Questions tagged [word-in-context]
The word-in-context tag has no usage guidance.
154
questions
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17 views
Use of “intense” when talking about someone's drinking
"He's on the fifth drink or something since we got here. It looks pretty intense. Maybe we should go talk to him."
Is the line of dialogue okay or is "intense" unusual in the context?
2
votes
1answer
49 views
Can I use the verb 'forgo' in this context?
Cambridge says:
forgo (v.) to not have or do something enjoyable:
I shall have to forgo the pleasure of seeing you this week.
So, can I use the verb forgo in this context?
For example, if one ...
1
vote
1answer
21 views
We warm / heat-up / or reheat bread that laid on the table from yesterday?
I have a bread that's laid on the table from yesterday but it's neither cold nor hot, and I want it to become a little bit warm because I like it fresh. What's more fit in this context? Do I want to ...
2
votes
1answer
25 views
Describing something which exist in one month and doesn’t exist in the next!
I wanted to describe to my friend a situation where i wanted to mention that something exist in January, but doesn’t exist in February, exist in March, but not in April, exist in June but not in July, ...
33
votes
3answers
11k views
What does IKEA-like mean?
I found the text below in a website and I'm trying to understand the meaning of IKEA in the context:
Technically, this kit allows you to follow an IKEA-like manual and put
together a guitar, ...
0
votes
1answer
29 views
May the word “Blue”, when refering to musical genre, be used in the singular?
For instance: may a singer say...
Now I'm gonna sing a blue I wrote twenty years ago.
Or should he say...
Now I'm gonna sing a blues I wrote twenty years ago.
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vote
0answers
39 views
Rewording sentences when a sentence beginning with “Not” is used
In the phrases below may I omit the subject and verb before the word "not" and still make sense?
I could hardly recognize her when we met at a downtown restaurant last night.
Not the skinny, shy ...
1
vote
2answers
18 views
Understand the use of 'raise the stakes of'
I am reading a book Blue Ocean Strategy. There was this sentence in the book:
Placing the kingpins in a fishbowl greatly raises the stakes of inaction.
The problem with sentence is that ...
1
vote
1answer
40 views
Long-standing effort?
Does long-standing sound right to native speakers in this context? Example: Your long-standing effort has paid off.
Does this sound idiomatic?
2
votes
1answer
18 views
The adverb “reasonably” can be about the level of language knowledge?
The adverb "reasonably" can be about the level of language knowledge?
For example, can I say "He speaks English reasonably", meaning he speaks in a level he can speak and understand the most of the ...
0
votes
2answers
23 views
Use of “break out”
What is the meaning of the phrasal verb "break out" in the phrase below:
My husband, notoriously bad for forgetting to add things to the
calendar because it was too much of a hassle to break out ...
3
votes
1answer
28 views
Meaning of “in the open”
What's the meaning of the expression "in the open" in the phrase below:
This is partly because fear is uncommon and short-lived in the open.
The page where I found this sentence is: dictionary....
0
votes
1answer
30 views
“Shoulder” or “shoulders”… which one should I use?
In the phrase below:
I'm not here to cry on nobody's shoulder/shoulders, I just want you to
pay the money you owe me.
The correct is to use "shoulder" or "shoulders"? Or I could use either one ...
0
votes
1answer
21 views
“keep up” and “up keep”. Do they have the same meaning?
I found this phrase below on the web:
As far as gels are concerned, I am not a big fan. If you are not a
woman that is going to keep up the maintenance don't do it. If you are
willing to go and ...
0
votes
0answers
15 views
Using “to do” and “to start” when referring to a show
Is it correct or usual to use the verbs "to do" and "to start" when referring to a show in the phrases below:
It was past midnight when the musicians showed up to do the show.
and...
It was ...
0
votes
2answers
43 views
First person or third person in this phrase?
If a woman say:
Please, don't take me for a woman who's stuck in the past.
You understand that she is asking you not to see her as a woman who is stuck in the past or that she is asking you not to ...
