Which of the following is correct? computer games designed to involve many players or computer games were designed to involve many players I assume the latter one is correct. Can anyone explain if it is wrong Answer I think you’re missing some punctuation or, perhaps, a conjunction. Consider: “Computer games, designed to involve many players … Read more
Simply put – is it correct to use “Bonafide” instead of “bona fide” (with the space)? I’m planning to name a product, and wondering if I could use the single word and still be correct. Answer ‘wondering if I could use the single word and still be correct’ No. Bona fide is two words, so … Read more
Conflict Resolution in Stenographic Transcription The purpose of this question is for stenography. Stenographers often have “conflicts” in their writing, or in their typing using machine shorthand. This means that a stenographer might write two random words exactly the same way. Just as an example, I will use the words frog and hide. When reading … Read more
I have seen both, and now I am unsure when to use which. To the best of my knowledge “rendered mute” is roughly equivalent to “rendered speechless” and “rendered moot” to “rendered irrelevant”. But I have also seen usage that contradicts this. Help? Answer Phrase “rendered moot,” idiom: At some point, this whole debate may … Read more
Newspaper reports are abound with the phrase Next of Kin especially in the context of accidents. Kin is defined as One’s family and relations. Next of Kin is defined as A person’s closest living relative(s). I don’t get the difference between the two. Wouldn’t just Kin suffice for all purposes. Or rather, wouldn’t Next of … Read more
I am tangled with the problem of using affect /effect. In an experiment, The defocusing of projector lens blurs the projected images that are projected onto an object.The projected images are used to generate the shape of the object using a method X. Now I want opinion regarding these cases Projected images are effected/affected by … Read more
I’m confused regarding the use of “with” and “of”. Should I use “array with objects” or “array of objects”? Why? Answer “Array of elements” denotes that the array is made up of the elements. “Array with elements” denotes that the array is found with or alongside some elements. This can be used much like “with” … Read more
I could not sleep ____ very tired . Here, I tried: I could not sleep despite I was very tired . I could not sleep in spite of very tired Which one is correct? Answer There is a thread on this on the English Language Learners site, here. Also, neither of these works in your … Read more
Is mandation a valid word? If it is, then what are its proper uses? I have heard people using this as a synonym to mandate; however, I am not exactly sure that it is a valid word. Answer The OED has a reference to it, though they clearly state that it is rare. But far … Read more
This should be a relatively simple question—one that I cannot seem to find anywhere. Does, for example, a dog sit down on its haunches, or sit up on its haunches? “Charlie sat up on his haunches and tilted his head in confusion at the strange command.” “Charlie sat down on his haunches and tilted … Read more
