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1500 questions
28
votes
4 answers
What's the name for non-bribe payments taken forcefully and illegally?
In my national language Hindi, there's a term for it. Let me describe it.
Corruption is a nuisance in India. However, corruption is of many types here. For example, if you give some money to a traffic policeman, he'll let you go even though you have…
Maulik V
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28
votes
4 answers
I have "a doubt" about whether this phrase is acceptable English
To my (British) ear, it never sounds correct to say you have a doubt about something.
I expect that doubt to be pluralised, even if there's only one specific thing that I'm doubtful of, in one specific way, so I would always say "I have doubts about…
FumbleFingers
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28
votes
5 answers
Two consecutive gerunds? -ing -ing?
I am considering to set up a cyber cafe.
I am considering setting up a cyber cafe.
I think it should be version #2 where the verb considering is followed by the gerund setting. But it sounds unnatural to me.
Can we use a gerund after "Verb+ing"?
starun008
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28
votes
4 answers
What does mean to "get to the nuts and balls of something"?
just an expression I heard from a guy on a tutorial on derivatives in calculus.
Edit: guys thanks all of you for replying, yeah the thing is that is misheard the phrase, somebody already corrected me, the right phrase was" to get to the nuts and…
user228424
- 381
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28
votes
3 answers
What do Americans call a person when they cannot remember the right name?
In contemporary American English, what do you call a person you’ve temporarily forgotten the name of? Let’s suppose the following scenario. What would you use to fill in the blank?
Bill: Hey, Jack, do you remember our high school days?
Jack: Yea,…
A-friend
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28
votes
3 answers
Is the SVOMPT word order necessary in creating a sentence?
I learned the English word order SVOMPT (Subject, Verb, Objects, Manner, Place, Time) rule at school. Although it was a quite straightforward rule when I was studying, now (under more influence from Slavic languages) I find myself not obeying it…
MasterPJ
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28
votes
5 answers
Why don't we use articles for variables in math problems?
Why do we write:
solve for x
and not
solve for an/the x
or
Where t represents the number of tickets
and not
Where the t represents the number of tickets
Maciej Wakowski
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28
votes
4 answers
Which pronunciation of 'either' is preferred?
I pronounce 'ei' in 'either' like in German (so, like 'I' in English: /aɪ/). This is natural for me.
But I've heard people pronouncing it as 'eee' (/iː/), so which version is correct? Or maybe both are correct?
FolksLord
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28
votes
5 answers
Why do native speakers use the present continuous tense when talking about people in a picture? Why not the past continuous tense?
This is some sentences in a flyer test.
I took this photo by the lake last Saturday, Grandma. It looks lovely.
Do you know any of these people?
Yes, I do. The man who’s reading the newspaper is William.
He’s wearing a nice hat.
He is, isn’t he?…
Tom
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28
votes
6 answers
coronavirus - Why no 'c' capital? Why is there no space?
It is written 'coronavirus' with no space and no capitalized 'c'. I'm not sure about it. It is the name of virus which makes it a proper noun. Plus, they should be two words like other viruses have. The list is here One of the known examples is…
Maulik V
- 66,059
- 109
- 310
- 456
28
votes
8 answers
How can I describe being temporarily stupid?
I am looking for a word/phrase that means "being temporarily stupid/silly" and fits in these situations.
Situation A Some guy solves a math problem using a very complex method, and some other person shows him a very simple solution. The guys then…
trisct
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28
votes
6 answers
Is "plugging out" electronic devices an American expression?
Are these valid in American English as opposed to "unplug".
Plug out the charger from the wall.
I plugged out my TV.
I found my radio plugged out.
I started hanging out with some guys of Jamaican descent who were born in Canada and I noticed that…
Kaique
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28
votes
3 answers
The summer training or (just) summer training
Should we use the summer training or just summer training in the paragraph. As per me training is a noun and before singular noun we have to use an article and I am using the because I am talking about a specific training for engineers, I also know…
user62015
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28
votes
12 answers
Do native speakers pronounce "found the remark" without the "the"?
Haley found the remark disrespectful and felt she couldn't keep quiet,
the sources said.
I heard someone read this, and I can hardly hear "the" between "found" and "remark".
Zhang
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28
votes
1 answer
"Crashing at the Y" What does it mean?
I heard in the movie Adventureland:
Em Lewin : So what's the plan?
James Brennan : I'm gonna crash at the Y for a week, I'm gonna look for a shitty job, and I don't know.
IMDB has a longer script here. What does "the Y" in "crash at the Y" mean?…
Eddie Kal
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