Is it Either? Is it Or? Is it Neither? Use the Phrase-Choice tag to help you complete the perfect sentence, say what you really mean, and learn new words and phrases.
Questions tagged [phrase-choice]
988 questions
42
votes
6 answers
What's the opposite of the phrase "pay under the table"?
Could you tell me what is the opposite of the phrase pay under the table? For example:
The company pays their employees under the table.
Would it be natural to say pay over the table?
Dmytro O'Hope
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23
votes
9 answers
"Could you please help me" vs "Could you help me please"
When asking for something politely which sentence is a better/proper choice?
Could you please help me?
or
Could you help me please?
dvdmn
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13
votes
2 answers
Sorry, I haven't seen your letter
I'm waiting for an email answer from another person. And then I'm writing to him a question asking whether he is going to answer:
Me: Are you going to answer?
Person: I've answered to you already.
Me: Oh, I'm sorry, I haven't seen your email.…
Alexey
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12
votes
2 answers
According to my understanding or according to my understandings
How is correct to say?
According to my understanding
According to my understandings
For instance how is correct to say
According to my understanding(s) the definition of derivative function (from mathematics) is as follows...
Pekov
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7
votes
1 answer
"in bold letters" vs. "in bold"
I wonder which form(s) are correct amongst the following:
The pronouns present in the text are marked in bold.
The pronouns present in the text are marked in bold letters.
Franck Dernoncourt
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7
votes
3 answers
"suffice to say" vs "it suffices to say" vs "suffice it to say"
What should I consider when choosing between these phrases:
suffice to say
it suffices to say
suffice it to say
I don't know about the second and third one but I can speculate that the first one ("suffice to say") is not obsolete, at least in the…
user1555
7
votes
1 answer
Web site or website?
In some articles (scientific) I see the word Web site and specially Web page,
I don't know what to use in my paper. (Web site or website) and (Web page or web page or "webpage") please note "Web" in the first phrase is in upper case.
I prefer the…
Ahmad
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7
votes
5 answers
"Could care less" or "could not care less"?
In the following sentence, should I say "could care less" or "could not care less"?
I could not care less of what you think.
Sometimes I have seen written "could care less" and sometimes "could not care less." Since it happens in informal…
apaderno
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7
votes
2 answers
"To make space" or "to make a space"?
Which is correct/sounds more natural?
Example sentence:
He tries to make (a) space by shoving my bag away.
I found both options on Google.
wyc
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7
votes
2 answers
"Try and" versus "Try to"?
Try and hit me!
Try to hit me!
Do the above example mean exactly the same and it's just a matter of preference to use which word?
He tried to make it better.
He tried and made it better.
The second example sounds strange when it comes to more…
user49119
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6
votes
1 answer
The subtle differences between undergo, experience and go through
Those who are living in apartments, sometimes may have to experience much decorating noise coming from their neighbors.
The definitions below are cited from Cambridge dictionary:
Experience - If you experience something, it happens to you, or you…
canoe
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6
votes
4 answers
Can I say "graphic design is my passion so you are"?
I want to say this in a shorter way:
graphic design is my passion and you are my passion too
Can I say either of these?
graphic design is my passion, so you are.
graphic design is my passion, just like you.
Both seemed okay, but Google Translate…
sümeyyeTheGmc
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6
votes
5 answers
is it correct to say "When it started to rain, I was in the open air."
Is it correct to say "When it started to rain, I was in the open air"? Or should I say "I was not inside a building"?
In Chinese there is a phrase that can be literally translated as "in the streets", meaning "being out doing something outdoors".…
Kent Tong
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6
votes
1 answer
"the world over" vs "all over the world"
I have seen many writers use "the world over" to mean something is happening all over the world.
Is not it more appropriate to use "all over the world" instead? "the world over" sounds like a twisted grammar to my ear.
Lutfur Rahman
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5
votes
3 answers
How have you been? or How do you do?
This is a past paper of a national test in Thailand. (Manee is a common Thai name and Songla is a province). The answer to this question is (4)How have you been? But I wonder why (3)How do you do? is wrong. I think I can just fill in any greeting…
Santi Santichaivekin
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