1
vote
2answers
19 views
Use of “to do” when referring to feelings
Is it possible to use the verb "to do" when you are referring to feelings that, at least hypothetically, you could control, like in the phrases below:
I admit I have been a bit jealous, but you ...
1
vote
1answer
52 views
Use of “past-dweller”
Is the use of the expression "past-dweller" correct in the phrases below:
Please, don't take me for a past-dweller. Some of today's songs are
great, and I like them, but none of them are as good ...
0
votes
1answer
29 views
Meaning of “to make amends”
What's the meaning of the expression "to make amends" in the texts below:
Text 1:
You have to learn from mistakes and grow as an individual so you dont
make the same mistakes twice. You can ...
0
votes
2answers
68 views
The word “this” in this phrase
If a woman say:
At our last yearly convention in Miami all the men were crazy about this extremely beautiful woman.
Will the person who she is talking to understand that she is talking about ...
4
votes
4answers
508 views
The use of “I” and “we” used in the same sentence and other questions
First of all I'm not even sure if the sentence I'm using as an example is correctly formulated. Even a seach for "I was at the church last Sunday" on Google gave me only three results so I think it's ...
0
votes
1answer
65 views
“From the past” or “From my past”?
"From the past" or "From my past"... which one would be more appropriate to use in the phrase below:
My weekend's soccer games from the past have now turned into nothing
but a reminder of how ...
0
votes
1answer
29 views
Using pejorative adjectives as a compliment
Is it correct or usual to use pejorative adjectives when you want to say good things about something, like in the phrase:
He can do some really nasty tricks with a coin and a scarf
Of course I'm ...
0
votes
1answer
30 views
What's the meaning of the expression “get handed” in this phrase?
What's the meaning of the expression "get handed" in the following passage?
I only told my wife a few days ago that the reason I bought the house we now live in was because of the building I saw in ...
0
votes
1answer
23 views
“all them”, “all of them” “them all”. May I use any of them in this phrase?
"Can you see that row of barriers in the cinder track? Well, you may find it difficult to believe, but I could jump 'all them' / 'all of them' / 'them all', even the highest ones, when I studied here."...
1
vote
1answer
44 views
Need help with the expression “to have your work cut out for you”
When someone says something like "He will have his work cut out for him when he gets there" is it somehow implicit that the person who is saying it doesn't believe that the person he is talking about ...
0
votes
1answer
39 views
“Begin” or “Beginning”… which one should be used?
The text bellow is part of the lyrics of a song from a Brazilian singer called Raul Seixas - The name of the song is "How could I know":
"Reformulation, rearrange the game you're in
Let us start ...
0
votes
1answer
23 views
What's the meaning of the expressions “take no issue with” and “starting beef over”?
However, when it comes to making a complaint in a restaurant, our national propensity for politeness seems to short circuit. A recent study found that 49% of Brits feel uncomfortable sending food back,...
0
votes
1answer
14 views
Is this use of the expression “very far from” grammatically correct?
I wouldn't say that it's not a good hotel, but it's very far from being as elegant and charming as it used to be.
0
votes
1answer
30 views
Which word would be a good replacement for “office” in this text?
This is a literal transcription of a text in Portuguese:
The judge understood that the sergeant could not be found guilty of things that he was obliged to do in the exercise of his office.
Is the ...
0
votes
2answers
50 views
To have some sort of thing for something… what does it mean?
What's the meaning of the phrase "I have some sort of a thing for owls and trees lately". I tried to translate it for Portuguese but all I get is literal translations and it doesn't make any sense. ...
0
votes
2answers
69 views
“Worked the bars and sideshows along the twilight zone”… What does this mean?
The phrase above is the first line of the Rolling Stones "Before they make me run" song lyrics. Here's the complete verse:
Worked the bars and sideshows along the twilight zone /
Only a crowd can ...
0
votes
0answers
28 views
Is this use of “more and more” before and gerund after the expression “drowning himself into” acceptable?
He has been more and more drowning himself into drinking.
Does this phrase make any sense?
