Questions tagged [phrase-usage]
This tag is for questions about how to use a particular phrase. If your question is a request for a phrase to use, you should use the "phrase-request" tag.
3,655
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"Unfold the gift bag open"?
At the beginning the gift bag is folded like this (the first picture).
Now you have to unfold it so that you can easily put things in (the second picture).
Is it correct to say "you can unfold ...
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votes
6
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Is saying "I am excited to eat grapes" correct to imply that you like eating grapes?
Context:
We asked a friend to translate "Me gustan las uvas" (spanish) to English. The literal translation would be "I like grapes". He used the phrase: "I am excited to eat ...
1
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2
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71
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Is it correct to say "I wish you always beautiful"?
We use the construction "to wish sb + N", for example, "I wish you a happy new year", "I wish you luck", "We wish you every success"
and we don't say "to ...
- 21.6k
1
vote
1
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73
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Difference between “somewhat like” and “something like”
What's the correct usage of both terms?
Is it possible to use both constructions interchangeable?
Like in these examples:
It's something/somewhat like that.
It sounds somewhat/something like jazz.
It ...
17
votes
4
answers
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Does "I slept in" imply I did it on purpose or by accident?
There are 2 situations:
Situation 1: I have to get to work at 7:30 am so I often set my alarm clock for 7 am on a weekday. Now the alarm clock goes off and I wake up at 7 am but I feel very tired so I ...
- 21.6k
1
vote
1
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92
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Does "Her hair was tied back in a neat bow." mean the ribbon in her hair is in a bow?
Does "Her hair was tied back in a neat bow." look like this picture when her hair is in a bow?
or look like this picture when she used the ribbon to tie her hair and the ribbon is in a bow?
...
- 21.6k
2
votes
2
answers
94
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Do “not buttoned” and “unbuttoned” mean the same?
A chat bot says "Your dress is not done up" suggests that the dress has not been fastened or closed properly, and "your dress is undone" simply means that the dress is not fastened ...
- 21.6k
1
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1
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Are "I tied my shoelace" and "I laced my shoe" different?
According to my study, it seems "I laced my shoe" mean I threaded my shoelace through holes and then tied it up. While "I tied my shoelace" mean the lace was already in the holes ...
- 21.6k
0
votes
1
answer
68
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"Once There was a Boy" vs "Once upon a time, there was a Boy"
I thought "Once upon a time, there was a Boy" is quite a "standard" way to write an opening line of a story. But then I saw this book called "Once There was a Boy". It ...
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Is this sentence,"I gave my dad a mobile phone last year. This is so that I can contact him whenever I want to." correct?
A typical sentence with "so that" is:
I gave my dad a mobile phone last year so that I can contact him whenever I want to.
But how about this version:
I gave my dad a mobile phone last ...
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1
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57
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Is it correct to say "get to sleep" in this situation?
Now it is 10 pm and you put your daughter on the bed and tuck her in and you want her to fall asleep quickly.
Now your daughter sit up and talk and play with toys on the bed.
I see this in Oxford ...
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14
votes
5
answers
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Can we say "the pot is leaking" or "the pot leaks" when the pot is empty?
In the dictionary
leak: 1 [intransitive, transitive] if a container, pipe, roof etc
leaks, or if it leaks gas, liquid etc, there is a small hole or crack
in it that lets gas or liquid flow through
...
- 21.6k
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0
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Can we say "he picked his ear" to mean "to remove earwax from his ear canal" the same way we say "pick his nose/teeth"?
We often say "he picked his teeth" meaning he removed food in his teeth, and "he picked his nose" meaning he removed boogers in his nose.
Is it common to say "he picked his ...
- 21.6k
1
vote
2
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57
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"You really don't care which one"
I came across the following in an English teaching video:
If someone gives you two options to choose from but you really don't
care which one, you can say "Either, either". (pronounced /i:...
- 1,477
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2
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"A count of how many of this item IS in the room", or "A count of how many of this item ARE in the room" [duplicate]
Which is correct out of the following?
A count of how many of this item ARE in the room
A count of how many of this item IS in the room
Does the this item require the singular is?
1
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2
answers
60
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How express you tie 2 strings in such a way that it has a loop?
