used to cite the exact text of an external source. If you are only citing your own opinion, it can be confusing to set the text apart with quotes, because the reader may naturally assume that you are referring to someone else's ...
0
"These" would be used when you are pointing out to some specific objects (photos).
But, when talking about something specific (the directed photos) without meaning to pointing at them, you can simply use the "THE" article.
As in this case:
"This is the most candid photo among all the directed photos."
0
No, "that" won't work in this case. I'd try to get rid of "which" altogether. "They did the only thing they could think of, making an appeal to the public." J.R.'s response also works.
It's not easy to explain. "Which" and "that" are relative pronouns which are (that are) sometimes interchangeable, especially with restrictive clauses. "He drives a car that ...
4
Event coordinator:
What exactly does an event coordinator do?
Day-to-day duties often depend on where an event coordinator works and what needs to get done.
In general, an event coordinator puts together events, tackling anything from client meetings to cleanup. Responsibilities may include preparing budgets, scouting and booking locations, ...
1
Yes, "characterised by" works fine there. In some cases you can also say "distinguished by," but that option works best when there's at least an implicit contrast. For example, you might say,
While the interwar period was marked by economic stagnation, the postwar period was distinguished by productivity gains and rapid growth.
You can also rephrase and ...
1
There are several possibilities, but the closest synthesis of the two sentences in the question (to use the original wording as much as possible) is this:
It was not a single occasion/time when she decided not to attend classes.
It happened not for the first time that he decided not to attend classes.
In short:
It was not the first time that he ...
2
Another alternative is to use event host. Hosting differs from event organizing or planning, in that it stresses that they provide the location and are responsible for the party. It is not 100% precise which sense it refers to though (these correspond to 1b and 1a in the definition below). You would likely want to combine it with planning or organizing, as ...
2
Both examples appear verbose and awkward though sentence structure and word choice always depend on what nuance you want to convey. The thought you seem to want to convey could be rendered for example by
Not for the first time, he decided to skip his classes.
or
He decided, again, not to attend his classes.
31
You're talking about an event manager or event planner.
From Wikipedia's article on event management (redirected from event planner):
The process of planning and coordinating the event is usually referred to as event planning and which can include budgeting, scheduling, site selection, acquiring necessary permits, coordinating transportation and parking, ...
8
Interesting question. I am a native English speaker and I come across situations like this all of the time; they are very common! There is no one correct way to answer this, but here I would probably use “event organizer.” However, if this term still seems too vague, adding additional context can help the reader understand what kind of service you are ...
0
None of this is actually grammatically incorrect. None of them feels quite natural. I have occasion to send files of code with some frequency, and I would not write any of these in a business (or personal) email. I would be inclined to write:
Please find attached a file containing code.
Attached is a file containing code.
Attached is a file with ...
1
You are correct that the old lady is speaking about a routine or habit, but she is referring to a routine that she used to have (i.e. in the past), which was in response to actions that you used to do.
In the sentence, "I used to stay up every night when you would go out with your friends", you used to go out with your friends and, when you did, she would ...
0
As a native English speaker the word I would be compelled to choose (of the three) is impudent.
This is because, while all do have similar meanings, "impudent" is most commonly associated with adult and child relationships. For example, a teacher might call a pupil "impudent" if the child behaved as if they knew better than their elder.
It seems best to ...
1
Unless they are asking you to stay near to the door(unlikely), this is a typo.
Please keep the door closed at all times
Except for when you're going through it obviously (or is it a fire door only for use in fires?)
or:
Please make sure to close the door
You can use close here as it's an instruction to close it, rather that keep it close.
1
You can omit who and use supervised, but not without adding a pronoun and punctuation. (And possibly a conjunction.)
The reason for this is that the following is an independent clause:
✔ Managers formerly supervised the software engineering groups for the development project.
But this is not an independent clause:
✘ Will now be in charge of much ...
