9
votes
Accepted
Is "the establishment" a formal word for "store"?
An 'establishment' can be any type of business where people can enter a building or place, not just a store.
Establishment
COUNTABLE NOUN
An establishment is a shop, business, or organization ...
- 54.2k
4
votes
Accepted
Their luxurious lifestyle/lifestyles
It should be plural because each celebrity has their own lifestyle. Replace "lifestyle" with "car" and it should be clearer:
*I'm interested in celebrities' luxurious car.
That ...
- 13.6k
3
votes
What is the difference between "a park" and "the park"
There is no rule that you use "a" on the first mention and "the" on the second mention.
You use "the" when you have established a definite identity for the noun. You use &...
- 149k
3
votes
Accepted
Keep on eye vs Keep an eye on
"Keep on eye on" is not correct. It's a typo, either for "keep an eye on" or possibly "keep one eye on".
- 1,737
3
votes
"What client do you start with?" Vs. "Do you start with which client?"
It should probably be Daddy, not Dadi.
Someone who enters a store to buy something is a customer, not a client. Clients typically buy professional services or something similar. For example, a ...
- 1,573
3
votes
Accepted
According to or depending on?
In OP's context, according to and depending [up]on mean exactly the same. But the second version has become much more common in recent decades, so for a learner, the best advice is to accept varies ...
- 58.5k
3
votes
"What client do you start with?" Vs. "Do you start with which client?"
I agree with the other answers, that the first is grammatical, but anomalous for several reasons.
But I want to explain why the second is not grammatical.
In questions without a question word, we ...
- 64.1k
3
votes
Their luxurious lifestyle/lifestyles
Both can be correct. It depends on whether you are thinking of the general lifestyle celebrities have or the particularities of each celebrity's lifestyle.
In fact, a Google search brings in the ...
- 1,259
3
votes
Accepted
Why is it "learner's dictionary" and not "learners' dictionary"?
1. Why no "a"
In general, the indefinite article ("a") is pretty rare in the names of books. The definite article ("the") is much more common, but by far the most common ...
- 1,663
3
votes
The use of the present simple and the future simple after "if-clauses" when making threats
To me, the second (I will file) is natural, except that nearly any English speaker will say I'll file, unless they are stressing "will" (I will file).
The first (I file) seems odd to me, and ...
- 64.1k
3
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between "He made it through the crowd to me" and "He made his way through the crowd to me" in this context?
That is correct. To make it to a place is to succeed in reaching that place, with the implication that the journey may have been difficult.
- 30.7k
2
votes
"What client do you start with?" Vs. "Do you start with which client?"
Both are "wrong".
Firstly small children don't care which person "daddy" serves first. Children don't use words like "client". They don't understand the notion of a ...
- 149k
2
votes
What is the difference in the meaning between 'it will end soon" and "it will be ending soon"?
You are correct. There is no difference in meaning, but the second is more likely to be used of a situation with a predictable end time.
- 30.7k
2
votes
This is mashed potatoes or These are mashed potatoes
There are uncountable nouns, which generally are not seen as discrete substances, but a continuum, e.g., water, air, and mashed potatoes. These are generally treated as if singular, so, "this is ...
- 4,073
2
votes
What is the difference between hitherto and heretofore?
If the 'vs' in the title is a way of asking 'What is the difference between these words?' the dictionary answer would be 'none'. They are synonyms. Both mean 'until now or until a particular time', ...
- 54.2k
2
votes
"See that" vs "See something V-ed"
Your sentence 2 is ambiguous. It could be that he was killed last night, and she saw that. Or it could be that he had been killed earlier, and it was last night that she saw that (e.g. she saw his ...
- 440
2
votes
About Algerian Constitution
"People", in the sense that you use it, is a plural noun, and takes a plural verb. Thus 2. cannot be correct.
- 1,404
2
votes
"allocated" or "relocated" in this context?
Neither of the two options you give sound particularly natural to my ear:
European technology allocated in Africa
This suggests that you are distributing (or giving away) technology in Africa, which ...
- 1,663
2
votes
Two-year-olds and Two-year-old babies
In English it is common to take verbs and use them as nouns, to take nouns and use them as verbs, to use adjectives as either nouns or verbs, and vice versa.
In particular, phrases such as "two-...
- 32.4k
2
votes
What are the differences between "dubious" and "incredulous", if any?
If you are dubious about something, you are inclined to doubt it (suspect that it isn't true/reliable).
If you are incredulous about something, you are completely unable to believe it.
Dubious has a ...
- 30.7k
2
votes
Why is it "learner's dictionary" and not "learners' dictionary"?
Saying "a learner's dictionary" on a cover page is just weird, although grammatical, it is not your typical dictionary book cover page. It omits "a" to generalise the use of the ...
- 5,271
2
votes
Are there any distinctions between "du jour" and "currency"?
[As you point out, these two words are different parts of speech, and so cannot be used interchangeably]
Yes, there is a similarity between the specific senses you point out. However, bbefore anything ...
- 1,663
2
votes
Wasn't you Vs Weren't you?
All Standard Englishes, as far as I know, require were with you, always.
Many non-standard dialects allow you was, so you may encounter it in books and films.
This applies to negation and questions as ...
- 64.1k
2
votes
Wasn't you Vs Weren't you?
In this sentence, "Weren't you singing ...?", "you" is the subject and "were" is the verb. The word "you" requires "were", not "was". The ...
- 57.2k
2
votes
Is there a difference between "supplicant" and "sycophant"?
They both start with an 's' and end '-ant'. They are both mainly used about a relationship between a weaker or lower-status person and someone stronger or higher status. Apart from that, they have ...
- 54.2k
1
vote
Accepted
until vs before
Both are correct but they say slightly different things.
He won't be home before noon.
says that you don't know when he will be home but you know it won't be in the morning.
He won't be home until ...
- 6,461
1
vote
topical vs thematic
As you have correctly spotted, these two words have the same meaning in this sense. They are pretty much perfect literal substitutes for one another if you are talking about 'classification according ...
- 1,663
1
vote
I have eaten / had eaten / ate seaweed when I was in Thailand three years ago
Actually,
I have eaten seaweed when I was in Thailand three years ago
is not at all idiomatic.
Your 1b
I ate seaweed when I was in Thailand three years ago
is idiomatic and probably how a native ...
- 27.2k
1
vote
Different ways of writing a sentence for clarity
In this case, both sentences have the same meaning, just with rearranging a few words. I view this change as unnecessary and does not make anything clearer. Both sentences are absolutely fine.
- 5,271
1
vote
Difference between so and very
Both are good grammar, but only "so late" fits the context.
"So late", in this context, means "as late as that", so it's correct here because the sentence means, "I'...
- 13.6k
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