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No dictionary I've seen mentions "larger than" as an idiom. However, this is an interesting phrase to talk about because although it has a meaning consistent with general uses of comparative adjectives:
The dog is larger than the cat.
It is sometimes used when "as large as" is proper, as in:
The dog is 4 times larger than the cat.
In this sentence, "as large as" is the proper phrase to use, but some people use "larger than". Can anyone check Wiktionary to see if its definition of "larger than" is consistent with the latter of these 2 sentences?? Georgia guy ( talk) 02:03, 21 November 2016 (UTC)
What's this construction called? -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 04:08, 21 November 2016 (UTC)
"I told him that we would be happy to see him (Obama) in Russia anytime if he wants, can and has desire" [3]
Is this sentence grammatical English? I'm having a hard time parsing it. ECS LIVA Z ( talk) 05:14, 21 November 2016 (UTC)
Bad translation. Putin avoids speaking in English in public. The original (
at 10:40, attention! annoying beep at the start): Я поблагодарил его за эти годы совместной работы и сказал, что в любое время, если он сочтет возможным и будет необходимость и желание, мы будем рады видеть его в России.
The right literal translation: "I thanked him for the years of joint work, and said that at any time, if he considers it possible and will have the need and desire, we will be happy to see him in Russia." The middle part, though, will be more literal with "there be a need and desire".--
Lüboslóv Yęzýkin (
talk) 10:12, 21 November 2016 (UTC)
Why can't i find the double bar of "ð̳" in the IPA chart ( Voiced_alveolar_affricate#Voiced_alveolar_non-sibilant_affricate)? 68.150.86.232 ( talk) 09:53, 21 November 2016 (UTC)
There's a relatively small group of sentence constructions where more than one contraction is possible. Consider the following sentence and its possible contractions:
There are subtle shadings to the meanings, but they're largely equivalent sentences. Here's another:
Again, basically equivalent; any shadings to the meaning could easily be overcome with word stress spoken aloud. My question is: what drives those choices? In the first one, the (a) line feels more North American and the (b) one sounds more British, but I'm hardly the expert. Contractions are often frowned upon in formal writing, but are there nevertheless different schools of thought being represented here? For example, are kids in X told to contract the negative word ("not") more often than the noun (or pronoun as here)? Matt Deres ( talk) 21:21, 21 November 2016 (UTC)
Language desk | ||
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< November 20 | << Oct | November | Dec >> | November 22 > |
Welcome to the Wikipedia Language Reference Desk Archives |
---|
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages. |
No dictionary I've seen mentions "larger than" as an idiom. However, this is an interesting phrase to talk about because although it has a meaning consistent with general uses of comparative adjectives:
The dog is larger than the cat.
It is sometimes used when "as large as" is proper, as in:
The dog is 4 times larger than the cat.
In this sentence, "as large as" is the proper phrase to use, but some people use "larger than". Can anyone check Wiktionary to see if its definition of "larger than" is consistent with the latter of these 2 sentences?? Georgia guy ( talk) 02:03, 21 November 2016 (UTC)
What's this construction called? -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 04:08, 21 November 2016 (UTC)
"I told him that we would be happy to see him (Obama) in Russia anytime if he wants, can and has desire" [3]
Is this sentence grammatical English? I'm having a hard time parsing it. ECS LIVA Z ( talk) 05:14, 21 November 2016 (UTC)
Bad translation. Putin avoids speaking in English in public. The original (
at 10:40, attention! annoying beep at the start): Я поблагодарил его за эти годы совместной работы и сказал, что в любое время, если он сочтет возможным и будет необходимость и желание, мы будем рады видеть его в России.
The right literal translation: "I thanked him for the years of joint work, and said that at any time, if he considers it possible and will have the need and desire, we will be happy to see him in Russia." The middle part, though, will be more literal with "there be a need and desire".--
Lüboslóv Yęzýkin (
talk) 10:12, 21 November 2016 (UTC)
Why can't i find the double bar of "ð̳" in the IPA chart ( Voiced_alveolar_affricate#Voiced_alveolar_non-sibilant_affricate)? 68.150.86.232 ( talk) 09:53, 21 November 2016 (UTC)
There's a relatively small group of sentence constructions where more than one contraction is possible. Consider the following sentence and its possible contractions:
There are subtle shadings to the meanings, but they're largely equivalent sentences. Here's another:
Again, basically equivalent; any shadings to the meaning could easily be overcome with word stress spoken aloud. My question is: what drives those choices? In the first one, the (a) line feels more North American and the (b) one sounds more British, but I'm hardly the expert. Contractions are often frowned upon in formal writing, but are there nevertheless different schools of thought being represented here? For example, are kids in X told to contract the negative word ("not") more often than the noun (or pronoun as here)? Matt Deres ( talk) 21:21, 21 November 2016 (UTC)