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- double negation - Is cannot not say standard English? - English . . .
9 "cannot not say" would only rarely be used in English, and only in very specific circumstances In particular, this is not a simple double negative "cannot not" does not mean the same as "can", it means "must" It also carries a connotation that not saying is the expected or default action
- word choice - English Language Usage Stack Exchange
Even though most people will understand your intent, I'm not a fan of saying, "She cannot have a baby," because that can be taken literally to mean that she is not fit to mother Just because someone cannot conceive does not mean they cannot have a child through alternative means, such as adoption or surrogacy
- You cannot eat your cake and have it or have your cake and eat it?
The irony of the idiom is that one would expect to be able to eat the cake that he or she owned In that case, possession of the cake would logically come before usage of the cake: You cannot have your cake and eat it, too Some other interesting observations: Paul Brians, Professor of English at Washington State University, points out that perhaps a more logical or easier to understand
- differences - Get hold of, get ahold of, get a hold of - English . . .
The three variations of this expression exist and are acceptable The meaning actually depends on what follows of, so get hold ahold of someone means communicate with reach someone and get hold ahold of something means obtaining literally reaching out for something And I believe they convey the same meaning, with "get ahold of" being spoken English (apparently because it's easier to pronounce
- What does I cant agree with you more mean?
"I cannot agree with you any more " means that I can no longer agree with you I agreed with you before, but that has come to an end "Anymore" is a somewhat controversial word which is equivalent to "any more", but does not substitute for "any more" in all uses: you would never write "I don't need anymore supplies"
- Word for something difficult or nearly impossible to achieve
A ten-percent growth rate is an aspiration Aspirations are typically things that people or organisations want to achieve, think they can, but cannot guarantee that they will In business it's typically the best case scenario or outcome of a particular course of action A similar word is ambition In a more fanciful context, I would use dream
- meaning - What is the correct way to use neither and nor in a . . .
I cannot find the tool, it is neither in the kitchen nor in the bathroom I dislike that punctuation and I would either use a semicolon or make it two sentences But if the sentence is interpreted that way then it only has a minor punctuation issue, while the use of 'neither' and 'nor' is actually correct
- Can not vs. cannot - English Language Usage Stack Exchange
8 Both are acceptable, but cannot is now more common OED has this much to say about cannot: (ˈkænət) the ordinary modern way of writing can not: see CAN v Notwithstanding, in some situations ambiguity may arise if you write can not, and the difference might not be a minor one Compare: I cannot make love to you
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