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When writing in particular, it is important to keep a variety of conjunctions and to use a thesaurus to add variation in a final product. Adding this variety keeps something interesting and easy to read. If listing a number of examples in a writing piece, conjunctions that serve this function become necessary. Finding variety can be a challenge. One example of such a conjunction is the phrase “such as”. In what cases is “such as” used and what other variations of this expression can be used in writing pieces?

“Such as” is another way of saying “for example”, or even “like”, or “of a kind that”. Although similar in word choice but not word order, “such as” has a different meaning that “as such”. “As such” describes the degree or extent to which something is a certain way. “Such as”, on the other hand, lists out examples that follow the conversation. An example of this would be the following sentence: “He went to the store to buy basic food items, such as flour, eggs, and salt.” Other ways of writing this sentence could be: “He went to the store to buy basic food items, for example…” or “including things like…” or “e.g.” or even “i.e.”, just to name a few.

More specifying synonyms for “such as” might be expression like “including, but not limited to”, “as well as”, or even “one of many examples being”. The phrase “such as” leaves a lot of creativity to the writer for adding variety.

The verbs to lay and to lie are often confused. This is because the past tense of one is spelled the same as the present tense of the other.

to lie: present (lie), past (lay), present participle (lying), past participle (lain)
to lay: present (lay), past (laid), present participle (laying), past participle (laid)

To determine which one to use, we need to define the verbs. To lay means “to put or to place.” To lie means “to recline.”

When we are doing the action of “to lay”, we must have an object that we are putting or placing. We do the action of “to lay” to an object. An easy way to remember this is to think about a chicken laying an egg. The chicken is putting or placing the egg in the nest.

Thus, you could not be laying in bed because you are not putting or placing an object.

When we do the action of “to lie”, we are reclining or resting. We are taking our body and moving it into a horizontal position. We don’t do this action to an object.

Thus, you would be lying in bed in a horizontal position and resting.

Examples for your consideration:

I lie on the floor.
I lay on the floor yesterday.
I was lying on the floor all afternoon.
I have lain here for seven hours.

I lay the book here.
I laid the book here yesterday.
I was laying the book here.
I have laid the book here.

There are a lot of words in the English language that have a very similar meaning, but that are not always interchangeable. An example of this are the words dissatisfied and unsatisfied. To better understand when and how to use these words in a sentence, we will use an example.

Our sample sentence is: Kelly was unsatisfied with her husband’s explanation. The use of the word unsatisfied in this sentence implies that Kelly believed that something was missing from her husband’s explanation. There were some details that he left out or that he was omitting.

However, if we change the same sentence to: Kelly was dissatisfied with her husband’s explanation, it would imply that Kelly believed that her husband was lying to her. It could also imply that while the answer itself was complete, it was not the answer that Kelly was looking for.

Dissatisfaction gives the idea of a state of active displeasure. In the above-mentioned sentence, it could apply displeasure from the answer itself or from the incompleteness or wrongness of the answer.

Unsatisfied implies a lack of satisfaction, which in the above-mentioned example would stem from an answer that lacked important information or that did not answer the question completely.

The term dissatisfied can only be use to describe people. A person can go out to lunch and be dissatisfied with the amount of food they receive. However, you would never say that their hunger was dissatisfied. You could say that their hunger was unsatisfied.

Finally, the term unsatisfied implies that more of something is needed. Dissatisfied means that the quality of what was provided was poor.

Time zones can be confusing, especially when you factor in the daylight savings changes and the areas that do not acknowledges those changes. That being said, there are numerous forms of abbreviations in regards to time in the United States. It is crucial to understand what time zone a place belongs to and how that time does or does not change. One good example is the Pacific Time Zone. So, what’s the difference between PT, PDT, and PST?

Generally speaking, PT represents Pacific Time in a way that generally references to a region’s time through out the year. This abbreviation, PT, ignores the very thing that separates PDT and PST: changes due to daylight savings. Therefore, PDT, or Pacific Daylight Time, relates to the time when an area is observing Daylight Savings. This means, during the warmer and lighter months, areas observing PST are advanced by an hour. Areas that do not observe PST maintain the same clock year-round.

Opposite to PDT is therefore PST, or Pacific Standard Time. While PDT is located at UTC-7, PST is fixed to UTC-8 and does not undergo the dramatic time change that is common under the former timing system. During the summer months, PST areas maintain the same time across the board. It is for these reasons that PT may be considered a PDT standard at some points and a PST standard at others. The time solely depends on regional or governmental choices. Before traveling, be sure to verify your future time zone.

In American English, the sexual bases derive from baseball terminology. There are three in total, as well as the coveted “homerun”. These euphemisms are used to describe the various levels of physical intimacy that a couple can experience, usually during the progression of a romantic relationship.

First base means mouth-to-mouth kissing, especially French. This is pretty standard fare among teens and young adults, and considered to be the baseline for any type of sexual contact.

Second base involves making out while having direct skin-to-skin contact. This means fondling of the breasts, or slipping hands under clothes and groping. It can also refer to manual stimulation, though most people today would consider second base to be “making out”.

Third base is a heavier form of making out where the couple will touch below the waist while kissing, and oral sex also usually falls under this category as well.

A home run is considered the ultimate level when it comes to American sex slang, since it’s the point in which a couple engages in sexual intercorse.

In addition to the three bases and a home run, there are some other baseball terms used such as “strikeout”, which means to be turned down while trying to initiate foreplay or any other sexual activity”. Some terms are also used to describe a person’s sexual orientation, though these are now considered outdated and can be offensive. You may also hear of young people “running the bases”, which refers to teens and young adults exploring their sexuality and fooling around in multiple relationships.

