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1500 questions
14
votes
5 answers
using "next" to days of the week
This question reminded me of a debate I have with non-native English speakers.
If today is Thursday and I say that something is to happen "next Saturday", does that mean the "Saturday in two days" or the "Saturday in a week and two days"?…
joulesm
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14
votes
4 answers
Is Vague the opposite of Vivid?
I can say:
I have a vague memory of something.
I have a vivid memory of something.
So are they opposites?
user2136334
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14
votes
2 answers
Does English have the subjunctive aspect
My language is Persian and I think we have an aspect which is absent in English, or maybe I am wrong.
In a conversation I wrote this sentence
Then you mean it is not important that I be the first one having to have a mere idea that earth revolves…
Ahmad
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14
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7 answers
Is it grammatically correct to say or to write "some brain"?
In oral speech or writing, it is grammatically correct to say "let's eat some brain"? Could you please give me some example of a more correct form of this kind of expression?
Edit
Thank you for your answers. Anyway, I apologize for being…
Fabio Cibecchini
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14
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3 answers
Uses of "have you had" and "did you have"
When to use have you had and did you have in sentence?
e.g.
1) To ask some if he had his lunch or not?
Have you had your lunch?
Or
Did you have your lunch?
2) To ask some if he faced this situation in past or not?
Have you had this situation when…
user4084
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14
votes
2 answers
Visualization or visualisation
Both of them are used: visualization and visualisation.
Visualisation is more commonly used in UK.
But, visualization is more common in US.
What is the history of this word?
Which is officially correct?
Sironsse
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14
votes
3 answers
Word meaning: "arguably"
I am wondering about the meaning of word "arguably". I have of course read its definitions in dictionaries but they seem to differ.
As I am from Poland, I checked English->Polish dictionaries in the beginning.
Some of them say that "arguably" =…
Paweł Chorążyk
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14
votes
4 answers
What does "the C++ track" mean?
From the book Thinking in Java:
I found out, by creating and chairing the C++ track at the Software Development Conference for a number of years (and later creating and chairing the Java track), that I and other speakers tended to give the typical…
Michael Rybkin
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14
votes
1 answer
'Yours faithfully' vs 'Yours sincerely'
I already and understand Wikipedia on 'valediction and user 'Manoochehr' 's answer on ELU:
As reported by Oxford Handbook of Commercial Correspondence:
[1.] If the letter begins with Dear Sir, Dear Sirs, Dear Madam, or
Dear Sir/Madam,
the…
user8712
14
votes
3 answers
Word for searching through someone's possessions without permission
What word can we use if someone checks, searches or looks through somebody else's possessions without the owner's consent or knowledge? People who do this may not be looking for a specific thing, just something interesting or valuable.
For…
Mrt
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14
votes
2 answers
"Zero tolerance for walkers, or them to be." -- grammar, meaning?
From episode 5 of the television series The Walking Dead:
I say we put a pickaxe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it.
Is that what you'd want if it were you?
Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it.
I hate to say it. I never…
Michael Rybkin
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14
votes
5 answers
A sentence in Present tense was understood as future tense
I came across a Chinese web site selling skirts and then paid for two skirts in different colors. After I had paid for the skirts, I sent a short message to them:
please let me know when you send them to me.
And the Chinese seller made this reply…
kitty
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14
votes
2 answers
Difference between "assist in" and "assist with"
He assisted in the editing of the movie.
He assisted with the editing of the movie.
He assisted at the editing of the movie.
Is "assist in" the same as "assist with"? Can I always substitute the one where the other is used, or is there a…
Stefan van den Akker
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14
votes
5 answers
omitting the word "there"
She is used to there being no one else around.
She is used to being no one else around.
Would anyone please elaborate which one would be correct and why?
nima
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14
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3 answers
In a letter, what is the most polite way to ask for a quick reply?
If you're writing a formal letter, and need the other party to reply as quickly as possible, how can you do it in the most polite, eloquent fashion? No matter how I try to do it, it always sounds too demanding.
FlacchusMaximus
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