English Language Learners Stack Exchange
English Language Learners Stack Exchange

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1500 questions
22
votes
5 answers

What does web-mistress imply as a job title

I love that none needs my permission to take my code and do something cool with it, and someone else can do the same with that code. I love that an "end user" is usually only a few hours work away from being an active documenter,…
manav m-n
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22
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7 answers

Can we call a divorced woman single?

If a woman who got married and had a child gets divorced, can we call her single? I searched for the term "single parent" and it seems to reflect the responsibilities of a person rather than their marital status.
Arman Fatahi
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22
votes
4 answers

Using "at a jail" vs. "in a jail"

We often use "at" for the mentioning of a precise location like; He is present at school. But why not say he is imprisoned at a jail instead use he is in a jail.
Lewanay da Kainat
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22
votes
4 answers

What does “stop by my desk later” mean?

What does the phrase stop by my desk later mean? For example: I can email you the link. Or stop by my desk later, and I can show you some photos. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
user62498
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22
votes
9 answers

Too many to's? 'I am not able to come to office'

Is this sentence correct or not? I am not able to come to office. Can we use "to" twice or can we write this sentence in a better way?
Lawakush Kurmi
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22
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4 answers

What preposition is correct 'sleep on the bed' or 'sleep in the bed'

Are both expressions correct? If yes, do they have different meanings? It seems to me that I came across both of them in books, but I'm not sure.
Екатерина Калуцкая
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22
votes
4 answers

Why is "crime story" more correct than "criminal story"?

Criminal is an adjective and story is a noun. Why is "crime story" used instead of "criminal story"? While both crime and story are nouns. What's this latter combination? Is "criminal story" even correct?
flower
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22
votes
4 answers

How do we read "1906" in this text?

The 1906 Federal Food and Drugs Act was one of the first laws enacted to stop the sale of inaccurately labeled drugs. 19 O six ?
user5036
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22
votes
5 answers

Is "indices" or "indexes" the plural of "index"?

I've heard both plural forms of index, indices and indexes. I usually use indices when referring to the computer science term for database index, but I'm not sure if it is correct in that context. Are both indices and indexes correct? If only one…
Danubian Sailor
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22
votes
6 answers

One of my friend's OR friends' wife? (My friend has only one wife)

Anita is Neil's wife. Neil is one of my friends. Now, how do I refer to Anita? Think that I'm telling someone who does not know the couple. One of my friend's wife OR One of my friends' wife I know the structure one of [something] takes a…
Maulik V
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22
votes
9 answers

If “I woke up at 10” is okay, what about “I slept at 10”?

When did you wake up? I woke up at 10. But then if I say, “When did you sleep?” I slept at 10. – seems difficult to digest! That's because sleep is a process that includes duration. I slept for 10 hours. – this way, it's digestible! But when…
Maulik V
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22
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1 answer

When to treat 'Police' as a singular noun and a plural noun?

I have seen that in some scenarios word police is treated as a singular noun and in some other scenarios it is treated as a plural noun. I don't know the exact difference! Can anybody provide few examples demonstrating the scenarios when the word…
SanjeevRai
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22
votes
8 answers

What do the British call the dish which is called 'pudding' in the US

I think the word pudding is used mostly as a general name for sweet dishes in the UK, whilst in the US it is a specific dessert. What do the British people call it? It looks delicious innit?
Mrt
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22
votes
3 answers

Is 'mating' only used with males? What if I use it with females? Is it incorrect?

Google ngram shows 'lion mating' word, but not lioness mating, and so goes with most of the species of animals. Why? Do native speakers prefer males for describing 'mating'? Will it be incorrect if we describe females mating? Is there any such…
Rucheer M
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22
votes
3 answers

"Most simple" or "Simplest"

Should I use most simple or simplest to indicate something cannot be more simple? Can I use both? Is one prefered? If simplest - how is that pronounced? (Is the e silent?)
juergen d
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