adjectives Use of the prefix "non-" on compound words English Language & Usage Stack Exchange - Justice Centres Uganda

adjectives Use of the prefix “non-” on compound words English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

If there are too many interpretative choices in a non-hyphened usage to my liking, I will include the hyphen. Edit.- My question is not on whether or not to use double hyphens, the question is on how to make clear the scope of the negation of the prefix “non-“. An example could be “finitely generated” which, by the way, is an absolutely standard adjective in mathematics. For the example you give, non-finitely-generated groups, I think it sounds fine. But there are probably lots of compound adjectives in mathematics you don’t want to put a non- in front of; treat each case separately. In a purely technical (and somewhat pedantic) sense, a ‘non-zero’ chance is distinct from a ‘slim chance’.

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. But should you put non recurring expenses non- in front of a compound adjective in the first place? Adding non- in front of a compound adjective can make it ambiguous; I would recommend only doing it if it’s clearly non-ambiguous (like the first examples below). The verb notarize is most likely to come up in a lawyer’s office or when you’re signing a contract, a will, or some other legal document. A person certified to notarize documents is called a “notary public,” and his job is to officially swear that he saw the contract or agreement get signed.

It also seems that while all dictionaries (except Wiktionary) do not list “unintutive”, some dictionaries list “non-intuitive”/”nonintutitve” (Merriam Webster) while others only list “counter-intuitive” (Cambridge). I want to say on social media that I am blessed to have my daughter, but I am not religious and find it awkward when people respond saying that they are sending prayers my way. I appreciate the sentiment, but I’d still like a non-religious word that holds a similar connotation. @PeterShor’s comment is also correct from a statistical point of view. Generally, though, we refer to the significance of a test statistic not a variable since there is no way to test whether a variable is significant, only a relationship, comparison, difference, etc.

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That said, I then choose to put a hyphen between any word I choose… When I am using the implied meaning of the prefix (whether it is non(not) or otherwise) because at least I choose to make it known and not up to interpretation by any reader… What my intent is, and this is whenever I question the meanings that exist by definition that the reader may choose from.

Using “non-” to prefix a two-word phrase

Non-repudiation refers to a state of affairs where the purported maker of a statement will not be able to successfully challenge the validity of the statement or contract. I’m inclined to think that non-repudiable is the most correct; however, the other two seem to be more commonly used in that context. I misinterpreted the expression “a non-zero chance” as an emphatic way to stress that there was no possibility or likelihood of something happening. Yes, a two-word modifier (like this one) requires a hyphen, except that the commonly held convention is that adverbs ending in “ly” don’t (like that one).

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The meaning of non-zero should be intuitive then; or, as Lewis Carroll would have it, if one understands the term “zero chance”, then one is bound to understand “non-zero chance”, too. Logically, then, “non-dead” might mean something like “not having died” (true of rocks and living people), and “undead” might mean “living.” But word constructions don’t always make sense. “Non-dead” isn’t a word and “undead” means non-living and supernaturally animated. The question remains, at least for me, whether unintuitive is sometimes intended or understood to be stronger than non-intuitive, i.e., counter-intuitive or fully contrary. If we combine the hyphenated and non-hyphenated forms, it appears that non(-)intuitive and unintuitive are roughly equivalent in frequency today, at least looking at their Ngrams.

  • Oba dokumenty składa się na Portalu Studenta Where to take the oath/statement of understanding the fees?
  • Yes, a two-word modifier (like this one) requires a hyphen, except that the commonly held convention is that adverbs ending in “ly” don’t (like that one).
  • The probability of the outcome of an experiment is never negative, but quasiprobability distributions can be defined that allow a negative probability, or quasiprobability for some events.
  • Not is a negative adverb; no is a negative quantifier; non- is a negative prefix.Since negation is so important, thousands of idioms use each of these, among other negatives.Consequently there are lots of exceptions to the general rules below.
  • No, in written English you may not detach ‘non’, unless you’re reporting a spoken utterance verbatim – in this case you’re probably best off with no hyphens or dashes, since any hyphen or dash represents an editorial interpretation.
  • The word “notary” was originally used to mean “secretary,” but around the 14th century it took on the meaning of “person authorized to authenticate.”

In fact, the whole matter is not specific to English, as analogous differences between people of different educational/professional backgrounds can probably be found among speakers of any language. “Un-” is defined as “a prefix meaning ‘not,’ freely used as an English formative, giving negative or opposite force in adjectives and their derivative adverbs and nouns… and less freely used in certain other nouns.” In English, the en dash is usually used instead of a hyphen in compound (phrasal) attributives in which one or both elements is itself a compound, especially when the compound element is an open compound, meaning it is not hyphenated itself. “Non-” is defined as “a prefix meaning ‘not,’ freely used as an English formative, usually with a simple negative force as implying mere negation or absence of something (rather than the opposite or reverse of it, as often expressed by un-).”

Such people may speak of moving things as having this or that speed, but would never speak of the speed of an object that is standing still. A scientifically trained person, on the other hand, finds it quite natural to say that such an object has the speed that equals zero. In such a person’s conceptual framework, the difference between moving and standing still is merely quantitative; it’s the difference between having the speed of zero and having some other speed.

A ‘slim chance’ means that there’s still a probability of something occurring at some point. For example, there’s a slim chance that the Mars rover will find evidence of life on the Red Planet tomorrow — it’s not particularly likely to happen, but there’s a mathematically-reasonable probability. Now, the miscommunication between the OP and her interlocutor had another layer that was superimposed on this.

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Actually looks better because the “freak” is attached to the “non-” as much as it is to “control-“, without the space implying the presence of a phrase break. All of them have different usages and can quite clearly defined in that different contexts. Not is a negative adverb; no is a negative quantifier; non- is a negative prefix.Since negation is so important, thousands of idioms use each of these, among other negatives.Consequently there are lots of exceptions to the general rules below. Please include the research you’ve done, or consider if your question suits our English Language Learners site better. Gdzie złożyć ślubowanie/oświadczenie o zapoznaniu się z opłatami? Oba dokumenty składa się na Portalu Studenta Where to take the oath/statement of understanding the fees?

Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Consider, for example, the difference between moving and standing still. To many people that is probably a very clear, definite, qualitative difference.

  • In English, the en dash is usually used instead of a hyphen in compound (phrasal) attributives in which one or both elements is itself a compound, especially when the compound element is an open compound, meaning it is not hyphenated itself.
  • Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.
  • I can’t think of any that could be used interchangeably at the moment.
  • The term non-zero chance, just like the more mundane term possible, by its meaning covers a wide range, from the probabilities that are just a sliver above zero, all the way to one.
  • The quoted entry might also be taken for supportive evidence for there being no essential difference in BrE and AmE usage.

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The word “notary” was originally used to mean “secretary,” but around the 14th century it took on the meaning of “person authorized to authenticate.” The probability of the outcome of an experiment is never negative, but quasiprobability distributions can be defined that allow a negative probability, or quasiprobability for some events. These distributions may apply to unobservable events or conditional probabilities.

Is the use of a hyphen between “non” and an adjective strictly necessary?

I searched english.stackexchange and found countless answers where the word is used. A ‘non-zero’ chance, on the other hand, is often used to describe something that has such a vanishingly small probability of occurring that it might as well be ‘zero chance’. My sense is to imply a minuscule chance, a slim chance, a small chance etc…

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