Discussion Groups / English Usage / February 2010

Cartoon's English is mostly hard to make out for us.
For example, like the following
http://www.lightstriking.com/test/004.jpg
Cow says, "Have! it's Have! Not "Got". And for you, No, I don't "Have"

Any difference between "cock's crow" and "cock's song?"
Both seem to be used.
---
[1933, Germany. The communists are under heavy pressure. The populace

I've just watched a snowboard race in the Winter Olympics (recorded from
last night). Two of the four competitors had fallen and were far behind.
It had become a duel between the leading two. The BBC commentator
excitedly described the situation:

For those who love learning and teaching, we are going to have events.
Please visit the link. Thanks
http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/5383647/31/Shanghai/TIME-OFF-Jackie-Chan39s-nigh
t/Education-Information-Center/

Any difference between:
"Richard caught him up"
and
"Richard caught up with him"

My employer has offices in the UK and elsewhere, as well as the US
office where I work.
Often someone in the UK will let me know that a problem has been
solved, and they say the problem (or the customer) has been "sorted".  

1999 = MCMXCIX
14 = XIIII
Are you supposed to write dates in Roman numerals in the same order
that you write the day, year and month in America (month, date and the

Is "rare woman" well utilized here?
---
Bishop, a rare woman suspected of a workplace shooting, had just
months left teaching at the University of Alabama in Huntsville

The Eurostar Independent Review of the events in December 2009 when five
Eurostar trains failed in the Channel Tunnel between France and England
uses the word "transbordment" in the English version of the report.
This appears to be a direct translation of the French "transbordement" ...

When I encounter in a novel, for instance, a character explaining
something in a paragraph. I see opening quotes but I often can't find
closing quotes. Is it me or are the closing quotes  missing?

Chapter 4:     Princess from the Undead
“Where’s my novel Princess of the Undead?”  I thought to myself
scurrying through a pile of books that I had taken out of my bag,
which seemed to be somewhat comparable to the height, and shape, of

What are these commas for:
  Bishop of Leicester Tim Stevens, and President of the Methodist
  Conference Reverend David Gamble, discuss the outcomes of the
  General Synod whether the Anglican leadership has done enough to

Is it to gain time, space, spit or effort, the use of "the X of Y"
construction seems to dwindle in favour of "the YX". For those who
know the piece by Sibelius titled "The Swan of Tuonela", it would be
tantamount to a crime to change its title to "The Tuonela Swan".

What confuses me is double negative: not much less
As it's double negative, it could  be taken as affirmative.
If so,  its meaning would be like follows:

Any objections to any of the:
1.  "They are not auxiliaries, as/the way 'need' can be, and this is
made clear by the to-infinitive that follows these verbs, while/
whereas auxiliaries are followed by the bare infinitive."