Use “sure” to show certainty: “I’m sure he mentioned it.” (I know this.) Temporal and temporary Be aware of the difference between “temporal” and “temporary”: 1. Wrong: “I fixed the coffee maker with some duct tape. This is just a TEMPORAL solution.” 2. Correct: “This is just a TEMPORARY solution” – as in “ad hoc solution” or “band-aid solution” or “I’ll fix it properly next week...” “Temporal,” on the other hand, can mean either “not spiritual, secular” or “related to time.” Here are a couple of examples from the British National Corpus: “...the secular rulers who thought only of temporal gain...” “...temporal and social relationships between participants...” That and so that Spot the Slovenglish in this jingly sentence: “Give me that thing that I cut off the string.” Correct: “Give me that thing SO that I CAN cut off the string.” Remember to add “so” and “can” to show purpose – “that” is not enough in English. If you really want to leave something out in a clause of purpose introduced by “so that,” try with “that:” “Give me that thing so I can cut off the string.” Thematize One word: “thematize.” What does it mean? According to Merriam-Webster.com, it means: “to make something (as an idea) a theme or framework.” Whatever that means.
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