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1500 questions
15
votes
7 answers
Can "Nightmare" be seen?
I know what nightmare means,it is bad dream during sleeping.I would like know how we experience it. Do we see it, my sentence make sense?
Last night I've seen very bad nightmare.
Dragut
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15
votes
1 answer
Why is a "coat of arms" called so?
When I first encountered the coat of arms term, I failed to understand it correctly, trying literal meanings:
coat - an outer garment with sleeves, worn outdoors and typically extending below the hips
arms - multiple for: each of the two upper…
Denis Kulagin
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15
votes
2 answers
Does the notion of check word exist in English?
It is interesting if in English there is the notion of the check word? In Russian if we don't know how to spell a certain unstressed vowel in some cases we can find the check word ( проверочное слово ) which prompts us how to spell the word. For…
Fatimahon
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15
votes
5 answers
"They are Australian" vs "They are Australians"
On the very first page of "Essential Grammar in Use" book of R.Murphy. He wrote
Those people aren't English. They're Australian.
My question are
Is this sentence grammatically correct?
What is plural forms of "English" and…
fronthem
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15
votes
7 answers
Does 'breakfast' in "Let's have breakfast" denote an activity or a collection of edible items?
Let's have breakfast.
In this sentence, how would a native speaker comprehend the meaning of "breakfast"? Will he think of it as an activity, or as a collection of food items?
The question is inspired by this comment by GoDucks:
I am confused…
CowperKettle
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15
votes
2 answers
I was wondering vs. I am wondering vs. I wonder
If I would like to make requests, should I use “I was wondering…” instead of “I am wondering…” and “I wonder…”? If yes, what’s the most appropriate situation to use “I am wondering…” and “I wonder…”?
nicolasyeh
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15
votes
1 answer
Create vs. Generate vs. Make
I developed a software application, in which the user can create a video using some slides. What is the proper word for a button to create such a video:
Create Video
Generate Video
Make Video
What is their difference?
Ahmad
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15
votes
3 answers
What does the nutshell in “in a nutshell” stand for?
I know the meaning of “in a nutshell” but do not know what “nutshell” or “nut” itself stands for in this idiom.
Since it is a metaphor, I would like to know what it recalls to the speakers/listeners’ mind whose first langage is English. Etymology of…
cu39
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15
votes
6 answers
help you learn vs. help you to learn
Source: JavaScript: The Good Parts by Douglas Crockford (2008)
Example:
My goal here is to help you to learn to think in JavaScript. I will show you the components of the language and start you on the process of discovering the ways those…
Michael Rybkin
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15
votes
1 answer
Noun for people not yet confirmed as alive, or dead
In Italian, disperso (whose plural is dispersi) is a noun used for every person that is not yet confirmed as alive, or dead. The closer English word I can think is missing which is an adjective, and which I always heard as in missing in action.
Is…
apaderno
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15
votes
6 answers
"Last night at 9 PM, I ate dinner" -- Does this sentence mean that it began at 9 or finished at 9?
This sentence "Last night at 9 PM, I ate dinner" means that the action began at 9 or finished at 9?
Does it mean that I started eating at 9?
bluejimmy
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15
votes
6 answers
If twins are always plural, how do I refer to a single twin, or how do we count twins?
I've learned that twins in English are always plural, e.g. there are the twins. Then how do we count twins? If there are four people coming, those are two twins? There are two twins? What if there are two people coming, who are twins. There are one…
gerrit
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15
votes
2 answers
"It's an interesting topic for me" versus "It's interesting to me": Does it really matter?
I've just caught myself out twice by writing something down as being interesting for me!
This is a typical Italian mother-tongue error, but Italian is not my first language. It used to be English, but now I'm no longer sure.
And yet when I say the…
Mari-Lou A
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15
votes
4 answers
Is "This brought me an idea" correct English?
Coming from German I wonder what the correct idiom is here.
This brought me an idea.
or
This made me an idea.
or
This got me an idea.
or
This gave me an idea.
Well, I guess I could say
This made me think of an idea.
but I wonder what else…
Cabbie407
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15
votes
11 answers
The US/UK word for Turkish sandwich filled with meat, salad and sauce
One of the users on the page created by me asked this. Since the page is for non-native speakers, I don't think she'll get the answer. So, I'm asking it here. In her words...
What is your word for the Turkish sandwich filled with meat (kebab),…
Maulik V
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