8
votes
4answers
857 views
Is this use of the expression “long past” correct?
None of those boys could be considered a good soccer player actually, but it was amazing to see how one of them could kick the ball long past the corner.
Does this phrase make any sense? I'm trying ...
0
votes
1answer
46 views
“I sit and watch the children play”… is that correct?
Is the phrase "I sit and watch the children play" in the Rolling Stones song "As tears go by" correct?
I mean, the correct wouldn't be to say "I sit and watch the children to play"?
0
votes
1answer
30 views
Does it sound awkward if you use the same word two times in a text to express two different things?
In this case I'm using the word "look" to express two different things. Does it make the text sound unnatural or awkward?
Look how every man in the party are extremely kind with her. That's something ...
0
votes
2answers
52 views
American and/or British English usage of the word “really”
Can a native American or British English speaker tell me how the word "really" is to be understood in the following context:
Person A: I have something to show you. It's about how I decorated my ...
1
vote
2answers
33 views
“Thank you for the invitation / suggestion” is a correct in this context?
My friend asked me today: "What fruit would you like to eat?" and I pondered which phrase will be correct in such situation. "I don't think I want a fruit now, but thank you for the suggestion / ...
2
votes
2answers
71 views
In Haruki Murakami's “Barn Burning”, I don't understand a quote involving the phrase “a priori” which I also only barely understand
Here's the quote:
“I was married, but that didn’t matter, either. She seemed to consider
things like age and income and family to be of the same a priori order
as shoe size and vocal pitch and ...
0
votes
0answers
15 views
telephone introducing myself (not name)
Good morning, when we do a call, usually we introduce ourselves or answer using "this is Name" or "it's Name". But if I should say that I am the father/friend/colleuge/mother etc of the person who the ...
0
votes
1answer
47 views
How to say in different/ better way?
I have completed the certification program, but after 24h I do not have the badge yet?
Can you assist?
Is is correct word formation and can I express my thoughts in better more natural American ...
0
votes
1answer
71 views
Do I have private lessons or classes with a private teacher?
Let's suppose I have a private English teacher. Do I have English lessons or English classes with him or her? Is the word class used only to talk about a group environment? Or can I use it for ...
4
votes
3answers
3k views
Question: “Are you hungry?” Answer: “I feel like eating.”
I read a conversation book in which the answer for the question "Are you hungry?" was: "I feel like eating."
My question if this phrase of "feeling like" when talking about a normal situation in ...
2
votes
1answer
24 views
Recall Vs. remember
In this context recall and remember would be the same?
"I recall myself when I was 5 years old in my family house, it
was an amazing time for me".
"I remember myself when I was 5 years old ...
1
vote
2answers
1k views
Thank you for your interest / question / inquiry
My friend that I didn't saw for some time sent me a message and asked me "Hello friend, How are you?". What's the most appropriate / acceptable or natural way to answer him if I want to thank him ...
1
vote
1answer
114 views
What is the meaning of “co-opted” in this sentence? [closed]
I am reading Anthology for Music in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries, and on page 173 I get stuck in understanding this sentence:
In some cases national and political connotations were an ...
1
vote
1answer
157 views
“Back here again in two years” or “Back here again after two years”
Which one's correct?
"Back here again in ( ) years"
or
"Back here again after ( ) years"?
9
votes
1answer
1k views
What do you see if you enter 'clip' in the Windows 10 Search Box or Cortana?
I thought I made a mistake and inputed the word 'clip' in the search box and I saw that I hit the snipping tool which was really what I wanted.
But the question arises:
Are clip and snip in this ...
1
vote
1answer
27 views
How to write on an academical essay that a certain professor helped to do it?
What's the common way to write on a academical work / essay / research / thesis / PhD that a certain professor helped me to write it? Would the word "directed" is normal in such context?
Directed ...
2
votes
2answers
51 views
What’s the difference? [closed]
Is there a difference between “no place to go” and “no place left to go”?
e.g.
There is no place to hide.
There is no place left to hide.
