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1500 questions
150
votes
14 answers
Why do English writers avoid explicit numerals?
The junction has a stop sign on each of the four entrances.
The junction has a stop sign on each of the 4 entrances.
The first is preferred, for some reason, by many English texts. Why? I haven't seen this phenomenon in other languages.
Pavel Radzivilovsky
- 3,001
149
votes
11 answers
What is the difference between "complicated" and "complex"?
I can't understand: what's the difference between complicated and complex?
They seem to be used interchangeably. Are they actually different at all?
Nobody
- 1,599
147
votes
8 answers
Plurals of acronyms, letters, numbers — use an apostrophe or not?
When I was in high school back in the 1970s, I was taught that to make a plural of an acronym, a letter, or a number, one should add an apostrophe and "s". Like I would have written this sentence, "... back in the 1970's ..." I would write "one CD,…
Jay
- 36,223
145
votes
14 answers
When to use “that” and when to use “which”, especially in relative clauses
When is it appropriate to use that as opposed to which with relative clauses?
Caleb Hearth
- 4,990
145
votes
3 answers
Why does "quadratic" describe second power when "quad" means "four"?
In mathematics, quadratic means "involving the second and no higher power of an unknown quantity or variable". But the prefix quad- usually describes something that has to do with four, such as quad-core processor and quadrilateral. Why does…
Dapeng Gao
- 1,655
143
votes
6 answers
Difference between "artifact" and "artefact"
Is there any usage preference between artifact and artefact?
My understanding was that an artifact was properly applied to physical, historical objects, while an artefact was more correct for more abstract, intangible, error-ish concepts, for…
Craig Walker
- 2,340
143
votes
17 answers
When should I use "a" vs "an"?
In the following example, is it appropriate to use a or an as the indefinite article, and why?
He ate __ green apple.
I know that in the case of just "apple", it would be "an apple," but I've heard conflicting answers for "green apple," where the…
Caleb Hearth
- 4,990
142
votes
2 answers
Why is "bicycle" pronounced differently from other obviously related words?
The word bicycle is pronounced /'baɪsɪkəl/ (bahy-si-kuhl), like sickle. However, the words unicycle and motorcycle both have the -cycle pronounced as /-'saɪkəl/ (sahy-kuhl). Is there some sort of reason for this, or is this just a vagary of English…
Barry
- 1,546
140
votes
7 answers
When should compound words be written as one word, with hyphens, or with spaces?
Some compound words are written without hyphens (nonaggression, nonbeliever), some with hyphens (well-intentioned), and others with spaces (post office).
Is there a rule or good guide as to which option should be used?
apaderno
- 59,185
140
votes
9 answers
The plural of "index"–"indexes" or "indices"?
A table may have one index, or it could have more [...]?
Is it indexes or indices? I'm just asking this because I've noticed they're both used quite often. Even Wikipedia seems to support both variants (as in this article). Though a raw Google…
Wim ten Brink
- 1,503
140
votes
17 answers
Is there an English idiom for trying to do two things at the same time and failing at both of them due to splitting your effort?
I'm basically searching for the opposite of putting all your eggs in one basket, where the risk is total failure because you did not hedge your efforts. I'm searching for a phrase that encompasses splitting your efforts and evokes the prospect of…
Rich Armstrong
- 1,657
139
votes
2 answers
"Which" vs. "what" — what's the difference and when should you use one or the other?
Most of the time one or the other feels better, but every so often, "which" vs. "what" trips me up.
So, what's the exact difference and when should you use one or the other?
Korneel Bouman
- 1,541
139
votes
7 answers
Why is "Pokémon" written with an accent?
Is there a language-related reason why the word has an accent on the "é"?
The Japanese for Pokémon is "ポケモン" (pokemon), so it's not to represent a long vowel.
Golden Cuy
- 18,154
139
votes
41 answers
What are your favorite English language tools?
To prevent myself from asking an obvious, silly question multiple times: What are the English language tools you found most useful?
I found Corpus Concordance English extremely useful for looking up collocations.
Please, one tool per answer.
stacker
- 3,793
137
votes
1 answer
Did English ever have a word for 'yes' for negative questions?
The Germans have doch and the French have si as a word that means "yes" in response to a negative question, such as:
Don't you want some ice-cream?
Yes [I do]!
In English, we only have yes (as far as I know) and further clarification is required…
Dancrumb
- 5,080