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Old 02-27-2012, 10:45 AM   #976
catkin
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Alex View Post
Why "user" (singular) closed "their" (plural) account?
In this context, "their" is the asexual form of "his" or "her".
 
Old 02-27-2012, 11:06 AM   #977
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Because in English there is no grammatical gender and the user can be either male or female so in order not to discriminate either of the sexes we can write his/her account or shortly their account.
 
Old 03-06-2012, 10:25 PM   #978
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Hello,

Could someone please tell me what is the correct way to say this?:

Quote:
I would like to know the address of the office to which I must send the correspondence
Quote:
I would like to know the address of the office which I must send the correspondence to
I have the feeling that none of the above are correct, but I can't find other way to say it properly. (Or maybe the first one is fine?)

Thanks in advance.

Last edited by Hungry ghost; 03-06-2012 at 10:27 PM.
 
Old 03-06-2012, 10:38 PM   #979
catkin
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Both are correct but unnecessarily complex. How about "Where should I send the correspondence?"?
 
Old 03-06-2012, 10:50 PM   #980
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Thanks, catkin. You're right about the phrase being too complex. I wrote it like that because it was meant for a formal e-mail sent to a university (I used the second form). Didn't want to sound too dry or informal, but I think your phrase is better. (I have to get familiar with formal English and its differences with informal English).

Regards.
 
Old 03-06-2012, 11:11 PM   #981
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A useful test is to ask whether the text is intended to impress the reader with the writer's sophistication or to communicate clearly.

EDIT: for a "formal" text: proper language, due respect and cross-references are required while they would not be in a text to a friend. By "cross-references" I mean the text should have a subject and should quote the reference number and date of any prior communication, the sender's reference number (examples: payroll number, policy number ...).

Last edited by catkin; 03-06-2012 at 11:18 PM.
 
Old 03-07-2012, 04:47 PM   #982
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Got it; thanks for the suggestions.
 
Old 03-08-2012, 10:43 PM   #983
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How do you call these constructions that are about 3 meters each side and 1 meter tall, which are full of soil and have trees and plants growing there?

In Mexican Spanish they're called "jardineras", but I just can't seem to find the correct word for it.
 
Old 03-09-2012, 07:55 AM   #984
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Maybe Jardiniere where it is something smaller than you describe but Wikipedia's page (linked from The Free Dictionary's page) allows for bigger ones.
 
Old 03-09-2012, 08:22 AM   #985
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Da_Nuke View Post
How do you call these constructions that are about 3 meters each side and 1 meter tall, which are full of soil and have trees and plants growing there?

In Mexican Spanish they're called "jardineras", but I just can't seem to find the correct word for it.
Planter. Which can mean anything from a pot up to large constructions.
 
Old 03-09-2012, 08:40 AM   #986
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Is this phrase correct to say?

Quote:
Since he is 21 he has a right to vote. But not in another country he has.
Meaning simply that he doesn't have the right to vote in another country.
 
Old 03-10-2012, 02:32 AM   #987
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A question. how to say that the body is stress (under pressure) with another word than STRESS

stress also means from work and so on. Here it would be more on condition, physical efforts, medicines, ... not necessarily due to stress. stress is not a good word since it also denotes work stuffs.

Last edited by Xeratul; 03-10-2012 at 02:37 AM.
 
Old 03-10-2012, 03:37 AM   #988
catkin
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Alex View Post
Is this phrase correct to say?
No.

In "Since he is 21 he has a right to vote", "Since" is a preposition and, as a preposition, can mean two distinct things: a) "continuously from or starting from the time when" or b) "because". Hence it is ambiguous and best changed to something which is not ambiguous such as "From the time he turned 21 he had a right to vote" or "Because he is 21 he has a right to vote. It might be more natural to say "the right to vote" but that is arguable.

"But not in another country he has" is not English word-ordering. For simplicity the idea could be tagged on to the end of the previous sentence by changing "a right to vote" to "a right to vote in this country".
 
Old 03-10-2012, 03:40 AM   #989
catkin
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Xeratul View Post
A question. how to say that the body is stress (under pressure) with another word than STRESS

stress also means from work and so on. Here it would be more on condition, physical efforts, medicines, ... not necessarily due to stress. stress is not a good word since it also denotes work stuffs.
AFAIK English has no word that distinguishes work-related stress from non-work-related stress.

The Thesaurus section of http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Stress backs up my opoinion.
 
Old 03-27-2012, 07:13 AM   #990
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Why do English-speaking nations call animals "he"/"she" but not "it"? In English language an animal is "it", right? And always has been. Looks like not any more.
 
  


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