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1500 questions
15
votes
2 answers
"Everyone has their own stories" vs "Everyone has their own story" - which one is correct?
Which of them is correct?
Everyone has their own stories
or
Everyone has their own story
What I'm asking about is that how could we decide that we should use a plural or singular noun after the word "own"? Is it correct to think that if a…
Phumikriet
15
votes
1 answer
'Die hard' phrase meaning
What does "die hard" phrase mean? Is it hard to kill? I have always been curious about its meaning. This movie title has been translated as 'Deadly Trap' in Czechia.
Leos Literak
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15
votes
1 answer
What does "Get a damn room!" mean?
A moment in a movie went like this:
A woman was sitting on a man’s lap and about to kiss him in her room which has extremely thin walls. Her neighbor shouted suddenly, "Just kiss already! Get a damn room!".
Does he mean "I wanna hear the sequel.…
English Learner
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14
votes
2 answers
"me [gerund]" or "my [gerund]" at the beginning of sentences?
A.1 The lions reacted to my singing.
A.2 The lions reacted to me singing.
B.1 My singing alarmed the lions.
B.2 Me singing alarmed the lions.
As far as I know, both A.1 and A.2 are grammatical: "me" and "my" are interchangeable, although there is…
user114
14
votes
6 answers
How would a native say "just looking around"
You are walking around in a shopping mall or some sort of store, even though you might buy something, you don't have anything specific in mind and you are walking around the store, to have a look.
If a salesman or a saleswoman asks you if they can…
john mconore
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14
votes
3 answers
Past form of "make do"
Looking for a synonym of 'to get by on", I came across "to make do with" and immediately started wondering what the past form of the latter could be. "Make did", "made do", made did" - they all sound weird — but one of them may be the right usage as…
Victor B.
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14
votes
2 answers
"he leaves for New York tomorrow". vs. "he will leave for New York tomorrow"
Which one is grammatically correct?
I don't know when he leaves for New York tomorrow.
or
I don't know when he will leave for New York tomorrow
Is it correct to use the future form of the verb leave and the word tomorrow in one sentence?
user32733
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14
votes
1 answer
(The) Putin's ratings shot up. Is the definite article allowed here?
In a sentence where the definite article precedes someone's name, as in this example:
The war campaign has boosted the Putin's ratings.
could the definite article be used?
Would the above example be incorrect, if one desired to preserve the order…
a_hanif
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14
votes
4 answers
Are double negatives like 'he's never not been in the family' grammatically correct?
I'm asking this question because I was taught not to use double negatives, because they are ungrammatical and that people who use them sound uneducated. However, today here on this site I found an answer with a double negative and asked my self is…
Manuel Hernandez
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14
votes
2 answers
Why do you say, "see A doctor", but " go to The doctor"?
I've been wondering for a long time why textbooks say, "see a doctor", but "go to the doctor". What's the difference between "a doctor" and "the doctor". When I go to my usual doctor, should I say, "go to the doctor"? And when I haven't decided…
tennis girl
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14
votes
4 answers
Is "what the hell" considered offensive?
Is "what the hell" used as just an expression, or is it considered offensive? In what situations is it "okay" to use it? If it is offensive, is there a more "polite" alternative which expresses the same feeling?
user207
14
votes
2 answers
"is being" vs "has been"
What is the difference between following sentence constructions?
It has been developed
vs.
It is being developed
It has been held
vs.
It is being held
is being: what is the grammar used here and when is it used?
nish1013
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14
votes
7 answers
Should I use diacritical marks?
Being a speaker of several European languages, I'm always getting upset when I see people are using certain loanwords ignoring accent marks:
Sending my resume for your review;
We went to cafe;
The naive algorithm performs worse than an optimized…
Be Brave Be Like Ukraine
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14
votes
4 answers
Some exercises for the "th" sounds for a foreign learner
What is the right technique for acquiring the "th" sounds? Are there any really proved useful exercises or tongue twisters which can help to get them?
I think after some training I've managed to pronounce both th sounds (voiced and unvoiced)…
Roman Kruglov
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14
votes
3 answers
What is the difference between revenge and avenge?
Please explain me. I tried the dictionaries but they do not help.
For example ODO gives the following for revenge:
Inflict hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong done to oneself:- I’ll be revenged on the whole pack of you
1.1 [WITH…
Anixx
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