英语杂录

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Handle vs handler

2022/9/6

参考 In programming, what is the difference between a handle and a handler? - Quora

Transparent

参考 meaning in context - What is the correct interpretation of transparent? - English Language Learners Stack Exchange

Archives

2022/7/28

参考 Archive vs. archives, Internet vs. internet • Robin Camille Davis •

主谓一致

2021/10/27

比如 这里 的句子.

Camels are one of the most unique mammals on earth.

疑问在于, one of 看似前面应该和单数对应. 我自己写会写成 “The camel is one of …”. 可以参考 singular vs plural - Why ‘one of the… ‘ in this sentence uses ‘are’ instead of ‘is’? - English Language Learners Stack Exchange. 首先满足主谓一致, 把主语看成一个集体, 最后表语无需一致.

Blue Moon Seraph — 10/27/2021
The subjects are plural as are the verbs they're attached to.

A plural item can be considered as a group to be one thing. So sometimes you'll have what sounds like a plural subject with a singular verb, which is called a collective noun. Think like "class". The class is going. Class is made up of many individuals. Though in British English, collective nouns are often treated differently than in American English.

Now for the part that you're specifically asking about. You have the plural subject being attached to a description using a linking verb (are), so the second part is actually being used as an adjective (one of - - -). It makes sense because everything inside the grouped noun (transition sentences) are being described as keys, but there are multiple other keys, so they are one key of many.

雯姐提供了很有意思的一个问题 “My favorite fruit…” 补充完整, 参考

shiina (github.com/shiina18) — 10/27/2021
Then
- My favorite fruit is apple.
- My favorite fruit is the apple.
- My favorite fruit is apples.
- My favorite fruit are apples.
- My favorite fruits are apples.
which is/are acceptable?

dn — 10/27/2021
technically all of them, i think. but contextal nuance would determine which you use.

Blue Moon Seraph — 10/27/2021
My favorite fruit is apple. (this one treats apple as a broad category) 
My favorite fruit is apples. (this one is close to wrong, but would be acceptable) 
My favorite fruit are apples. (this one treats fruit as a collective noun, which is fine.) 

All 5 are broadly acceptable.

额外一个问题

This is one of the novels that has/have made a mark in my life,

参考

Interest or interests

2021/10/26

EMNLP2021 这篇文章 摘要前两句话就一堆语法错误, 忍不了了.

Table filling based relational triple extraction methods are attracting growing research interests due to their promising performance and their abilities on extracting triples from complex sentences. However, this kind of methods are far from their full potential because most of them only focus on using local features but ignore the global associations of relations and of token pairs, which increases the possibility of overlooking some important information during triple extraction.

最常用的

  • [singular, uncountable] if you have an interest in something or someone, you want to know or learn more about them
  • [countable usually plural] an activity that you enjoy doing or a subject that you enjoy studying

Ref: interest | meaning of interest in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English | LDOCE

另外, ability to do 是固定用法, 参考 ability | meaning of ability in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English | LDOCE; 以及 association 这里跟 of 也不对, 用 among 或者 within 吧.

This kind

Correct:

  • This kind/type/sort of thing is
  • These kinds/types/sorts of things are

Workaround:

  • Things of this kind/type/sort are
  • A thing of this kind/type/sort is

另外, these kind of things 是老英语, 现在不这么用.

Ref: singular vs plural - This kind of things has or have? - English Language Learners Stack Exchange

Code is a mass noun in CS

Ref: grammatical number - Is it wrong to use the word “codes” in a programming context? - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

It won’t work.

2021/9/11

shiina (github.com/shiina18) — Yesterday at 11:30 PM
Unrelated random question: which one is the most frequently used? Is there any difference between them?
1. The shower won't work.
2. The shower doesn't work.
3. The shower isn't working.

raics — Yesterday at 11:47 PM
I'd say that 2 and 3 are more common than 1, and there's a small difference if you want to be pedantic. When you say "isn't working", it means at that moment and you're unsure of its general condition, and it would be more proper to say "doesn't work" when something is known to be broken
But I don't think many would think too much about it and would just use whatever first comes to mind, it's better to explain what exactly is the case than count on the other guy to catch the difference and assume that's exactly what you meant
If you want an example, if you came to someone's place and turned on the shower you would say 'The shower isn't working' and the other guy would go 'Yeah, the shower doesn't work here'.

shiina (github.com/shiina18) — Today at 12:47 AM
thanks for reply lol
this time (1) came to my mind at the first place while someone who doesn't know much about modal verbs thought I was talking about it in future tense. It then just made me wonder if there is any difference between those expressions.

raics — Today at 1:05 AM
About 1, "won't" implies that the thing we're talking about possesses a will, but it's used for inanimate objects as an idiom because we sometimes like to think they have a will of their own and are refusing to cooperate just to spite us :slight_smile:
So, you would use 1 in something like "Even if I make defensive classes stronger, Timmy won't use them because dps is fun", and it can be used for present and future events. If we're talking about the shower the present is something like "I'm trying, but the shower won't work", or in future form as "Even if I change the valve, the shower won't work", for past event you use would instead, as "No matter what I tried, the shower wouldn't work"

Moody — Today at 1:20 AM
I would say for 
1. There is an implied frustration in the tone (it sounds like what a young child might say to a parent). The reason for this is won't implies agency to the shower, like how a child might blame an object rather than think for a solution.

