Hi,
Just wanted to check if there is such a word as "doneness"? Sounds a little wordy though, so what would be a good alternative?
Observer29
Hey Observer29!
Actually, there is such a word! If you look in the dictionary, you’d find that ‘doneness’ refers to ‘the condition of being cooked to a desired degree’!
Now we’re craving for some steak!
We often use this word "scarly" but what does it mean? What is the English word for it?
Jovan
Hey Jovan!
What you described is a Singlish word that’s been adopted from Malay, Jovan! And we’re afraid that there’s no English word that’s a direct translation of it!
It is derived from the Malay word 'sekali', which literally means 'once'.
And from what we know of it, it actually means quite a few different things depending on the context of the situation! We think the best answer we can give you is to ask around to see what people think it means!
Oh, and don’t use it in formal contexts, please!
Hi English Language Panel,
Please help me, I don't understand this sentence :
He is certain to have boarded the plane by now
Is there a better way to phrase it?
Thank you and regards,
Adeline
Hi Adeline!
Well, that means that he has definitely boarded the plane by now, whenever ‘now’ is!
But yes, that sentence is a little awkward. Maybe you could just say ‘He should be on the plane by now’. Shorter, simpler, and more easily understood!
Should it be “half of the cohort were or was aged 75 "?
What if the sentence is “slightly more than half of the members was or were “?
Can you explain how to use proper English when it comes to percentages or fractions? Thank you.
Laura Lim
Hi Laura Lim!
For things like that, you should say ‘half of the cohort was aged 75’ and ‘slightly more than half of the members was’.
This is because you’re referring to a group of people with that comprise ‘half’ and ‘slightly more than half’.
And the same would go for percentages and fractions. Whether you’re referring to 35% or ¾, you’re referring to a group. So use the singular tense!
Think of it this way, you’d say ‘a crowd of people was walking’. The tense is determined by the collective noun ‘crowd’, which refers to a single group entity!
“The five-times European champions had overcome ...”
Should it not be "five-time European champions"?
I saw this in the newspaper.
W Smith
Hey W Smith!
You’re absolutely right. There’s an unnecessary ‘s’ there. It should be ‘five-time’!
