All Questions
3,757
questions
3
votes
2
answers
65
views
What do you think is the best dictionary with synonyms?
What do you think is the best dictionary with synonyms? I occasionally use https://metanery.com, but I would like to combine dictionaries for my work.
6
votes
2
answers
84
views
Is the OED now available for free online?
https://www.oed.com/
seems to be totally free. Is there a catch like "you have used all you free searches" after which the website asks for a subscription?
- 1
-8
votes
1
answer
103
views
do spite downvoters realize they are practicing censorship?
It feels good to express spite through downvotes - but the algorithm behind SE would stop posts from users who receive a lot of downvotes.
Express constructive criticism and spite through comments ...
- 1
0
votes
2
answers
151
views
What do you think about using ChatGPT and AI features to learn English? Is it trustable 100%?
I'm using it all the time and I'm afraid of it. If you're against using it that much. Tell me what can I do instead (I've got no teachers in real life).
2
votes
1
answer
53
views
Answer on "Ism" question possibly wrongly bot-flagged and deleted
Question on English.SE: Ists and anti-ists
Bot-deleted answer:
https://english.stackexchange.com/a/624896/142322
The question was about -isms, a construct which can be associated with polemics. ...
- 38.9k
-8
votes
1
answer
184
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Knock Knock (this ain't a joke) [closed]
Who's there? Grammar Police, OPEN UP! Or in other words: why was my question closed?
Is "sort of like" hypercorrectur?
The close-reason is nonsense. Any mediocre English speaker knows that ...
- 807
-2
votes
1
answer
70
views
Should there be a bot deletion reason?
Frequently there are answers or questions on the site which are clearly created by non-human accounts.
For example https://english.stackexchange.com/a/624403/418554
This is an "answer" to an ...
- 3,226
0
votes
1
answer
123
views
What can I do to improve my questions that my questions will be accepted again (regrettably I have got the question ban)?
I don't know what to do. The question ban has come all of a sudden - there was no warning or admonishment. When I look at my questions there is hardly any possibility to fix them. The last 6 questions ...
- 361
7
votes
0
answers
151
views
On average when is it a good idea to reopen a question?
in average? on average?
Does the community think it a good idea to reopen a ten-year-old question for the following reasons?
It has been viewed 152k times which tells us the dilemma of choosing ...
- 92.3k
0
votes
1
answer
79
views
Why have I got a question ban?
I'm asking questions on this site and I haven't got any admonishments or warnings up to now. All of a sudden I have got this question ban. I would like to know the reasons of this procedure.
- 361
2
votes
1
answer
52
views
Why are questions summarily locked?
The questioner wanted to know about this syntax:
The sentence is: "Could we have found a buyer who would continue operations, I would have certainly preferred to sell the business rather than ...
- 22.4k
1
vote
1
answer
87
views
Can I download / buy Cambridge English Corpus / Cambridge Learner Corpus? Where to download these corpus?
I seen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_English_Corpus .
Can I download / buy Cambridge English Corpus / Cambridge Learner Corpus? Where to download these corpus?
- 371
-8
votes
1
answer
217
views
Why was this question downvoted and who downvoted it?
Why was this question downvoted and who downvoted it? I don't understand the reason of downvoting this question. And I can't read the name of the user who downvoted (too small reputation score I think)...
- 361
3
votes
1
answer
56
views
Book of literary genres and character types?
Saw a writer interviewed once and he talked about having a well known reference book that delineates story genres and fundamental character types.
Unfortunately, I neglected to write down the title. ...
- 189
12
votes
2
answers
333
views
"I'm against this question primarily because of the username and icon"
Is this type of racism and bigotry allowed here?
Why is “cold X” a bad thing and “hot X” a good thing in English?
I'm against this question primarily because of the username and icon, but it's ...
- 383
5
votes
0
answers
74
views
Etymology - Specifically for medical science and/or adjacent studies
I absolutely love recommending the study resource "Etymonline" to students seeking to build their vocabularies in topics with very old and eclectic dictionaries, like medicine.
However, the ...
- 11
4
votes
1
answer
88
views
The English SE font is unable to display letters with macron and acute correctly
I do not mind the font choice on English SE at all; it provides character to the community and is, if I am not mistaken, Georgia, which was specifically designed for screens. However, it is lacking. ...
