
What does "five O" mean (and why)? - English Language & Usage …
Aug 20, 2012 · It comes from the American police show Hawaii Five-O; "five-o" has since become a slang term for police. In the show, "Five-O" is just a police unit, but the name itself doesn't …
Punctuation for the phrase "including but not limited to"
Oct 1, 2013 · When using the phrase "including but not limited to", how should it be punctuated? When used in the following (no punctuation): There are many activities including but not …
american english - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
Sep 18, 2018 · Before you answer, please note: I'm only interested in when this usage was established in common (American) parlance. I know what the term means and I don't need it …
“Get something to work” vs ”Get something working”
The first sentence is not grammatical in English. It should be “I did not get it to work”. I would say that ‘cause’ is the meaning in the second as well: both are a type of factitive or causative …
How to use "to + V-ing"? - English Language & Usage Stack …
Aug 23, 2011 · @Thuan: What you call "the structure to + v-ing" is not a structure. To is a preposition, and like all prepositions it can take a gerund object. Disposed to using, exhausted …
Is there a word for "25 years" like "bicentennial" for 200 years? Is it ...
Feb 29, 2012 · I like the word “quarticentennial” suggested by Ellie Kesselman above. Like the words decennial, every 10 years, and bicentennial, it’s a consistent pairing with the “ …
is "Where are you going to?" correct - English Language & Usage …
"Where are you going to" seems to be quite popular among foreign learners whose mother tongue is German. That's probably because in German, "Where are you going" (wo gehen Sie) would …
Correct usage of lbs. as in "pounds" of weight
May 4, 2013 · Assuming it's not casual usage, I'd recommend "All items over five pounds are excluded," instead. Most style guided recommend spelling out numbers of ten or less, and in …
"I wanted to" vs "I want to" when referring to the future
Mar 15, 2019 · Both can be used. The verb tense is tied to Tony's desire, not to the future event. For example: Tony wanted me to go out with him tomorrow night [but he changed his mind …
Terms for "half a decade" - English Language & Usage Stack …
Jul 29, 2012 · Is "lustrum" (pl. lustra) an understandable (say, at least in academic publications) or valid/common term for a five year span, e.g. to use in a table summarizing data where space …