Notes

For example, I have a few related questions: What is the "a-" or "-a" called? Is there a function beyond a rhythmic one? Why is "a-" attached to a word at all -- and why attach to a word at all?

What is the correct way to use infinitive after the verb “help”: with or without “to”? “Help rule out” vs. “help to rule out” I've seen the verb "help" be used transitively and intransitively - in the latter case, followed by the preposition "to" - in various sentences. For example, these should have identical meaning: I'll help you do it. / I'll help you to do it. Jim helps run the shop. / Jim helps to run the shop. Should it be used intransitively in this way, though? If we have a transitive version, doesn't it make sense to use that instead if we're using this verb with an infinitive? It also seems to me that using "help" intransitively in this way can lead to ambiguity; for example: It helps to buy holidays. ... could mean that some previously stated thing helps with the process of buying holidays, or that buying holidays - in general - helps something. What would be the more likely meaning of the above sentence? Answer The to in ...

Example: Paul and Jake discuss the Frame Timing API in this 5-min video: … Which character (if any) should be put between the number and the word “min”?

By bidirectional I mean, if word A is synonymous with word B, does it follow that word B is always synonymous with word A? Are there any common exceptions to this rule? Extending this - if word A is synonymous with word B, and word B is synonymous with word C, word C may or may not be synonymous with word A? Answer Perfect synonyms are equivalent, which means that all you say in your answer is true for them. But perfect synonyms are really unusual; some people say they don't exist at all. In reality, synonyms are usually just partial, which means that they share a common meaning in some circumstances, but not in all of them. So the symmetric property (if A is a synonym of B, B is a synonym of A) holds true, but not the transitive (if A is a synonym of B and B is a synonym of C, A is a synonym of C). Example: lead is a synonym of main ( lead actor = main actor ), graphite (in a pencil) or conductor (in electricity), but these words are not synonyms between them at all.

When spelling, every letter in the Alphabet is pronounced by a single syllable, with the only exception of W being pronounced "double-U". (Fun fact, in German it's approximately pronounced like the "ve" in very, but in some strike of cosmic justice Y is pronounced "Yps-e-lon") Why is that? Is there any at least semi-officially accepted one-syllable alternative pronunciation of W? I checked some related post, e.g. this one , but they are more concerned with the "Why?" instead of the "Why not different?" Answer Sometimes if a university is located in the area which name starts with W, such university is called informally U-Dub . This is the only case I can recall. But I don't believe that using "dub" instead of "double u" is common (or even exists) in any other context. Though I'm not a native speaker. Here is quote from Wikipedia: "Double U" is the only English letter name with more than one sy...

Is "women men girls love meet die" a valid sentence? If so, what does it mean? The sentence shows up in academic papers about the "Sausage Machine" for natural language processing. ( A google will show up several results referring to this ). The general comment is: (130) # Women men girls love meet die. Frazier & Fodor predict that a sentence like (130) should be easy to process since it can be analyzed entirely by the first stage processor. That is, all six words of the sentence can be seen at the same time and hence the grammar should assign these words the appropriate structure. This prediction is clearly wrong, since sentences like (130) are at least as hard as sentences like (127) From: this PhD Thesis It doesn't seem to make sense. But from the context it is being used as a counter example of a sentence that is difficult (but not impossible) to understand, which some systems (The "Sausage Machine") fail to interpret. Which means it must be in...

There is following idiom in Russian "to write into the drawer" which is being used to describe situation when writer or scientist writes (sometimes prolifically) without publishing anything. Are there direct equivalent or some other idiom/expression which conveys the same idea in English? Answer The expression about which the OP inquires is the now largely historical term that is usually translated into English from the Russian писать в стол or писать в ящик ( http://phraseology_ru_en.academic.ru/27881 /писать_в_стол ) as to write for the drawer, the significance of which is well described in an Economist article dating from 11 November 1969. One of the principal themes of the article is the central importance for writers in the USSR of enjoying the goodwill of the Writers' Union: Prominent writers are a privileged section of Soviet society. Men like Boris Pasternak can survive a period of disgrace by living on their savings. Young men can take a job outside litera...