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1500 questions
17
votes
13 answers
What is the term for a person whose job is to place products on shelves in stores?
What's called a person whom his work is to put products on shelves in stores (for example in supermarkets)? For example, if one of the products is missed, then he adds it again. I was told (by non native English speaker) that "merchandiser" works…
Virtuous Legend
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17
votes
3 answers
What does the expression "Happy is as happy does" mean?
I just read an article in The Economist's China section (2019/02/16) with the subtitle "Happy is as happy is told to".
Feeling confused, I googled about this expression, only to find a quite similar expression: "Happy is as happy does".
What do…
Mengzhen SUN
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17
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10 answers
Ways to say 'get smaller', 'decrease in size' in one word
What are the proper ways to say that something gets smaller (decreases in size) in one word?
I am not asking about cases when what we discribe represents a measure of something (price, volume, weight, height). In those cases I know that it is…
chumakoff
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17
votes
6 answers
Can we use "dare" in this way?
How dared you speak to me like that?
Is this a correct way to use "dare"? Shouldn't we say?
How dare you speak to me like that?
Arthur Hmayakyan
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17
votes
7 answers
Why does "money" take "the" in "all the money in the world"?
"All the money in the world " , in this sentence we talk about money in general , right ? I've read a book that says if we're talking about things in general we do not use "the".
So why "the money" ?
isac
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17
votes
6 answers
Can things "grow smaller"?
This is the headline of an online article:
Tasty Fish Grow Smaller in Warming Ocean.
And this is from Google search:
Why Belgian coins grow smaller.
Growing is all about increasing in size and getting bigger while smaller is just the opposite,…
Sara
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17
votes
6 answers
What does "Gringo Price" mean?
What does "Gringo Price" mean in the following context?
"A lot of places will “Gringo Price” you. Remember those scammy repair places in the US? They exist in Portugal too."
Source: How to Buy a Car in Portugal
Virtuous Legend
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17
votes
2 answers
Information or Informations?
I thought information is singular and plural. But now I'm not sure which version is right:
The dialogue shows two important informations.
OR
The dialogue shows two important information.
Which is the right version?
Irgendw Pointer
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17
votes
6 answers
What's the difference between "replication" and "duplication"?
What's the difference between "replication" and "duplication"?
According to Cambridge dictionary:
duplication (n): the act or process of making an exact copy of something.
replicate (v. but the same definition for noun): to make or do something…
Virtuous Legend
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17
votes
4 answers
Stephen Hawking believes that the earth is unlikely to be the only planet ____ life has developed gradually
(I'm reading a grammar textbook, which contains the question and clams it was written for China's National College Entrance Examination in 2010. I checked, and it was.)
Stephen Hawking believes that the earth is unlikely to be the only planet ____…
Zhang Jian
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17
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1 answer
What do "blacks" and "missions" refer to in this context about Australia?
From the movie Tracks:
Robyn: Would you mind not taking pictures?
Rick: A man has to do his job.
Robyn: That's exactly the reason blacks were dumped in missions... men just doing their job.
It seems coming out of nowhere. The film is set in the…
Eddie Kal
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17
votes
2 answers
"He gave the order to abandon ship." - why no article?
The entry for "abandon" in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary contains the following example sentence:
He gave the order to abandon ship (= to leave the ship because it was sinking).
I wonder why this sentence does not go:
He gave the…
Min-Soo Pipefeet
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17
votes
3 answers
"Hello, This is" vs "My Name is" or "I am" in self introduction
I am from India and not a native English speaker. I do often hear people introducing themselves like
"Hello everyone; This is James"
Is it an acceptable form in native English? Usually, I know that "This" is used for animals or non-living things?…
Jamess
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17
votes
4 answers
How to pronounce the 'schwa' sound
I have seen lately many questions related to the pronunciation of the schwa (ə) sound. Today, I again found this question, What exactly is the "schwa" sound?, at EL&U, so I wanted to ask how the 'schwa' sound is pronounced.
Damkerng T.
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17
votes
1 answer
How can knowing a root word help me?
When I was in school, teachers often used to say that we should know the root words in English. But woefully, I forgot how could they be handy. Can anybody here explain if remembering the root words really can help me? I assume it has something to…
Mistu4u
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