Usage of the word "insert"

My textbook set a test question:

Check the usage of the word "insert" in the following sentences:

1. It is his habit to insert new topics in the discussion.


2. The country is planning to insert a new satellite into the orbit.

According to the book, the answer is to use "introduce" instead of "insert" in the first sentence as it is more apt.

For me using "launch" instead of "insert" in the second sentence should be correct, as it is most often used in this way.

Am I wrong in assuming this? And is the book correct? What is more apt ?

nouns - Sports – singular or plural

I am being told that "sports" is a singular noun. This is creating a problem for me (as a teacher) because it sounds 'odd' even if it is correct (i.e. one of the exceptions to the rule).

e.g. Sports has (rather than sports have)...

I always thought sports referred to more than one team activity (e.g. football, rugby, golf, bowls etc.); hence, it was plural.

For example,

• I like playing sports.


• Sports have always been of interest to me.

QUESTIONS

1. Is sports a collective noun?


2. Which usage is correct?

Answer

"sports" is a singular noun. This is creating a problem for me (as a
teacher) because it sounds 'odd' even if it is correct (i.e. one of
the exceptions to the rule).

I am a teacher, too, and I remember that when I was a student, I was baffled by what seemed a more 'odd' use and that is of sports as an adjective: "sports car"

But you can overcome your difficulty if you think of many words (like economics = economic activity/-ies) that are plural in appearance and nevertheless are treated as singular.

The only (slight) difference is that sports can be treated both as singular and plural: the plural usage is obvious, to justify the singular usage think that (like economics) it really means: sporting activity/ies

You can find a clear definition here:

• 
  
  1. a contest or game in which people do certain physical activities according to a specific set of rules and compete against each other
  
  

"Ice-skating with friends is my favorite sport."

• 
  
  
  2. sports in general
  
  


• 
  
  3. a physical activity (such as hunting, fishing, running, swimming, etc.) that is done for enjoyment
  
  

So, you use the singular for one type of 'sport' and the plural for 2 or more;

"Football, basketball, and hockey are all team sports, 'I enjoy winter sports like skiing and skating.'"

but you can use indifferently the singular or the plural form to indicate the 'physical activity':

"I used to do a lot of sport when I was younger."
You can see here that both forms are used for the same sentence:

Sport (or sports) is all forms of usually competitive physical
activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to
use, maintain or improve physical ability and skills.

You can find more examples on the web:

...“sports” as singular when it refers to a general field of activity or
interest. He would say “sports is my chief interest, next to grammar,”
because he is not thinking of different individual sports but about
the field of athletics in general. Fry was referring to sports in
general as a field of coverage, and, as Buck sees it, was right to use

the singular.

But when sports refers to a number of individual activities, it
becomes plural. So Buck would say, “my favorite sports are baseball,
football and bronc-riding.”

In conclusion, it is no exception to any rule, if 'sports is' sounds weird to you you can use the singular form in most contexts.

Note 1.: writing this post I realize that 'sports' used as an adjective can refer to both forms of the word: sports car, and sports column.

Note 2.: besides being an adjective, on its own sports is a singular noun when it is an elliptical form of:

• [a] sports [car]


• [the] sports [column]

Source: Oxford Dictionary

phrases - Is "the human cost of inaction is inefficient and even deadly" proper english

This is taken from "Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution":

The human cost of inaction is inefficient and even deadly, but the political stakes for people who design and build city streets couldn't be lower.

I know that there is a phrase "deadly cost" but what I wonder is whether it is proper (or good writing style) to break phrase like that and say "cost is deadly". Second point, is I am not sure if it is proper English to write "cost is inefficient".

grammatical number - Are abstract nouns always singular? Or are there such things as 'plural abstract nouns'?

'Abstract noun' is defined by Oxford as follows:

A noun denoting an idea, quality, or state rather than a concrete
object, e.g. truth, danger, happiness.

Are abstract nouns always singular?
Or are there such things as 'plural abstract nouns'?

Do any of these qualify as 'plural abstract nouns'?

We all want to see this criminal get his just deserts.

Levels of earnings are still rising.

There's a chance it could rain, but odds are that it'll be sunny tomorrow.

The judge awarded her $5,000 in damages.

Please accept my condolences.

When it comes to men, she prefers brains over brawn.

No guts, no glory

EDIT

In no way am I asking about these specific nouns, as the title clearly indicates. So please take these nouns simply possible examples of plural abstract nouns (if there are such things), and try to answer the general question about the existence of plural abstract nouns.

punctuation - When ending a list with "etc.", should there be a comma before "etc."?

When listing items and ending the list with "etc", should there be a comma before "etc."? E.g.

red, green, blue, etc.

or

red, green, blue etc.

Related question, though this one involves the word "and", so I am no sure if the answer applies to this question or not: Should I put a comma before the last item in a list?

Answer

If there's no conjunction at the end of the list (and / or for example), then a comma is required. Thus, the correct version is:

red, green, blue, etc.

(Note that etc. should include the full stop, as it is an abbreviation.)

Regarding commas before and (or any conjunction) at the end of the list, that is a matter of huge debate. The subject is well-discussed on the Wikipedia page for the serial comma. Although it's probably fair to say that usage of the serial comma is non-standard in general, many notable institutions and publications such as Oxford and Harvard Universities strongly recommend its usage. There are certainly some good arguments for its usage, mainly in terms of consistency and unambiguity. If you want to open up this can of worms, I suggest we start another question (and make it community wiki for its subjectivity).

grammar - Why is it "This is he" rather than "This is him"?

Possible Duplicates:
Should I use a nominative or accusative pronoun when making comparisons (e.g. “I run faster than ___”)?
“Me” versus “I”

I've been told that "This is he" or "This is she" is correct, while "This is him" or "This is her" is not. For example:

Caller: Hello, may I speak to Bobby Tables?

Bobby: This is he.

Likewise, "We are we" is correct, but "We are us" is not.

On the other hand, you would say "I told him" or "I hate him" rather than "I told he" or "I hate he".

Why are linking(?) verbs and action verbs different in this regard?

Is there a word for a person who takes on his own challenge?

A challenger? I'm not a native English speaker but I think when people hear that word they naturally assume the challenge is not set by the challenger. I don't want to imply that.

If no such word exists, a synonym (informal if necessary) for a courageous person (in one word) would be the next best thing.

Answer

I can't think of a word for a person who would specifically choose to face challenges, but there are several names for roles that essentially boil down to that:

• Adventurer


• Daredevil


• Voyager


• Thrill-seeker

Challenger isn't quite wrong too - as one can challenge the inanimate too: a mountain-climber, who challenged the K-2.