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1500 questions
20
votes
2 answers
Thank you for your continued support or continuous support?
When you want to thank someone for the support they give you always. Which one should I use?
Thank you for your continued support?
Thank you for your continuous support?
user4062
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20
votes
1 answer
The vs. a: Surprising use of the
Consider the following exchange:
A: How are you getting to Seoul?
B: I'm taking the train.
Note B's use of the. Usually, we use the when the listener knows which one. So, why doesn't B say a?
Scott Severance
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20
votes
10 answers
What do you call someone who attends the same university as you?
Can I call that person a schoolmate? Or is that a wrong word because a school isn't a university? In that case, is it common to call that person a university mate?
alex
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20
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2 answers
Is it "words in a song," "words to a song," or "words of a song"?
In
"I know the words in/of/to that song,"
do all three prepositions work equally fine?
Which is the most common?
Eddie Kal
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20
votes
3 answers
What is the difference between "thanks" and "thank you"?
Is it about the person's age or the extent of my knowledge of the person?
Asma MENAI
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20
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10 answers
Is "bananas is" possible by any chance?
My brother is a highschooler. His mid-term English-language exam is early next month. His teacher gave him an assignment in preperation for the exam. One of the questions given is:
(Bears - bananas - broccoli) is sweet fruit.
I called the teacher…
Sara
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20
votes
3 answers
The origin of 'feed' in 'line feed'
A line feed means moving one line forward. It's definition references feed.
In summary,'feed' has three meanings
Give food to.
Supply with material or power.
Cause to pass gradually and steadily, typically through a confined space.
From which…
Wizard
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20
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4 answers
Meaning of "Give a man a fire and he's warm for the day. But set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life."
What is the meaning of this quote by Terry Pratchett?
Give a man a fire and he's warm for the day. But set fire to him and
he's warm for the rest of his life.
I think I understand the first sentence. It says that if you give somebody e.g. a…
Derfder
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20
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9 answers
What is the English equivalent of the Russian word тормоз which is used for very slowly working software?
In Russian there is word тормоз (tormoz) which originally meant "brake" (as in a car), but now is often used to denote a very slowly working software.
The nearest word in English I know is "lag". But I am unsure that these are the same.
How to…
porton
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20
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4 answers
What does "things went south" mean?
What does things all went south mean in the following paragraph?
The app has been available in the Google Play store since November 12, apparently with Google's blessing, and Cyanogen says "hundreds of thousands" of users have installed it already.…
Ruban Savvy
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20
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3 answers
Flee from vs flee
Look at the following sentences.
Many people fled the city to escape the fighting.
Refugees fled from the city.
They fled the country in 1987.
The family fled from Nazi Germany to Britain in 1936.
I am puzzled by the term flee. As you can see…
I don't know who I am.
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20
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Singular or plural with "zero": "The temperature will drop to zero degree(s)"
Please have a look at the two sentences below:
The temperature will drop to zero degree.
The temperature will drop to zero degrees.
So which one is correct? In other words, how to use the plural form of degree?
And furthermore, for any other…
Zhuoran Xie
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20
votes
4 answers
'I wouldn't vote for Clinton if you paid me': what does this mean?
My understanding was that a sentence of the form:
I won't do X if Y happens
means something along the lines of
if Y happens I will not do X
Nigel Farage stated in a speech 'I wouldn't vote for Clinton if you paid me'. To my mind, this seems to…
shintaroid
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10 answers
"She speaks an impeccable English" vs "She speaks impeccable English"
What is the difference between these sentences?
She speaks an impeccable English.
She speaks impeccable English.
I understand both are correct but is one simply more specific because of the indefinite article, "an"?
Word Nerd
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9 answers
"Even vinegar, once you've gotten it for free, tastes sweet": Is there an English equivalent for this saying?
There's a slang word in Russian, халява (pronounced halyava), meaning something that you get for free and without any effort despite its obvious monetary or effortful value. This something isn't either a present or reward; nor is it anything…
Victor B.
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