2. This is a strong claim implying an expectation that it won't suddenly fix itself

3. This has more of a sense that it might be quickly resolved.
Anyway enough nonsense about modal verbs. Language is use. It's all about how it makes you feel

LoliSauce — Today at 1:35 AM
interestingly, 1 and 3 are the ones you'd hear most commonly in the western and central US.

Gui — Today at 1:37 AM
1 only makes sense if you're using it to answer a question or if you give it some explanation beforehand

LoliSauce — Today at 1:37 AM
well, not necessarily
it's very common to personify inanimate objects

Gui — Today at 1:38 AM
3 implies a specific time-frame

LoliSauce — Today at 1:38 AM
and yeah, 3 is definitely an "in the moment" kind of response

Gui — Today at 1:38 AM
It's also wrong tho

LoliSauce — Today at 1:39 AM
right and wrong are often subjective to the region's local language quirks and the context it was said in
correctness in language is something that's hard to pin down because it's always changing

Gui — Today at 1:40 AM
"The shower will not work" when there's nothing implying that it will work makes no sense

LoliSauce — Today at 1:40 AM
like I said, it's personification
both a literary device for emphasis and just something people will say in frustration, as if it DID have a will to not work
wish I wasn't getting ready for work right now, I'd love to chat about language more

Gui — Today at 1:43 AM
The other 2 you imply they do work
"Isn't" implies it was working before
"Doesn't" can mean anything
"Won't" is future only
Well see you later then

Blue Moon Seraph — Today at 4:23 AM
I mean if you have a shower, the expectation is that it will work. If you're trying to make it work, but it's not working, you might say "it won't work" not as a personification but more in the sense that you've tried to fix it but it's still not working. Definitely shows frustration.
"the shower doesn't work" is more just an acceptance of the fact it is not in a usable state. It didn't before. It doesn't now.
"the shower isn't working" is basically a frustration moment in that you tried to turn it on, but then water doesn't come out. This comes off more as an in the moment thing before you've given up.

1 and 3 are basically the same. 1 leaning into frustration and implies efforts have been taken to make it work. 3 leaning into pseudo-surprise and minimal efforts have been taken to fix it.
There are more very particular differences in meaning and tense, but for usage, that's about it.

Gui — Today at 4:57 AM
And the 3 phrases are just past/present/future
I'm trying and it isn't working
I tried and it didn't work
If i try it won't work
You shouldn't talk in the future unless you're answering a question or something similar so that's just wrong

Gui — Today at 5:02 AM
People saying it doesn't make it right because that's ultimately a logical fallacy
Like talking in 3rd person
It only makes it socially acceptable

限制性定语从句

2021/4/3

In grammar, a restrictive clause is one that limits the meaning of something that comes before it. In the sentence “That’s the professor who I’m trying to avoid,” “who I’m trying to avoid” is a restrictive clause, since it’s what identifies the professor. But in the sentence “That’s my History professor, who I’m trying to avoid,” the same clause is nonrestrictive, since the professor has already been identified as “my History professor.” There should always be a comma before a nonrestrictive clause, but not before a restrictive clause.

XX times less

2021/3/3

中学时学过, “少几倍” 在中文毫无疑问是错误的.

But times less has tradition, if not logic, on its side; it was idiomatic English for at least two centuries before anyone claimed it was confusing, according to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage.

字典上也有

equal fractional parts of which an indicated number equal a comparatively greater quantity

虽然这种用法有被诟病, 但是在英语中依然有使用.

Lucky star

2021/3/1

玩游戏的时候突然想到, 为什么 luck 通常是用星星 (star) 来表示的. 英语中有一个词组就是 thank your luck stars, 意思是

If you say that someone should thank their lucky stars that something is the case, you mean that they should be very grateful that it is the case, because otherwise their situation would be a lot worse.

例句: Thank your lucky stars you’re out of London.

同时《幸运星》也是京阿尼做过的著名动画. 说起星星, 不由地让人想起星象学 (完全胡诌的古代学说), 一个很有名的例子是 disaster.

Disaster has its roots in the belief that the positions of stars influence the fate of humans, often in destructive ways; its original meaning in English was “an unfavorable aspect of a planet or star.” The word comes to us through Middle French and the Old Italian word disastro, from the Latin prefix dis- and Latin astro, meaning “star.” Another unfortunate word that comes to us from astrological beliefs is “ill-starred.” Now generally used in the sense of “unlucky” or “having or destined to a hapless fate,” “ill-starred” was originally used literally to describe someone born under or guided by an evil star. We also have star-crossed, meaning “not favored by the stars” or “ill-fated.”

所以幸运星应该和这个逻辑差不多.

其他相关问题

Mens and womens

2021/2/12

在鞋店里看到用 mens 来表示 men’s, 这种用法并不正规, 但是确实有用的.

