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1500 questions
38
votes
9 answers
Your English is better than my <>
I am a native Czech speaker and English is my secondary language. I communicate with foreigners including both English and non-English natives. Sometimes, before we meet in person, I let them know I am far from a native and I ask for a bit of…
Nikolas Charalambidis
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38
votes
2 answers
Why are "south" and "southern" pronounced with different vowels?
I was wondering why we pronounce the vowels in the words south and southern. They seem to be very closely related to each other. Both refer to the same direction. South is a noun and Southern is an adjective, which I don't think caused them to have…
user124733
38
votes
5 answers
Why is "science" in "Bachelor of Science" singular, whereas "arts" in "Bachelor of Arts" is plural?
In the following degrees — "Bachelor of Science" and "Master of Science" — "science" is an uncountable or singular noun.
In contrast, in "Bachelor of Arts" and Master of Arts, "arts" is countable and plural. Wikipedia says the Master of Arts "degree…
AIQ
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38
votes
6 answers
Is it "I" or "me" in "Keep Tom and I/me updated"?
In this case what is correct?
Keep Tom and I updated.
or
Keep Tom and me updated.
I understand that me is an object pronoun. And therefore I feel the second option is correct.
Especially, because I would say "Keep him updated" and also…
Dzyann
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38
votes
4 answers
Why would you say "it changed me" instead of "it changed myself" here?
I was correcting a sentence written by a Japanese friend, and I corrected one of his sentences to:
"Learning foreign languages changed me".
He asked me why he could not use "myself" instead. I am kind of at a loss of how to explain this to him.…
Kazemi
38
votes
2 answers
What's the meaning of phrases that include "ship", "shipping", when there is a conversation about the heroes of TV series?
I saw such phrase "Fans have been shipping these two for years, and it’s easy to see why. They’re attractive, single, and they’ve got a lot in common..." in this article. What does "shipping" mean in this context?
Aliaksei
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38
votes
5 answers
What does "have a pop-up feel" mean?
Support for the Rohingya cause across the region has a pop-up feel.
Source: Nouzie
I looked up pop-up in Merriam Webster:
1: pop fly
2: a component or device that pops up
3: a pop-up book
4: a pop-up window on a computer screen
I guess pop-up…
Noor
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38
votes
3 answers
What does "two-by-four" mean in this context?
Here is the text:
My parents’ divorce was final. The house had been sold and the day had come to move. Thirty years of the family’s life was now crammed into the garage. The two-by-fours that ran the length of the walls were the only uniformity…
NanningYouth
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38
votes
5 answers
How should I reply when I answer some question on Stack Exchange sites, people thank me and say it helped?
In order to be polite and answer in a social way I have had some hesitation to choose which phrase I should use.
You are welcome. I'm glad it helped.
You are welcome. I'm glad I could contribute.
You are welcome. I'm glad that I could help.
No…
Adam
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38
votes
10 answers
Does "unbuild" in "Unbuild your Legos before putting them back into the box" sound natural?
How could I change this sentence in order for it to sound more natural and easier to be understood by a toddler?
I've been using 'unassailable' or 'take them apart' but both sound strange.
MsRose
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38
votes
14 answers
Is there an English equivalent for the Italian saying "It's another pair of sleeves"?
In a meeting an Italian told a puzzled English audience: "It's another pair of sleeves".
It's an Italian way of saying: "it's another thing", or "this new argument is something different or off topic". The phrase could be used to remark that the new…
maborg
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37
votes
4 answers
When is it acceptable to omit the subject "I"?
Have noticed that English speakers omit "I" when they are emailing or chatting:
How are you doing?
Am fine.
Also, this occurs often in daily/weekly reports. Have seen quite a few of them, written by nationals of all English-speaking…
Be Brave Be Like Ukraine
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37
votes
3 answers
Differences between "mandatory" and "compulsory"
What is the difference between mandatory and compulsory? Are they synonyms? Can they be used interchangeably especially with regard to something you must do?
Writing the essay is a mandatory task.
Writing the essay is a compulsory task.
haunted85
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37
votes
8 answers
How do native speakers say 'the light bulb has stopped working'
Lets say, I want to tell my roommate that one of the lightbulbs has stopped working, I usually say
The light bulb is gone or broken down.
I did some search related to these expression and it seems that they are not very common and will sound odd…
Max
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37
votes
11 answers
Possible meanings of "IN CASE OF FIRE, DO NOT USE ELEVATOR."
Background
Below are cited from pp. 14-15 of Introduction to Mathematical Thinking by Keith Devlin:
You often see the following notice posted in elevators:
IN CASE OF FIRE, DO NOT USE ELEVATOR.
Obviously this notice is intended to mean:
If…
catwith
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