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Questions tagged [english]

A Germanic language, which originated from England, and is considered the leading language in international communication. For non-linguistic questions about the English language, visit one of our sister sites English Language & Usage or English Language Learners.

A Germanic language, which originated from England, and is considered the leading language in international communication. Countries where English is the main language include the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia.

For non-linguistic questions about the English language, visit one of our sister sites English Language & Usage or English Language Learners.

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Why was apostrophe so vaguely used in Early Modern English?

So I have noticed in many of Shakespeare's poems that he used apostrophes in places where we don't usually see them now. For Example: In the poem 'Fear No More' the first line is "Fear no more the heat o' the sun', why wasn't of used instead of o'?…
A. Joshi
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Why can you say "I am not sure whether it's raining" but not "I am sure whether it's raining"?

I know that some verbs take interrogative clauses ("I know where they are") while others don't (* "I believe where they are"). The verb "sure" is kind of like "believe", but unlike "believe" it seems to allow interrogatives under some circumstances,…
eyet
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Why does English not use any diacritics?

Why does English not use any diacritics, at least in native words? What is the reason for that?
Poiponen
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I read a paper where I cannot understand why “arrived girl” is incorrect, but “recently arrived girl” is correct:

Such participles whose corresponding verbs are intransitive verbs. We usually do not say an arrived girl, a departed friend, etc., because they come from their intransitive verbs. However, a past participle deriving from such an intransitive verb…
Luna
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"Go" and "Went" -- how words expressing (to modern speakers) very related concepts sound so different?

Does the difference in sound of these two words in English imply that at one time to "go in the past" was not understood as being related to going in the present? Or that there was no way to express the idea in English so it was borrowed from…
relesabe
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Principle A in binding theory - reflective pronoun in cleft sentences higher than the R-expression

The principle A in binding theory states that: an anaphor (reflexive or reciprocal, such as "each other") must be bound in its governing category (roughly, the clause). which strikes this sentence: Himself saw John. as incorrect. However, we…
TheTobruk
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Origin and usage of "no-yeah" and "yeah-no"

I'm curious to know if there is any history between the usages of "yeah-no" and "no-yeah" in English, and if the usage of the two terms or an equivalent is used in other languages. Also, is there a distinct difference in meaning between the two…
Chad
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Why does English have both Latin and Greek origins

I always assumed that Latin and Greek were related due to English having so many roots from both-but they aren't, right? So why does English have so many Greek and Latin roots?
user2146
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Are languages losing features like honorifics due to code mixing with English?

This question is not the exact same as this question here,. Here, I want to ask if code mixing (if that's the right term) is affecting languages which are in contact with English. E.g. Hindi is losing the honorific ji and that has (probably)…
WiccanKarnak
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Is there a question that can't be answered by "I don't know"?

If the respondent's reply to your question is "I don't know" , then it implies that his/her understanding of the English language is enough to understand the question. Let's assume that the question is asked to a healthy native English speaker, and…
extense
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Is "Proper English" a Classist Construct?

In a recent item largely addressing using dialect in writing, author Elizabeth Bear asserted the following: ...standard or "proper" English is a social construct intended as a measure of class control and segregation. It doesn't exist as a real, …
Allan
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The infamous green squiggly line on Microsoft Word

I'm in the progress of writing an essay at current. I have articulated the following sentence onto the document and the omniscient Microsoft Word has deemed it as "Fragment (consider revising)". Here's the sentence: Identified as the central…
Scott Goddard
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/t/ /n/ /d/ /l/ assimilation before post-alveolar /r/

Does syllabic /n/ and /l/ in English undergo post-alveolarsation before /r/? If yes, how can I mark it on my allophonic transcription? Ex. “Didn’t try”
Marta Jarmoluk
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Is the rule that "Lists with three items sound better" specific to English?

For example, the sentence "Todd liked crunchy apples, brown bananas, and small oranges" sounds better than "Todd liked crunchy apples and brown bananas". Generally, if you're listing off things, three items (at least when compared with only two…
JJW
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-logy Nouns: Referring to the Same Objects?

I am confused on how to understand nouns that in -logy. For instance: "I studied metereology in college." My confusion lies in that these are common nouns. But they seem to refer to a single instance of an object. That would be more like a proper…
CorruptedHeapScapeGoat
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