Double negatives

2021/2/11

读到一句话是 “I don’t get no respect”, 但意思却是我得不到尊重. 在现代标准英语中, 这个用法是错误的, 双重否定应该表示肯定. 但历史上有用双重否定表示单重否定的用法, 在某些方言, 歌词, 未受教育人群中依然有使用.

Detail: countable or uncountable

2020/10/31

两种词性都有, 意思上不太好区分. 作为不可数名词时有一些固定搭配.

  • This issue will be discussed in more detail in the next chapter.
  • The research has been carried out with scrupulous attention to detail.
  • He had an eye for detail (= noticed and remembered small details).

杂项

2020/10/20

If you introduce someone to something, you cause them to learn about it or experience it for the first time. 使初次接触

一开始读到愣了一愣, 因为直觉上应该是 introduce sth to sb.

2020/9/27

游戏中的脆皮叫 squishy, 而不是 squashy. 这两个词字典意思上并没有什么区别, 但是游戏俚语中就是用前者.

Unisex refers to both sexes

2020/8/30

聊天时遇到了 unisex, 挺反直觉的.

The combining form uni- does normally mean ‘one, having or consisting of one’: it comes from Latin unus ‘one’. It forms words such as unicycle, a term for a cycle with just one wheel, and unicellular, meaning ‘consisting of a single cell’. And in fact the 20-volume historical Oxford English Dictionary contains entries for the words unisexual, meaning ‘of one sex or relating to one sex’ and unisexuality, meaning ‘the state of being unisexual’. Both these words date back to the early 19th century.

Unisex is a much newer word: it was coined in the 1960s and originally used in relatively informal contexts. Its formation seems to have been influenced by words such as union, united, and universal, from which it took the sense of something that was shared. So unisex can be understood as referring to one thing (such as a clothing style or hairstyle) that is shared by both sexes.

See Why does unisex refer to both sexes? | Lexico

一些聊天常用缩写

2020/7/3

来自我的个人体验.

  • iirc: if I remember correctly
  • idk: I don’t know.
  • imo: in my opinion. 大概比 imho 频繁百倍 (以我有的数据而言).
  • tbh: to be honest

Accord and accordance

2020/2/10

前几周有一次想写 “一致” 时, 想到 accordance, 查了一下 in accordance 却不是一致的意思, 最后写了 consistent. 后来突然看到了 in accord 才发现这才是一致.

  • To be in accord is to be in agreement.
  • To be in accordance is to be in compliance.

See How to Use Accord vs. accordance Correctly – Grammarist.

More than (is) necessary

2020/1/31

See

The poor man’s somebody/something

2020/1/10

在几个不同的地方看到过 poor man’s xx 的表达. 意思是

a person or thing that is similar to but of a lower quality than a particular famous person or thing

例句

  • Sparkling white wine is the poor man’s champagne.
  • Pewter is the poor man’s silver.
  • a young actor who is said to be the poor man’s James Dean

TeX 中有个指令是 \pmb, poor man’s bold: typesetting the same letter multiple times a bit shifted to the left and the right makes it look bold. But it isn’t. It is just a hackish way to get ugly bold letters for people not able to afford a real bold font. That’s what poor mans bold is (让人不由地想起了抖音的 icon). From How do you reliably bold math.

Difference and differences

2019/12/15

前几周有一次我想写 doesn’t make much difference 时迟疑了, 因为我记得很清楚有 make a big difference 这类表达, which implies the word ‘difference’ should be countable, 那么我应该写为 doesn’t make many differences, 但这又严重违背了我的语感. 后来翻字典, 发现可数不可数都有, 而 make xx difference 这类词组的共同点是形式全都是不加 s 的, e.g. make a lot of difference, 应该还是一种表达习惯吧. 其他例句有

  • There are no significant differences between the education systems of the two countries.
  • There’s no difference in the results.

Shall and will

2019/9/8

起因是之前我想写 “我将要” 时, 一时疑惑不知道该写 “I shall” 还是 “I will”. 查了查发现 Wiki 上甚至专门有 “Shall and will” 这个词条.

对于传统标准英式英语

  • future tense: shall 第 1 人称, will 第 2, 3 人称

  • strong determination: shall 第 2, 3 人称, will 第 1 人称

  • I shall be late; she will not be there.
  • I will not tolerate this; you shall go to school.

而现代英语这两个词用法的区别几乎不复存在, shall 很少用, 还显得 old-fashioned or formal.

The interchangeable use of shall and will is now part of standard British and US English. In modern English the traditional difference between shall and will has almost disappeared, and shall is not used very much at all, especially in North American English. Shall is now only used with I and we, and often sounds formal and old-fashioned.

People are more likely to say:

  • I’ll (= I will) be late.
  • You’ll (= You will) apologize immediately.

在英式英语中 shall 仍然会用于 “shall we/I” 以提问或提供建议或帮助.

  • What shall we do this weekend?
  • Shall I send you the book?

翻了一下手头的 OALD 第 6 版 (零几年出版的), shall 词条和第 9 版是一样的. 但我记得我中学的时候确实有学过区分 shall 和 will, 不然也不会出现开头的迟疑… (2019/9/9)

参考

  • Lexico
  • Hornby, A.S. (2015). Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (9th edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press.