Slang words are constantly growing and transforming. With increased media and internet access, these vocabularies are affecting children at increasingly younger ages. So, when your 10-year old boy says that something is “meta”, what exactly is he saying? In what situation and of what sort of object do they use this phrase?

Something that is “meta” is considered “self-referential” as when it is about itself. A person can be “meta” by focusing on what something is “about” rather than the specific thing itself. By substituting the word “about” where you would be using the word “meta” in sentences, the meaning becomes clearer. For example, a meeting is being held. Discussing the logistics of the meeting itself rather than the matter at hand would be a “meta” action. How long the meeting will last, who will talk first, if the temperature is comfortable – all of these things are irrelevant to the progress of the meeting and therefore are considered “meta”.

When people are having an argument and they start yelling at each other, stopping their argument to to yell at each other to not yell is an example of being meta. Energy and time is being spent now arguing about the mode and method of the yelling and the argument rather than the content of the argument itself. In a modern context, kids might use “meta” as a way to deflect something they want to avoid talking about, but it’s expected that kids vary in their usage of the word.

Those who study history and genealogy realize that dates are not always exactly known. Many times, historical records do not exist or only give partial information. Sometimes, we must make an educated guess at the date an event occurred. When we do that, it is important to indicate that the chosen date is not exact. The most common way to do that is to use the abbreviation ca.

This abbreviation stands for the Latin word “circa” which means “approximately.” This is the perfect word to communicate that we have done our best to determine a correct date, but do not have the ability to guarantee its exactness.

In the study of genealogy, this is often necessary because we usually trace family trees by moving backwards in time. You may start with a relative whom you know is about 80 years old according to a census record in 1940 and from there deduce that his birth happened around 1860. But, census records are not always 100% accurate. So, until you find his actual birth record, you might record his birth year as ca. 1860.

It is common to put the abbreviation before years, but less common before months and actual days. This is because by the time we get down to listing months and days, we are usually quite certain of the year. Adding the abbreviation ca in front of a complete date would indicate uncertainty about the entire date including the year. That said, it can be done if necessary.

“Best regards” and “Warm regards” are two phrases commonly used in modern written English to end a letter or other message. They are both formal, and will almost never be encountered in common conversation or most social media contexts. “Best regards” is usually used between acquaintances, general well-wishers and solicitors. It is considered to be emotionally neutral and rather polite. Regards is a positive word, with connotations of respect and well wishing, and English speakers always enjoy the superlative. “Best regards” is considered somewhat officious and emotionally neutral.

“Warm regards” is a rarer phrase, used only in very specific circumstances. It has connotations of heat and physical touch. It is only used between friends or people who know each other in social circumstances, and it carries with it a friendly and slightly unctuous sense of wishing to get to know the other better. It is also used in expressions of sympathy. It is sometimes found in letters between distant relatives, especially the older generations. It would be considered slightly odd to end business letters with “Warm regards,” unless the people involved knew each other on the social level. One would generally not use “Warm regards” unless they had met on at least one social occasion and knew the other person well enough to inquire after their health their family.

“Best regards” should be used for people who do not know each other, were as “Warm regards” is mostly used specifically with social acquaintances. In an expression of sympathy, such as a letter of condolence after the death of a relative, it would be more acceptable to say “Warm regards” or even “Warmest regards.”

English is a very colorful language. There are many terms and idioms that are used to describe the same thing. For example, when describing a person who is completely naked, some people will use the term buck naked, whereas others will use the term butt naked. Which of the two terms is correct?

Surprisingly, the answer is both. The term buck naked has been used since the start of the 20th century to refer to someone who is completely naked. The American Heritage dictionary says that it is a term from the US South. As the 20th century continued, the term became more popular. Some believe that the term “buck” was use in a condescending manner in the United States to refer to Native Americans and black slaves. So for some, the term buck naked brings to mind terms of naked “savages” or naked slaves working on plantations. Many have opted to use the term stark naked instead.

So, what about butt naked? Really, it is just a modernized form of the idiom that began to be used in the late 20th century. Both terms, buck naked and butt naked, are slang terms. So they rarely appear in formal text. An interesting point about colloquialisms and idioms is that there is no such thing as right or wrong because they are not designed to reflect the standard of or follow the grammar of conventional English.

In modern writing, butt naked is used more frequently in non-edited content. Content that is reviewed by an editor will use the term buck naked with greater frequency.

In the English language, verbs that are transformed into nouns usually follow certain patterns and trends. For example, someone who “collects” something might be called a “collector”. A device that “senses” is considered a “sensor”. A person who “votes” is called a “voter”. A “boxer” or a “fighter” is an athlete who “boxes” or “fights”. So what’s the difference between “requester” and “requestor”? How do you know when to use an “-er” ending or when the “-or” ending is appropriate?

It is clear in spoken and written English that “requester” is far more common than the word “requestor”. The use of “-or” as an ending is generally when the base word ends in an “-ate”, “-ot”, or “-it”. Examples of this include the word “calculate”, which transforms to “calculator”; “create”, which becomes “creator”; “investigate”, or “investigator”; “contract”, or “contractor”; “edit”, or “editor”; “conduct”, or “conductor”; and “reflect”, or “reflector”. Other words transform to the “-er” ending.

As “request” does not fall into the rule of thumb for transforming into “requestor”, it is assumed that “requester” is the more accurate choice. In fact, even Word processors recognized “requester” but flag attempts to use “requestor” in a sentence. As can be expected, a “requester” is defined as a person or thing that is making a request. However, “requestor” is also becoming popular in a more modern sense. This is because “requestor” is a technology-related word that has the same sort of definition as “requester”, but which applies to technology kinds of requests.