gmcgath‭

In classical Latin, the letter C is pronounced like K. Hardly any words use the latter K; even imports from Greek turned kappa into C. A handful of words, such as "kalendae," held onto their K. In...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by gmcgath‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Moshi‭

It depends on the context, but generally "in doing so" refers to something that happens along with or as part of the action, and "by doing so" refers to a result of the action. In many cases either...

posted 4y ago by gmcgath‭  ·  edited 3y ago by gmcgath‭

Some words are examples of the concept they name. Examples: "Word" is a word. "Noun" is a noun. "Eggcorn" is an eggcorn (a mistaken word that sounds like and has some connection to another wor...

2 answers  ·  posted 2y ago by gmcgath‭  ·  edited 2y ago by Moshi‭

English tends to use accusative pronouns whenever they aren't clearly the subject of a sentence or clause, even when classical grammatical rules call for the nominative. Another example: "Who's the...

posted 3y ago by gmcgath‭  ·  edited 3y ago by gmcgath‭

Languages & Linguistics has been getting some questions about relatively basic issues in the English language. There's nothing wrong with these questions as such, but they don't really fit the ...

0 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by gmcgath‭

After getting various inputs, I can offer a partial answer to my own question. I'm not a native speaker, so feel free to offer a better one. The explanation Duden offers covers most of the bases. ...

posted 2y ago by gmcgath‭

The German word "Weihnachten" (Christmas) is an odd one. It's a neuter noun (das Weihnachten) even though it's based on a feminine one (die Nacht, night). The traditional Christmas greetings, "Froh...

1 answer  ·  posted 2y ago by gmcgath‭  ·  last activity 2y ago by gmcgath‭

German has three sets of pronouns for the second person: the familiar singular (du), the familiar plural (ihr), and the polite singular or plural (Sie). The polite form is identical with the third ...

2 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by gmcgath‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by Jirka Hanika‭

Most reliable sources say that the Arabic-derived "djinni" is a singular word and its plural is "djinn." (Or "jinni" and "jinn," if you prefer.) The dropping of a final letter or syllable to plural...

1 answer  ·  posted 3y ago by gmcgath‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by Jirka Hanika‭

The verb "do" is generally used for asking a question. Eliminating the extra words, the statement "It makes sense" turns into the question "Does it make sense?" "Is it make sense?" is grammatically...

posted 4y ago by gmcgath‭

A guild is normally a craft or trade organization. "Lodge" has many meanings, but the relevant one is a local branch or meeting place of a fraternal organization. The situation with Freemasonry ma...

posted 4y ago by gmcgath‭

Etymology Online suggests: The phrase to wit, almost the only surviving use of the verb, is first recorded 1570s, from earlier that is to wit (mid-14c.), probably a loan-translation of Anglo-Fre...

posted 3y ago by gmcgath‭

There's a discussion of how "in terms of" came to mean "regarding" on the Grammarphobia Blog. The article suggests: "Perhaps it strikes people as more scholarly or scientific than the alternatives....

posted 3y ago by gmcgath‭