Is the phrase "needs replaced" an English language regionalism? Is it an American English regional phrase? Is it of relatively recent vintage? Why does it seem to be gaining prevalence?
[more inside]
posted by OmieWise
on Mar 15, 2010 -
47 answers
Why do we precede acronyms starting with the letter U with 'a' instead of 'an', e.g. "a USB key" or "a UFO"? Acronyms starting with a consonant are frequently preceded by "an" because consonants' names have a different spelling than the letters themselves, e.g. M as em and H as aitch, therefore "an HIV outbreak" or "an MRI". However, U's name is spelled u, and acronyms that start with other vowels are preceded by 'an', e.g. "an ABC license".
What's the deal?
posted by BigSky
on Feb 12, 2010 -
31 answers
Quick grammar/usage question. Which is the preferred usage: "I'm buying this property on their
behalf," or "I'm buying this property on their
behalves."
[more inside]
posted by crLLC
on Dec 8, 2009 -
17 answers
Bruce Sutter's Hall of Fame plaque notes that he ..."lead the league in saves five times." Is this a typo? Or this one of those things that can go either way? ("led" or "lead" for the past tense of "lead")
posted by stupidsexyFlanders
on Jul 30, 2006 -
14 answers
When should I use "presume" and when should I use "assume?" Or are they interchangable?
posted by davebug
on Nov 5, 2004 -
10 answers
UK versus American English usage question: In a recent post, the one on Chinese singing, I noticed that English speakers from England seem to use 'to' where most Americans would use 'from' or 'than.'
Example: "So 'bang' with a rising tone is different to 'bang' with a falling tone is different to 'bang' with a rising then falling tone."
Why is this, and how did this difference in usage originate?
posted by geekhorde
on Sep 5, 2004 -
19 answers
Academical? While listening to NPR this afternoon, a UVa student giving a tour used the word "academical" in describing a portion of UVa's campus . The use of "academical" struck me as sounding very odd although it is arguably correct. Is it all
academic?
posted by Dick Paris
on Jul 3, 2004 -
10 answers
