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1500 questions
26
votes
4 answers
Syntactical problem? Musk's tweet "I Am Become Meme, Destroyer Of Shorts"
Here is a quote from Elon Musk's tweet:
"I Am Become Meme, Destroyer Of Shorts"
I have never come across such an expression as "be+ become." As far as my syntax knowledge goes, V+ing has to be used after the verb be in order to construct present…
HypnoticBuggyWraithVirileBevy
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26
votes
9 answers
Are you an English? Are you a British?
I once encountered a lady who seemed to come from America or the United Kingdom. When I asked Are you an American? she said no. I was reluctant to ask if she is an English because it sounded very strange. I learned from this answer that it would be…
Lerner Zhang
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26
votes
3 answers
To Google something: capitalize or not?
I have a small question about the usage of Google as a verb. Is it always capitalized, even as a verb? For instance:
I Googled his name and I got hundreds of results.
Now, I am aware that this is a neologism and as such, it's probably not going to…
unpollito
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26
votes
2 answers
Why is there a 'p' in "assumption" but not in "assume"?
I know a little bit about the suffix -tion. It is usually added to verbs.
Examples:
-domination (from dominate),
-admiration (admire),
-deviation (deviate),
-ejection (eject).
"Exemption (exempt)" has a 'p' in the '-tion' form, because the verb…
user127220
26
votes
7 answers
Why write "does" instead of "is" "What time does/is the pharmacy open?"
General question about when to use "is" and "does" as I keep interchanging both of them.
In the sentence
"What time does the pharmacy open?"
Why can't I write this:
"What time IS the pharmacy open?"
I know that
"when is the pharmacy open?"
is…
Maria Perez
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26
votes
2 answers
What does "ima" mean in "ima sue the s*** out of em"?
Is "ima" an informal spelling of "I must"?
MegaCharizardZord Replying to @nytimes about COVID-19 vaccine:
i just hope when i take it don't die lol. i trust the government in Canada, but if I do get something ima sue the shit out of em…
NewPlanet
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26
votes
10 answers
Why do you say "air conditioned" and not "conditioned air"?
For a non-native English speaker, it seems that "air" is a noun and "conditioned" is an adjective. Following the correct word order, the adjective should precede the noun, so it should be "conditioned air". So why "air conditioned"? Are there other…
Carlos
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26
votes
2 answers
Terms to refer uniquely to each of the grandparents
In Swedish, there are different words to refer to grandparents which explain whether they are on your mother's side or your father's side. The words are (and literally translate to)
Mormor - Mother's mother
Morfar - Mother's father
Farmor -…
Deco
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26
votes
5 answers
"my" vs "mine" (adjectives vs. possessive )
Is correct to say "my question is" or "mine question is".
When I talk, I automatically use "my question is", but "mine" is a possessive pronoun and somehow when I think about it (and translate it literally from my mother tongue) then somehow it…
Dantes
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26
votes
9 answers
Why do Russian names transliterated into English have unpronounceable 'k's before 'h's (e.g. 'Mikhail' instead of just 'Mihail')?
Why can't it be just 'Mihail'? I guess the 'k' is inserted to ensure correct pronunciation, but I don't see how 'Mikhail' and 'Mihail' are pronounced differently.
Sergey Zolotarev
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26
votes
3 answers
'Hard work never hurt anyone' Why not 'hurts'?
I saw this sentence:
Hard work never hurt anyone.
It's a good phrase, but I wonder why it is 'hurt' not 'hurts'? I think 'hurts' (3rd-person singular present) is more correct. Why is it 'hurt'?
Dasik
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26
votes
5 answers
Is the term 'Invalid' applicable for human beings?
As I was reading a novel 'What Katy Did', I came across an interesting mention of the word Invalid.
His wife was said to be an invalid, and people, when they spoke of him, shook their heads and wondered how the poor woman got on all alone in the…
Bharat
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26
votes
2 answers
My lady, Your honour, Your grace, how to decide whether to use "my" or "your"?
After watching some period dramas and courtroom dramas, I'm really confused of whether to use "my" or "your" when speak to someone with respect.
Are there some rules for these statements or are these just fixed patterns?
Evelyn1986
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26
votes
7 answers
Why do my "How to" questions often get renamed to "How do I"?
On another site, an edit that fixes a mistype in "How to" got community approval.
What is the rule about "How to" and "How do I"? Why are some tutorials called "How to"s?
Vi.
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3 answers
Why is "He is the kind of person who, if he had lived ..., people would not have been able to categorise him." ungrammatical?
Could anyone explain why this sentence is considered ungrammatical?
You often hear quite literate people saying hideously ungrammatical things such as: "He is the kind of person who, if he had lived in the 19th century, people would not have been…
FroztC0
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