2
It seems as if there really should be some common adjective to describe engineering things -- but, unlike so many other disciplines, there isn't. "Engineerical" is not a word, or at least not one you would use seriously.
There are several solutions to this deficit:
(As per Lambie's suggestion) rewrite the sentence using nouns:
The questions on the ...
0
I think Steven King said it best:
"Horror: the unnatural, spiders the size of bears, the dead waking up and walking around, it's when the lights go out and something with claws grabs you by the arm. And the last and worse one: Terror, when you come home and notice everything you own had been taken away and replaced by an exact substitute. It's when the ...
0
You've misunderstood. There isn't a thing called "count of the number of times...", which has been lost. Rather, "lose count" is a phrasal verb meaning to fail to count correctly.
"Count the number of times" is redundant, but in common usage. I prefer just "count the times" and "I've lost count of the times..." is, in my opinion, better. But there's ...
0
Sam Karem's examples are practical and concise:
"I always confuse Tanya with her sister."
"I am confused about what to do with this degree that I've got".
But in addition to that, it would be better if we note that:
The word "confused" is an adjective, as in "be confused about".
The word "confuse" is a verb, as in "people confuse A with B".
...
2
TL;DR: "Sub-subcategory" is not a thing.
In both language and taxonomy, there is no special word for the subcategory of another subcategory. There are several reasons for this.
For one, subcategory is a class of things, not a thing, itself. The prefix "sub-" indicates that all of the things in this class also belong to another, broader class of things. It ...
2
Affinity here appears to be a technical term used in this specific game. This use is not one of the natural meanings of the word, although it may be derived by extension from such a natural meaning. It is not a common term in RPGs in general -- I played several of the early RPGs, including Original D&D, 2nd ed Advanced D&D, Traveler, Top Secret, and ...
2
I think "Can I put mine?" in the suggested context is not just unnatural, but meaningless. I suppose it might be short for "Can I put mine on?" or some similar phrase. I think "Can I turn mine on?" or "Can I play mine instead?" would be much better.
1
If you change targeted to target, the sentence will remain grammatical—at least so long as it's parsed in an appropriate way.
This is a grammatical parsing of the sentence (the words in parentheses do not need to be there; I have added them only to clarify the interpretation).
✔ You can send e-mails (in order) to target photo buyers and (you can) ...
2
To inform the reader that more information will be coming later on you could use
This/[X] will be covered/discussed later
This/[X] will be covered/discussed in a later chapter
This/[X] will be covered/discussed in more detail/depth later on.
-3
It would be grammatically incorrect. "Target" is not an adjective. "Targeted" is.
If you wish to use the word "target," you must use it as a verb.
You can target certain photo buyers and send them an email that includes a link to your website.
0
Yes, that would be fine. In full you could say "I am going to give you a task to reinforce the grammar you already learnt in the last class"
0
In this context, "Find out" is grammatically correct, as the definition matches the point that you are trying to get across.
(Definition of find out: to learn by study, observation, or search)
(Definition of find: discover or perceive by chance or unexpectedly.)
1
There is a huge difference between needed and required. Need is personal and of vital importance. If you don't get what you need you cannot function fully. You surely would not call a needy person a requiring person?
The verb to require means to politely ask someone for something which they should have, or be able to give, as for instance their CV, or ...
0
We always called removing the husk husking and removing the dried kernels from the cob to feed animals shucking. The 2 are totally different
1
However much
No matter how much.
However much it might embarrass you, you're taking your little sister to that concert!
In this case, you could say:
Whatever and however much is thrown into the pit, it stays empty.
1
One of the concepts described in this section is X.
One of the ideas explained in this chapter is X.
One of the points covered in this paragraph is X.
One of the thoughts expressed in this essay is X.
One of the features covered in this text is X.
"raised" could also work as a verb here. The various verbs have slightly different meanings, but ...
