Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2004

In our English lesson today in the (American) 7th/8th grade class where I
volunteer, the following two usages of the comma were proposed as being each
correct, but the teacher and I could not come up with a rationale which
satisfied both of us..

Is the punctuation:
--,
ever acceptable?  That is, is an em dash followed my a comma, ever  
acceptable.  I thought I've seen this published in a philosophy journal  

Merriam-Webster's page now says
   Welcome to the new look and feel of Merriam-Webster OnLine! We've
   taken your comments and suggestions to heart and given your
   favorite online dictionary a facelift for the new year. All our

What kind of impression do you have if a narrator uses  her name or "
she" to  refer to herself like a third person instead of " I "?
"I once had to learn how to operate an electric toaster, but I really
didn't care for the work. There was no controlling the rye bread, and I

Hi, there.
i alway take this news group as a reference, when i have some problems.
I don't know the meaning of *two-folded* exactly, please check the below and
let me clear.

I have heard something like "Down brise fire". Who can help me to understand
it? Thanks in advance
Eduardo
(Cadiz: Abdalucía-Spain)

Have you noticed that some people are using "transparent" a lot more,
and about half the time they are using it correctly with its most
recent meaning.  But the other half of the time, they should be using
the word "invisible"?

It appears that the subject dictionary at www.m-w.com has undergone a major
facelift and name change.
They recommend referring to it as "Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2004".
For AUE use, I suggest abbreviating that to MWOD04.  What say, others?

My mother tongue is Chinese, and I live in Taipei, Taiwan. An American here
whose Chinese is quite fluent told me that he bought all Chinese textbooks
from schools and went through them. I think it a good idea because in fact a
large group of people will not ever open any ...

Are they called Representatives in the House too?  Can they be
senators too?

Could anyone explain the following sentence. I think the quote has some
meaning beyond its literal meaning of words.
Before I came here, I was confused about this project. *** Having listened
to your lecture I am still confused, but on a higher level (E. Fermi).

Dears sirs,
Is it correct to write: "What is learned amid pleasures is not easy
forgotten". It is a slogan of a language school which teach in Turkey on
ships (enough advertising). None here is mother tongue English. My wife says

From 1992: "People who don't know me can say all they want to," Clinton
said later about the various charges. "But I think that the American
people can spot *somebody that's* on their side. . . . They're tired of
the politics of personal destruction." -- Bill Clinton

A question was asked a while back --actually about three weeks ago-- in
the French newsgroup news:fr.lettres.langue.anglaise about the proper
way of intensifying 'fewer'.
The consensus seemed to be revolving around such idioms as 'far fewer

From Times: The controversy over whether nature or nurture makes us
who are may be moot.  Scientists are discovering that genes can cange
in response to external stimuli throughout one's life.
Question:  Is the word 'moot' part of Americans' daily vocabulary?