Most Popular
1500 questions
35
votes
2 answers
Indefinite Article: Why "a agreement" rather than "an agreement"?
My teacher reviewed an exercise, and corrected something I didn't understand.
This is a piece of what I wrote:
It took some time until they could reach an agreement, but it finally...
It made sense to use an since agreement starts with a vowel.
My…
Alisson Reinaldo Silva
- 447
- 3
- 6
35
votes
1 answer
What does "on a day with no 'y' in it" mean?
Can anybody explain Warren Buffett's sentence for me, please?
"The only time to buy these is on a day with no 'y' in it."
haile
- 5,243
- 11
- 41
- 84
34
votes
5 answers
What does "chrome" mean besides the metal?
I have trouble understanding the following sentence from lwn.net
Because the nightly builds are not full browsers, the interface leaves out most of the traditional browser chrome.
I know there's a browser called Chrome but I doubt that's the…
ooxi
- 443
- 6
- 8
34
votes
3 answers
What does "this will date me" mean?
What does the phrase "this will date me" mean?
I searched for it here on "English Language Learners" and on Google but I could not find the meaning.
Mohsin
- 451
- 1
- 4
- 5
34
votes
6 answers
How do Americans respond when asked for their names?
I heard a character on TV, when asked for his name, responded:
My name is Bond, James Bond.
Why doesn't Mr. 007 reply, "My name is James Bond".
I am not familiar with first/middle/last name concept much, as in my region we have mostly our full…
Abdul Rehman
- 487
- 5
- 12
34
votes
11 answers
Do native speakers distinguish well the pronunciations of "L" and "R"?
Sometimes I have a problem in distinguishing "L" and "R" in spoken English.
I wonder if native speakers distinguish well the pronunciations of "L" and "R".
For example, how about "leave" and "reave" or "elect" and "erect"?
Makoto Kato
- 2,006
- 5
- 24
- 31
34
votes
7 answers
A "user" is "it" or "he/she"?
I'm not sure what is right and what not. I've searched on Google and could not find an answer to this. How should I write this:
I'm speaking about a user. It is the main problem.
The question is. Is this corect? In this context should I use "It"…
Andrei Surdu
- 443
- 1
- 4
- 6
34
votes
5 answers
Why do we say "How much XP" and not "How many XP"?
XP (Experience Point) is a term particularly used in gaming. Should I use much or many in this context?
Adam: 'I killed the boss! I got 100 XP!'
Alex: 'Great, how ___(many/much) XP have you got?'
Google says to use "how much". According to the app…
user516076
- 5,012
- 2
- 31
- 69
34
votes
7 answers
What does "He has insurance, but Christ" mean?
He has insurance, but Christ.
Could you please tell me what the meaning of phrase above is?
I think that if the writer said "He has no insurance, but Christ" it would be correct.
The full text is here:
James scrubs the frying pan in the big…
Peace
- 5,154
- 9
- 46
- 87
34
votes
9 answers
What do we call the half closing of eyes?
It's not under any influence of alcohol! It's just a gesture. Eyes are half closed with creases on the forehead and some tension in the muscles around the eyes. Such expressions are made when you doubt something or find something suspicious.
I'm…
Maulik V
- 66,059
- 109
- 310
- 456
34
votes
4 answers
"Not funny 'ha-ha'", what does Siri mean?
When I say to Siri, the virtual assistant from Apple, "Ok, Google," or "Hey Cortana," Siri replies:
Very funny. I mean, not funny "ha-ha", but funny.
I don't know how I should interpret this sentence. From what I understand, Siri found my remark…
Yosh
- 781
- 1
- 5
- 14
34
votes
4 answers
What is the difference between feet and very feet?
Here for the past 40,000 years, a deep fissure in the Earth's crust
has allowed oily tar and methane to bubble up to the surface from far
underground, evidence of the ceaseless activity below our very feet.
I found very feet in above sentence.…
user10678
- 459
- 4
- 5
34
votes
5 answers
What is the cover of the head of a pen called in English?
What is the cover of the head of a pen called in English?
In my native language it is simply called a cover.
Virtuous Legend
- 27,128
- 196
- 415
- 597
34
votes
4 answers
How can I negate or confirm a question tersely using negation?
From a logical point of view, the answer no negates the negation, and yes confirms it.
But how would a native speaker react when s/he asked "Don't you love me any more?" and answered yes or no?
German has a special word, doch, which is used only for…
Danubian Sailor
- 5,780
- 8
- 32
- 52
33
votes
6 answers
"One of THOSE days" vs "one of THESE days"
I don't know exactly when we'll go but we really must visit them one
of these / one of those days.
When should we use "one of these days" and "one of those days"?
Nguyễn Quốc Việt
- 585
- 2
- 7
- 16