Look at the picture above, when you tie 2 strings together, you create a complete knot like the last third picture. This kind of knot is very hard for you to untie them.
When I tie 2 strings together,...
- 21.6k
1
vote
1
answer
60
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Which is correct, “their life” or “their lives”? [closed]
Could someone here point out which of the 2 sentences below is grammatically correct?
"No one will know until the end of their earthly life."
"No one will know until the end of their ...
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votes
5
answers
467
views
Is it correct to say "you are about my chest tall" to mean the height of that person is about the height of your chest?
I see this sentence in a dictionary "The grass was knee-high. [=the grass reached a person's knees]"
Can we imitate that structure, for example, "you are about my chest tall" to ...
- 21.6k
0
votes
1
answer
128
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Does "my phone died" mean my phone is out of battery or my phone is broken?
The dictionary says
"the phone is dead" means it's not working because of a lack of power
and
"the phone died" means it stopped working (I don't understand "stop working" ...
- 21.6k
1
vote
1
answer
67
views
What is the difference between "he ran to the park" and "he went running to the park" and "he came running to the park"?
go Ving: can mean
-to move in a particular way
or
-do an activity
The dictionary says "go + Ving" and "come + Ving" means to move in a particular way while doing something else.
...
- 21.6k
0
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1
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meaning: go on Ving
The following is taken from the classic novel The Count of Monte Cristo. Normally, I'd expect "go on Ving" to mean an action or state is going on without interruption. But here, it seems to ...
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28
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To contest (the fact) that?
I was wondering whether in correct, idiomatic English, the construction "to contest that", with "the fact" being elided, works.
Let me give you a couple of examples:
He contested ...
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1
answer
64
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Difference between: "This is as fast as it goes." VS "This is the fastest it can go."
An old lady who is riding on an stairlift to climb upstairs in her home says:
"This is as fast as it goes."
I think, she thinks the stairlift is very slow and it should go faster, but this ...
- 5,676
0
votes
0
answers
11
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Which sentence is correct? (In spite of) [duplicate]
As the title has suggested, I'd like to know which sentence using "in spite of" is correct:
John keeps working in spite of him feeling unwell.
John keeps working in spite of his feeling ...
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votes
1
answer
69
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I see 'a job that interests you', why not 'a job that you interest'? [closed]
Book Great Writing 2, Forth edition, page 96
TOPIC 4: Write about a job that interests you. Include the title of
the job, the duties of the job, and why it is interesting to you.
I see a job that ...
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2
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69
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Why 'are getting' at sentence 'I'm sorry to hear that your parents are getting divorced.'? [closed]
Book Destination C1&C2, page 6:
Write the verb in brackets in the correct form, present simple or
present continuous, in each gap:
I'm sorry to hear that your parents __________ (get) divorced.
...
- 257
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6
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327
views
Is it correct to say "The washing machine signaled off"?
When my washing machine finishes washing, it makes "beep-beep-beep" sound to let me know that it has finished.
I found this example in the Oxford Dictionary
The microwave beeps to let you ...
- 21.6k
2
votes
1
answer
121
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Is "study abroad program" correct?
Is "study abroad program" correct? For me, in this phrase, "study" is a noun, "abroad" is an adverb, and "program" is a noun, so it doesn't make sense that ...
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2
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53
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What does "If you need to cancel your stay, you will receive a complete refund if you contact us 30 days in advance of your booking." mean?
I am doing a Reading IELTS reading test and I don't get the meaning of this phrase "you contact us 30 days in advance of your booking" In this sentence:
"If you need to cancel your stay,...
- 21.6k
3
votes
2
answers
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Is "I brought the book for her" confusing?
It seems that British people say "I brought the book for her" and "I brought the book to her" interchangeably. British people might think the 2 sentences are almost the same except ...
- 21.6k
0
votes
3
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61
views
Is it correct to say "I screwed the tap onto/into the pipe"?
I have a tap that has a male thread and a pipe that has a female thread.
Is it correct to say:
"I screwed the tap onto the pipe"
or
"I screwed the tap into the pipe"
In this ...
- 21.6k
0
votes
1
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28
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It is not like/that she hit him very badly yesterday. - are they the same in meaning?
Example 1
It is not like/that I didn't want to talk to her.
Example 2
It is not like/that she hit him very badly yesterday.
