Questions tagged [word-usage]
This tag is for questions about correctly using a word. The word has to be provided within the question. The question should be limited to the usage of one word. For the usage of complete phrases there is the tag phrase-usage.
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Questions about the verbs brief and debrief
According to dictionaries, brief means: to inform someone before an event:
brief [verb]:
instruct or inform (someone) thoroughly, especially in preparation for a task.
[Oxford Dictionaries, courtesy ...
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Is there anything wrong with this sentence? Especially with "debrief", "brief", and "two-street"? [closed]
If you're not a native English speaker, do not answer please.
At a press conference after a major summit, politicians and journalists find themselves in a two-way street where politicians brief ...
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What term describes a person who always remains ill?
What term describes a person who mostly/always remains ill due multiple factors, such as being surrounded by multiple diseases or due to an incurable chronic disease?
Can I simply call that person as ...
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Why do "economic" and "economical" coexist with distinct meanings, while "dramatical" has largely disappeared? [duplicate]
I am trying to understand the logic behind English adjectives ending in -ic versus -ical.
There seems to be a category of words where both forms exist and are accepted, but they have evolved to mean ...
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Confusion in a statement [closed]
In my book there is a sentence:
I hadn't yet heard people speak openly of untouchability, but I had already seen felt experienced and been humiliated by what it is.
What is the difference between ...
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What is the meaning of “mantle” in this sentence?
In a visual novel written in American English, I have found the following passage, as a character is describing the contents of his room, which is themed around car racing (emphasis is mine):
Damon: ...
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Is the second part of this sentence inconsistent with the "though" at the beginning? [closed]
Example sentence:
Though his team wants him to continue playing, football star Dan Hamilton is going to be 40 on his next birthday; he will retire.
Do you agree that this sentence is incorrect ...
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What does the "that" function in this sentence?
Everyone. what do you think of the bold lettering "that"? Is it a conjunction that can be an alternative to "and"? Is there some examples?
Thanks in advance.
English was derived ...
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"All X" vs "the whole X" usage with respect to time expressions [migrated]
When it comes to expressions of time, when we say all day, all morning, all evening, all week, this means the same thing as the whole day, the whole morning, etc.
But my questions are:
Can we also ...
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Difference between "hunger" and "appetite"?
This question popped up in my mind when I read following text from a Textbook of Medical Physiology, Guyton and Hall:
The amount of food that a person ingests is determined principally by an ...
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Is “because because” valid in a sentence?
A random sentence I just said sounded odd:
It is cause and effect because because of her doing X, he did Y
Sure, I could say this instead:
It is cause and effect because when she did X, he did Y
...
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3
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Use of the conjunction “before”
When the word “before” is used as a conjunction, does it take a relative clause after it? For example, in the sentence “a phenomenon never witnessed before which could be driven by rising temperatures,...
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Serial or series in this sentence? [duplicate]
I had an argument with my friend recently on usage of serial and series words. He had a sentence: "I like watching serials" and I said it's better to use series there. We didn't reach ...
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Meaning of "If that doesn't cry"
In the comedy video at 3.41 the comedian says "If that doesn't cry I give up ... I don't know what does." Can someone kindly explain what the meaning of 'cry' in this situation, or the ...
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Is using "same" in the sense of aforementioned all right?
I remember reading somewhere that using the word "same" in the sense of foregoing or aforesaid is incorrect. Eg. "The details have already been shared in the circular and interested ...
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