1
Saying "someone's in here" instead of "I'm in here" adds a degree of anonymity. You don't know who is knocking, and they don't know who is inside. The identities of the parties in the "conversation" have not been and will not be established. Therefore, although "I'm in here" is perfectly grammatical, it feels wrong because the knocker doesn't know who "I" ...
0
Many words will emphasise different aspects:
It's a product because you made it: "It's taken a year to develop our product."
If you can build on top of it, then it's also a platform. "You can build anything from a security system to a quality assurance system on our platform."
If it's made of pieces which operate together, it's also a system. "The cameras ...
0
I understand why it sounds odd. From a mathematical point of view, you count something and then the aggregated total is "the number of" the thing you counted.
However, it is quite idiomatic to say "count the number of..."
This ngram shows use of the phrase and will link to examples.
Logically then it is equally correct to say that you have "lost count of ...
1
Grammatically, both are written correctly, though you have a typo there: "am" should be "an".
1
Caviar comes in tin cans, so we usually say one tin or one can of caviar, just like we say one can of tuna.
If you use ctrl+F on this page, you'll see people using both tin and can.
If you are looking for the word for individual eggs, the most conversational thing to say would be just that: one caviar egg.
Another answer cites the word pearl found on a ...
1
Reading this caviar website it seems that beads or pearls would be an appropriate way to refer to a caviar egg.
He took one caviar pearl and put it on top of a rice ball just to show him he was a frugal chef.
2
You could say jumped to indicate a rise over an unusually short time period.
From jump:
[Merriam-Webster]
1 b : to move suddenly or involuntarily
2 a : to move haphazardly or irregularly : shift abruptly
2 b : to undergo a sudden sharp change in value
0
The common preposition with "short/long term" is "in":
In the short term, the solution makes sense, but in the long term it is likely to cause much greater problems.
That being said, I agree with Jason Bassford's comment that you should rephrase the sentence:
I will study the short-term and long-term effects of the drug
There are two reasons for ...
4
I'm going to suggest that skyrocketing is actually your best option.
The concern seems to be that "skyrocketing" is too informal for use in academic writing. I don't believe this is really true.
It's easy to find examples of scholarly research using this word, in both social sciences and physical sciences, and it seems to be especially common in ...
0
This sentence:
Unless the flowers are watered soon, they will go dead.
is grammatically correct. From a semantic point of view, this would perhaps be more logical:
Unless the plants are watered soon, the flowers will go dead.
or
Unless more water is added to the vases, the flowers will go dead.
The point is that flowers in gardens being watered are to ...
1
The verb I would use in a conversation or email is simply to shorten the article. "Shorten" is a general verb, not specific to text, but it would be perfectly correct and understood from the context.
The verb abridge is specific to shortening text, but you would find it more commonly used as a base of the adjective "abridged" (and sometimes "unabridged") ...
2
It seems that you have set yourself two contradictory requirements. You want a dramatic, emotive, journalistic term like "skyrocket", or "surge", but also a term suitable for an academic paper, which should not be dramatic or emotive but descriptive or analytic, plain and simple.
So either you choose an unemotive term like "rose", "increased" or you use a ...
13
Both "soared" and "surge" work perfectly fine in this context. Perhaps they don't sound right to you because you've never heard them properly used. Some examples:
6 Metrics Behind Zoom Video's Soaring Stock Price
The last time rates soared like this, the stock market plunged double-digits
and in the same story:
Interest rates are surging in the ...
2
If you're using fell, the contrasting verb (in the past tense) is simply rose:
From rise:
[Merriam-Webster]
7 a : to move upward : ASCEND
7 b : to increase in height, size, volume, or pitch
Also since you are not using a dramatic version of fell (such as plummeted or crashed), despite the fact that the decrease was fairly small, the same neutral ...
0
I don't think the current answers are sufficient.
The word "on" implies a service that is being used. "I am on the bus." But the word "in" is appropriate for the bus driver, who is not making use of this service:
"Where were you the night of the murder?"
"It couldn't have been me, I was in the (driver's seat of the/my) bus. "
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