Are they the same in meaning?
Do they have to be followed by "It is ...
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1
answer
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arrived to a pair of unexpected discoveries
I'm wondering if "arrive to a discovery" is okay in the following extract from a CNN story. Did the author of the following passage mean to say "arrived at a pair of ... discoveries&...
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1
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Keep is as as is?
I saw a sentence on an app, AnkiPro, and was not sure about something. The sentence went like "Should we give a big hand to each beauty contestant is as she is introduced, or should we wait until ...
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0
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39
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Have a history with someone vs have a history with something
I am reading the novel The Elephant on Karlův Bridge by Thomas Trofimuk. In this book, there is passage describing a dancer talking to her therapist about a song that is haunting her.
The therapist ...
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5
answers
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In which situations do we say "Bob flirts with Mary"?
The Britanica Dictionary defines flirt as
to behave in a way that shows a sexual attraction for someone but is not meant to be taken seriously.
In which of the following situations can we say “Bob ...
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3
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Does the phrase "Tom has been seeing Mary for a while" always imply they have a romantic relationship?
According to the Oxford learner's dictionary, "see somebody" mean "to spend time with somebody". It does not say the 2 have a romantic relationship or not, so I reckon the 2 could ...
- 21.6k
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Can we say "Mike has a date with Mary tonight" when they have been a romantic couple for years?
Do we just use "A has a date with B" only when A and B are not yet a girlfriend and boyfriend yet and they are trying to have a meeting to see if they like each other?
Or can "A has a ...
- 21.6k
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Does "play nice" mean "pretend to be nice"?
People say "play innocent" or "play dead" to mean "pretend to be innocent" or "pretend to be dead" respectively.
Can we apply that way of saying to the ...
- 21.6k
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vote
2
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High-functioning workplace?
Employers may hire empathetic or compassionate employees to create a positive, high-functioning workplace.
How can a workplace be high-functioning?
Is high-functioning idiomatic?
The adjective is ...
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votes
3
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685
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Tone and meaning of phrases that start with "I thought I said"
I have heard this phrase often when people are irritated if not upset about what had happened despite them making it clearer that they don't wish for it.
Eg:
I thought I said NO.
I thought I said no ...
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204
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Can we use "from head to toe" to express the direction rather than "completely"?
"from head to foot/toe" is an idiom and it means "completely"
They were covered from head to foot/toe in mud.
Can we use "from head to foot/toe" literally to express the ...
- 21.6k
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2
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Is it correct to say "I have to pick the spinach before cooking them" in this situation?
After I buy a bunch of spinach (which has many strands of spinach) like this, I have to check each single strand of spinach (see the picture below, is it correct to say a strand of spinach?) to remove ...
- 21.6k
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2
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Do we say "I will tattle on you to the teacher"?
When I look up verbs in the dictionary, I sometimes see them marked as "disapproving".
My question is that:
Do we say "I" or "We" with disapproving verbs?
For example, in ...
- 21.6k
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vote
1
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27
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Meaning of got out of something
is it correct to say I just got out of an interview after being interviewed? Does got out has the meaning of finished?
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1
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Can we have adjectives before objective personal pronouns, for example, "I have some photos of baby him"?
THis is a part of the script in the social network film
Erica Albright : Well, why don't you just concentrate on being the
best you you can be.
Mark Zuckerberg : Did you really just say that?
Erica ...
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1
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Rule for using which
The first signs in six months of a pickup in consumer spending are emerging, which reduces the chances that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates when it meets next month.
Should it be which ...
3
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476
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Do egg-laying female animals give birth to/bear young?
I know fishes, birds, lizards, etc. lay and hatch from eggs (mostly), but apparently, they can also be born (out of eggs):
Birds born in a cage think flying is an illness.
Alejandro Jodorowsky
There ...
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After that, we got to talk/got talking/got to talking
...when the woman seated next to me asked me if she could borrow my phone as hers had run out of battery. She just needed to make a call. So I lent her my phone. Got it back. After that, we got to ...
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Can we use "gift" for non-material thing, e.g. "My dad took me to the amusement park as a gift"?
Dictionaries say "a gift: a thing that you give to somebody, especially on a special occasion or to say thank you"
I am not sure if "a thing" here can be a non-material thing.
For ...
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