Discussion Groups / English Usage / December 2009

In the following sentence:
Generally speaking, salespeople may complete standard forms so long as
they are reviewed by and with the approval of their broker.
If changing the last word 'broker' to brokers', would it be a wrong

Anyone having expertise in upper-class marriage settlements cca 1923,
in England?:-)
This is all prenuptial.
What is a trustee stock? Is this something like locking part of lady's

When would one in BrE prefer the lack of inversion to the inversion in
such questions:
"The weather was fine?"
"Was the weather fine?"

There is a common speech pattern in which people use a negative term and
an exaggeration to express their true meaning.  Today's newspaper has an
article about a returning soldier: "He's going through his snapshots
from Iraq, turning them into works of art.  He said he doesn't ...

"fixed"
is is
"assembled," as in a military formation, perhaps a military idiom
or

All day long this has been bothering me.  I'm sure there's a phrase
"the full (something)", meaning a complete and detailed explanation,
but I can't think of it.
Can anyone help me out?

Let me ask a question about usage of "to" in the following.
The 850 words of the front insert are sufficient for ordinary
communications to idiomatic English.
http://ogden.basic-english.org/be1.html

A verb in English has frequently added an -s to 3rd person singularis and
nothing in the plural. I have, however, observed a sentence in which the -s
doesn't seem to exist, so I should very much like to know why.
Here is the sentence:

I know someone named Davidovici, pronounced /d@'vId@vItS/.  (It's from
Romanian.)  How is it pluralized (as, to refer to the family):
Davidovicis or Davidovicies?
Michael Hamm

This is  circa 1923, thus relatively recent.
Can "must" be used in the past time sense, as in "he must say?"
Some grammars indicate that these days only "had to" is allowed in
such contexts.

to all of you from all of me :-)
Thanx for good advice throughout the Year!
And a happpppy New Year, too -
I am celebrating X-mas in London tomorrow with my wife - I am looking

I've been looking at the names in the UK New Years Honours List.
Names are mostly given in a normal style except that males who are Mr
are listed without the "Mr".
There is another oddity, to my eyes. A woman who is "Mrs" is listed as

-----
1-I do my work as you do yours.
2-I do my work just as you do yours.
3-I do my work just like you do yours.

Does anyone know what the "four last things" and the other things
listed here represent in the R.C. doctrine or jargon/talk?
-----
[Rex is supposedly prepared for conversion to Catholicism, but finds

From The Independent On Sunday [UK]:
"China is attempting to scupper chances of a comprehen[s]ive agreement
at the Copenhagen climate summit by using delaying tactics, sources
inside the negotiations have told The Independent. "