- 811
1
vote
0
answers
129
views
Why was my suggested edit rejected?
With reference to this suggested edit, why did one of the reviewers select 'reject and edit' (the other reviewer approved the suggested edit), thus rejecting my edit and then apply the exact same edit ...
- 111
1
vote
1
answer
87
views
Where did my old question go?
I wrote a well sourced, well thought out question for the English StackExchange, and you guys didn't like it. OK, whatever, you guys never like what I have to say, so that's not new. I'd like to ...
2
votes
1
answer
39
views
Are questions about APA formatting on-topic?
I have a question relating to the proper formatting for multi-paragraph block quotes under APA-7. This would appear to fall under "usage", but I know that StackExchange communities tend to ...
- 319
-6
votes
2
answers
220
views
Gratuitous personal attacks by poster
The question is similar to: Why did you murder the man? Instead of: Did you murder him? I have never seen spill the tea, and I do get around. –
@XXX
Apr 27 at 14:37
crudely questioning my experience. ...
- 1
3
votes
0
answers
56
views
Is there a comprehensive grammar of British English from the early twentieth century that you recommend?
I am a native English speaker and I would like to read an old-fashioned grammar of British English: one that is prescriptive, one that predates generative linguistics
I have been enjoying "The ...
- 51
1
vote
1
answer
51
views
How can we know what dictionary an entry on Dictionary.com is from?
Dictionary.com just got a lot worse. For example, looking up helium gives you entries from four dictionaries, labeled "American", "British", "Scientific", and "...
- 1,874
-5
votes
1
answer
153
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Want to complain about a gratuitous personal attack on the main site
I have been accused of anti-Semitism:
I’m voting to close this question because it is an excuse to link to an anti-semitic post.
If the commenter is a mind-reader, he/she should post his/her ...
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-16
votes
5
answers
343
views
We should not be pasting definitions from online dictionaries into answers when their terms of service prohibit such use
Some online dictionaries prohibit such copying of their content. Some examples below (not meant to be an exhaustive list, and any bolding for emphasis is mine) :
First, from the Stack Exchange terms ...
- 22.4k
4
votes
1
answer
78
views
Is requesting a English word or saying back to its native language on-topic?
Currently my understanding is that is completely on-topic to request a translation of a non-English word or phrase to an equivalent word or phrase in English; e.g, single-word-requests,idiom-requests.
...
- 3,924
0
votes
0
answers
123
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What are the highest quality textbooks for learning English grammar? [duplicate]
I am a native English speaker, but I think my grasp of grammar is too weak. So, I want to know what textbooks or reference books others deem worthy of using to deepen and broaden their understanding ...
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4
votes
4
answers
517
views
Does the community think that we need a 'grammar, but too basic for ELU: almost any book on grammar will answer this clearly' close-vote reason?
A recent question on ELU:
Is a noun always preceded by a determiner?
I believe that this is so easily answered by looking at virtually any book on grammar (it could be argued that even dictionaries ...
- 85.8k
2
votes
1
answer
83
views
The Reader Over Your Shoulder by Robert Graves
Does anyone know if there is a contemporary book that explores style in a similar way to The Reader Over Your Shoulder?
- 11
-1
votes
4
answers
317
views
Problematic migrations to ELL (an ongoing thing)
Why does ELU keep migrating this type of question? Are they too cowardly to close them?
A recurrent issue on ELL. It's like we are the poor relation that can have the awful questions dumped on us.
See ...
- 12.1k
9
votes
0
answers
148
views
2023: a year in moderation
It’s that time of the year again! As we wave goodbye to last year and welcome the new one, we have a tradition of sharing moderation stats for the preceding calendar year.
As most of you here might be ...
- 101
6
votes
2
answers
255
views
How to find particular topics in CGEL?
How can I find a topic I have a question about in CGEL? I often have problems but can't find the topic when I go to CGEL. Is there any better way to deal with a problem like this? How do you search in ...
- 123
-3
votes
2
answers
160
views
Stack Exchange cannot be excluded from the sociocultural evolution of language, correct?
Being a long-evolved language, missing definitions are rare within English. Nevertheless, meanings are sometimes missing, resulting in the formation of new words to fill those gaps. This occurs ...
