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1500 questions
173
votes
2 answers
Is it "a user" or "an user"?
Since "user" starts with a vowel, shouldn't we use "an"? I've seen many cases of using "a".
William shekspeare
- 1,793
172
votes
4 answers
What is the plural form of "zero"?
I tried looking on Google, but there are some fairly contradictory results.
I thought I'd ask you guys so we could get an authoritative answer on the subject!
Doctor Jones
- 1,841
172
votes
6 answers
Is it "front-end", "frontend", or "front end"?
Which is correct?
front-end engineering
frontend engineering
front end engineering
I looked over http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/hyphens.asp, referenced in this answer, and I'm still not sure which to use.
Rule 1 under Hyphens Between Words…
Mike M. Lin
- 1,855
170
votes
12 answers
When is it appropriate to end a sentence in a preposition?
Like many others, I commonly find myself ending a sentence with a preposition. Yes, it makes me cringe. I usually rewrite the sentence, but sometimes (in emails) I just live with it. To, with... you know who you are.
Should I keep fighting myself…
Brian Kelly
- 1,835
166
votes
4 answers
"More clear" vs "Clearer": when to use "more" instead of "-er"?
Which one of these adjectives is correct? I can see that both of them are being used, I'm just not sure which one is grammatically correct.
Are there any general rules to follow as to the use of one against the use of the other?
Mysterion
- 7,328
161
votes
7 answers
Can "doubt" sometimes mean "question"?
I often see questions on Stack Exchange sites which I presume are written by non-native English speakers who use the word "doubt" in place of the word "question". Is this a case of misunderstanding the correct meaning or are people being taught that…
Dennis Williamson
- 3,221
161
votes
10 answers
Should I always use a comma after "e.g." or "i.e."?
It seems that "e.g." is always followed by a comma but "i.e." is not. Why is that?
evergreen
- 3,305
160
votes
8 answers
"Username", "user name" or "user-name"
In computer science, you should have a username or a user name or a user-name and a password to be able to log into the system.
Which one is the correct spelling?
Saeed Neamati
- 3,973
159
votes
16 answers
Should I put a comma before the last item in a list?
Should I put a comma before the last item in a list?
I would like crackers, cheese and some soda.
I would like crackers, cheese, and some soda.
Chris
- 12,388
158
votes
6 answers
"My wife and I's seafood collaboration dinner"
I just stumbled upon a Reddit post titled:
My wife and I's seafood collaboration dinner. How does it look?
Sure enough, the top comment immediately points out that it should be "my wife's and my". However, a cross-post to the Grammar subreddit…
RegDwigнt
- 97,231
157
votes
2 answers
Why are the vowels in Christ and Christmas different? (and other strange diphthong behaviour)
Why are certain words pronounced with diphthongs on their own but with monophthongs in compounds? For example:
Words pronounced with diphthongs on their own: Michael, Christ, wise, drive
Their pronunciations with monophthongs in compounds:…
Vun-Hugh Vaw
- 5,400
157
votes
4 answers
"Unselect" or "Deselect"?
If I want the user to revert their operation of selecting an item, should I say: "Unselect the option" or "Deselect the option"?
Muhammad Hasan Khan
- 2,245
156
votes
10 answers
What’s the rule for using “who” and “whom” correctly?
I can never figure out whether I should use who and whom. Most people use who for both colloquially, but some people say this is not correct.
What’s the rule for using who and whom correctly?
mouche
- 2,102
156
votes
6 answers
Why is “cannot” spelled as one word?
Why is “cannot” spelled as one word whereas other similar constructions such as “do not,” “will not,” “shall not,” “may not” and “must not” are spelled as two words (unless they are contracted as “don’t” and so on)?
(I know that languages are not…
Tsuyoshi Ito
- 6,369
156
votes
12 answers
What do you call a disk with a hole in the middle?
Compact Discs, washers and Aerobie frisbees are all disks with a hole in the middle. Is there a word (either mathematical or not) to describe this shape? I mean the specific case of a round hole in a flat disk such that the inner and outer rings are…
Fillet
- 1,732