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1500 questions
18
votes
2 answers
Why in shops do they put “B sold here” instead of “B sells here”?
I know “B sold here” is the right form. But I don't know why it's the right form instead of “B sells here”?
AH.
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18
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4 answers
Why do they use small van in van Gogh?
There seems to be two ways of spelling for ‘van Gogh’: with small v or big V. It may have some reason I do not know having small van in the middle of Vincent van Gogh, but why do they still spell small van in the first part of his shortened name Van…
Listenever
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18
votes
7 answers
If I found two $5 bills on the ground, would it be acceptable to say "$10 are on the ground"?
If I found two $5 bills on the ground, would it be acceptable to say "$10 are on the ground"?
Is "Two $5 bills are on the ground" the ONLY acceptable sentence?
Joshua
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18
votes
3 answers
What does Trump mean here with "They don’t need more as they are going up for the shot."?
I like the NBA so I check any article if I spot them.
Anyway, this article has this line by Trump,
“I think [the kneeling] has been horrible for basketball,” President Donald Trump said on Fox Sports Radio in August. “Look at the basketball…
user17814
18
votes
4 answers
Using THE before some countries
I have been taught that it's grammatically proper to use the before countries like "Sudan and Yemen" but I was never given a reason (if there exists any, of course) when I asked why, except for "it is one of those ambiguous parts of English language…
M.N
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18
votes
6 answers
You can't spell 'Slaughter' without 'Laughter'
...and yet they are pronounced very differently.
/ˈslɔtər/ vs /ˈlɑːftə(r)/
For those who don't read 'pronunciation':
Slaw-ter vs Laff-ter
Similarly: Homographs (words spelled identically but pronounced differently) run into the same issue for an…
Alexander
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18
votes
1 answer
What's the meaning of this "updog" joke?
From "The Office" S2E13
Jim: Is it me or does it smell like updog in here?
Michael: What's updog?
Jim: Nothing much. What's up with you?
Where is the funny point?
XINYUE YU
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18
votes
2 answers
Is the sentence "pay some in cash" understandable?
I was in a store yesterday and I decided to get rid of all my coins,
so when I was at the checkout counter, I told the clerk that:
Can I pay some in cash and the rest by card?
The clerk said that he doesn't understand me, and I thought maybe the…
Huan
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18
votes
7 answers
What is it called when at university there are two subjects being held at the same time?
For example, I need to enroll in two different courses at university, but there is a schedule in which both are held.
Is it an 'overlapped schedule' or something similar?
Is there a proper expression for this purpose?
Felipe Varas
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18
votes
2 answers
Meaning of “Bulldog drooled courses through his jowls”
I saw this sentence while I was watching the 17th episode (Season 8) of Modern Family.
Bulldog drooled courses through his jowls.
I was really confused about its meaning. To give you a bit of its context:
Phill and Clair are reading an email…
Jocelyn Liu
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18
votes
8 answers
"A tin of biscuits" vs "A biscuit tin"
Is there any slight difference in meaning between the two phrases "A tin of biscuits" and "A biscuit tin"?
I'm not sure but I think there's a tiny difference in their meaning. Like, a tin of biscuits is about to emphasize that it's a tin with…
Pith
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18
votes
5 answers
Meaning of 'pound' in "felt a fury that was not his own pound through his body"
Harry had given a cry of pain; his scar had burned again as something flashed across his mind like a bright light on water. He saw a large shadow and felt a fury that was not his own pound through his body, violent and brief as an electric…
dan
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18
votes
8 answers
Is there a rule that prohibits us from using 2 possessives in a row?
An English teacher made a comment on my usage of the phrase, "Our last week's meeting", saying that it should be, "last week's meeting", is there a rule for this?
Pavel Orekhov
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18
votes
2 answers
The baby cries this morning
The baby cries all morning.
The baby has been crying all morning.
I think both of these are grammatical but carry different meanings. The first one shows a general habit while the second one shows something has happened in the near past. Am I…
Kshitij Singh
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18
votes
4 answers
Executer vs executor
I don't understand the difference between those words.
The Collins dictionary defines executor as "one who executes," and then defines executer as:
executer (noun)
= executor
I use executor for entity which execute commands (for example, names…
Mediator
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