- 469
3
votes
2
answers
232
views
'Answerable by a dictionary' unsuitable for grammar questions
In a very welcome post, long overdue:
Replacing our "research" close reason: Final review
... one of the new close-vote reasons is given as "answerable by a dictionary."
Now, if ...
- 47.9k
9
votes
1
answer
241
views
What's off-topic about the question regarding the history of a slur?
The question When did Western newspapers stop using the term “Japs” in their publications? was asked yesterday and has really been riding the closure-rollercoaster:
Expanded details:
The first time, ...
- 8,638
49
votes
1
answer
1k
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Thank you, Professor Lawler and Rest in Peace!
I am saddened to announce the passing of John Lawler on Saturday November 25. Many of us here were friends with him, and countless more helped by his answers. For those of you who aren't familiar with ...
LaurelMod
- 67.1k
7
votes
0
answers
50
views
Please fix the standard sans-serif page title
Once again the site design has been disrupted by a standard change.
This is how Help pages used to look:
They now have really bold titles:
Because of the size of the heading, this unbalances the ...
Andrew LeachMod
- 103k
6
votes
1
answer
209
views
What resources do I need to consult before asking a question?
Many Stack Exchange sites require that users do some research before asking a question. Does English Language & Usage have such a policy? If yes, what resources should users consult before asking ...
LaurelMod
- 67.1k
4
votes
1
answer
85
views
Why is there no name on this comment except for "delete"?
The first comment under this answer is seemingly by someone with the name "delete". And yet, no tooltip/message appears when you mouse over this name. Screenshot:
For convenience, here is ...
2
votes
1
answer
74
views
Are we being encouraged to answer very old questions, or are they just being made more visually pleasing?
Some time ago, perhaps still, new answers to old questions were put under review (in a review queue), as if to imply: 'This question has been addressed, at length; what could possibly be the value-add ...
- 1,012
0
votes
0
answers
27
views
Collection of English sentence-level grammar rules as semi-structured "data"?
I am looking for structured data of English grammar, however much might have been done. Specifically sentence-level grammar (as opposed to word morphology rules, though finding structured data for ...
- 510
14
votes
4
answers
631
views
May I speculate in comments?
The question What does "make the Iacke go" mean? has received four answers, all of which propose theories as to what the phrase means. Under it are also some comments that, to me, raise an ...
- 8,638
4
votes
0
answers
43
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Can we reopen the question "Which format is most common for representing a number range in U.S. punctuation style and in British punctuation style?"
I have edited the question Which format is most common for representing a number range in U.S. punctuation style and in British punctuation style? so that it now asks a factual question about whether ...
- 166k
0
votes
0
answers
44
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Recommend the best book for articles [duplicate]
Can you recommend the best book on English grammar articles?
The indefinite and definite articles a, an, and the?
3
votes
1
answer
94
views
What resources to use for understanding archaic English usage?
I am reading the book "The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood" by James Gleick. Every now and then an old/archaic English sentence, from some reference, is quoted in this text.
How ...
-4
votes
1
answer
110
views
How can it be true that this site works by popular vote when no one can vote until they get to a certain reputation?
How can it be true that this site works by popular vote when no one can vote until they get to a certain reputation?
The statement is not accurate. I saw a very inaccurate meaning of a gesture that ...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
81
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Should "Is a comma splice always a mistake?" be reopened as the face of two merged questions (both of which are now closed)?
The question "Is a comma splice always a mistake?" on the main site was merged (on July 3, 2023) with the question "Why is the comma splice an error?" also on the main site, as ...
- 166k
8
votes
2
answers
213
views
Problem with the "Closed" message?
Part of the "Closed" message is shown below, followed by a current example.
Change the sentence "I don't know you" into a compound sentence
In my opinion "... and clarify ...
- 33.2k
2
votes
0
answers
123
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When are commas optional?
In revising a 1953 manuscript in which the author (a non-native speaker, a professor, quite proficient in English yet with a few lingering idiosyncrasies) and the original editor (OUP, New York branch,...
- 97
0
votes
1
answer
138
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Why do my questions on the etymology of idioms get closed, yet this one was accepted?: What is the origin of "out of sight" or "outa sight" i?
Every question I have asked about the etymology of an idiom gets pulled. Yet I found this one that stayed up. It's espcially irritating because sometimes before my question gets closed, I have ...
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