grammatical number - When to use the plural of "nature"?

Someone told me that the word nature should not be plural in my sentence. I would argue, however, that it is obvious that it requires an "s". The problematic sentence is as follow:

We must exploit constraints of different natures (temporal, logical, etc.) [...]

If I replace the word nature by type, type would be plural. However, if I am correct, the word nature is a case similar to the word information. In French, I would put an s to the word information in this sentence:

There is a lot of information to process

Can someone help me clarify this? Is there a simple and general rule for the words like information and nature? When must they be plural?

Answer

Singletons -- things of which there are only one -- are not usually pluralized.

If you were using nature in the sense of "the material world, excluding human activities" there is only one, and it could not be pluralized.

However your meaning is that of a "kind, sort, or character" which certainly can be pluralized.

grammar - Is it correct to use being + V3 without to be in this case?

Is it correct to use being+V3 form without "to be" in the following case?

After code being scanned, you will receive text

Answer

After the code has been scanned you will receive a confirmation text.

punctuation - Comma with non-essential expression "in my opinion" at the end of a sentence?

I have learned that a comma is necessary with expressions like "in my opinion" at the beginning of a sentence.

Now, is it also necessary to have a comma in front of a non-essential expression if this expression is positioned at the end of the sentence like in the following example?

1) The novel became more and more tedious, in his opinion.

The only examples I have found so far are front position (comma needed) and mid-position (commas needed as well).

grammaticality - Future tense in conditional clauses

All the textbooks I have ever come across during the course of my studying English emphasize that future tense should not be used in conditional clauses.

For example,

If it rains in the evening, we will not go for a walk. (if it will rain in the evening...)

We decided to go for a walk if it didn't rain in the evening. (...if it wouldn't rain in the evening)

However, in the following sentence I'm really inclined to use the future tense.

Don't implement this feature if it will significantly increase the complexity of the user interface.

According to all the rules I know of, the future tense is illegal here. However, my gut feeling tells me that the sentence is correct. If I am wrong, the question ends here. Otherwise please read on. I find the last example different from my first two because:

• In the first examples we must wait and see if the condition is true, and then make a decision accordingly, whereas in the last example, we must actually analyze/predict/forecast the future in order to make the decision in the present.


• _{(might be irrelevant)} In my first language - Armenian - where we have a special mood for conditions, the translation of the third sentence actually uses indicative, whereas the first two use that special mood (the conditional mood, as it were).

Since the second would-be principle is easier for me to experiment with, I noticed that every time a condition uses the indicative mood in my language, I'm inclined to use the future tense in English. As another example:

I will give you the money if it will make you happier.

Am I imagining things or are my examples of the future tense in the conditional clause valid? If they are valid, what rule would you suggest to distinguish the cases when it's OK? (I do realize that translating a sentence to another language and analyzing the translation doesn't really count as a rule).

Answer

I think the difference between the two types of examples that you've exhibited is the relative placement in time of the action in the "if" clause, and the action in the other clause.

• If it rains in the evening, we won't go for a walk - here, the event of raining occurs BEFORE the decision about whether to go for a walk.


• My teeth will rot if I eat too much sugar - presumably, I'll be eating the sugar BEFORE my teeth rot.


• If it will significantly increase complexity, don't implement this feature - here, the increasing of complexity occurs AFTER the implementation of the feature.


• I will give you money if it will make you happier - here, you becoming happier occurs AFTER I give you the money.

In all the cases where the "if" part happens first chronologically, we use the present tense. In the cases where the "if" part happens second, we use the future tense. However, because sentences of the first type are far more common than sentences in the second type, a good rule for learners to adopt is "don't use the future tense with IF".

grammar - Marine Corps Possessive

I am editing my brother’s paper, and I realized I am unsure about the possessive form of Marine Corps, such as

The best kept secret of the Marine Corps

Is it

the Marine Corps’ best kept secret

or

the Marine Corp’s best kept secret

I am leaning towards the first because the s is part of the word corps.

Answer

As a Marine myself, I can tell you that "Marine Corp's" is completely wrong.

It is technically correct to use either:

Marine Corps's
or
Marine Corps'

If you look hard enough you will find examples of both, and typically one may be preferred. I have never seen either stated as incorrect; one is either more or less preferred than then other.

I personally would stay away from using "Marine Corps's" not only because of personal preference, but because you will get the occasional mispronunciation as "corpses", which, while it is often a Marine's primary mission to turn an enemy into a corpse, we do not like to hear our name mispronounced as such.

adjectives - Iced Grande Latte or Grande Iced Latte

I want to order a Grande-sized cup of iced latte. Should I order "Iced Grande Latte" or "Grande Iced Latte" ?

I looked up for adjective order. The first result from Google says

1. Quantity or number


2. Quality or opinion


3. Size


4. Age


5. Shape


6. Color


7. Proper adjective (often nationality, other place of origin, or material)



8. Purpose or qualifier.

So according to the list, "iced grande latte" seems to be the correct one. Somehow I remember that I have heard both of them, although "iced grande latte" comes more often.

EDIT: Now that I am aware of What is the rule for adjective order? (thanks to @TimLymington for giving me the pointer), it is still a bit unclear to me as to which one is the correct answer. Or does it even make sense to ask about the correct ordering here? Because after reading the post, adjective ordering seems like a topic that we have not fully understood yet. Lots of discussions are still ongoing.

The thing is that I always order "grande iced latte". But the barista almost always says "iced grande latte". After I come to think about it more deeply, it may be because with different sizes of cups (tall, grande, venti, etc.) they add different amount of espresso shots (1, 2, 3, etc.) and that ice cubes are the last things they put into the cup.

Then different sizes of cups should generally contain different amount of espresso shots. Because of this the barista then needs to know first which size to prepare (i.e., how many shots to get from the machine). So in general, when ordering coffee from a cafe, it seems to make more sense to say "iced grande latte", doesn't it?

Answer

The list of adjective order applies in the absence of other factors that would dictate the order. In this case, there are a number of factors that would define the order.

• Is one of the adjectives part of the item's name? If the menu lists "iced latte", that's the product name. Choosing the serving size doesn't change the product name, so it would be "grande iced latte" in that case.




• If the menu simply lists "latte", does one of the adjectives define an aspect that leads people to perceive it as a different beverage? Size doesn't do that, but "Iced" might refer to a variation that gives it a very different character and drinker experience. In that case, it should be the modifier closest to the word, "grande iced latte".




• Next on the list would be if one of the adjectives refers to a substantive preparation process and the other doesn't, in which case it should be the closest modifier. Dispensing into cups of different sizes is a trivial difference. "Iced" may involve a non-trivial preparation process (i.e., more that dropping a few ice cubes into the cup of latte right before serving).




• The last factor, in the absence of anything else, might be the preparation sequence. If iced latte is prepared and then dispensed into a large cup, it would be "grande iced latte". If latte is prepared, dispensed into a large cup, and then ice is added, it would be "iced grande latte".

questions - Use of "If you really want to"

If somebody says, "If you really want to leave me, then let me know," which reply would be correct in the English language—"Yes I do" or "Yes I really do"?