New answers tagged difference
1
No
The difference is regional. I personally would only tend to say "all the better" as that is what was used most commonly around me when I was younger. However both phrases mean the same thing and can be used interchangeably.
By the way do I have to include it is as in it is all the better?
Again no
It is perfectly acceptable to say:
If you can ...
0
Wikipedia article has a section dedicated to to -er/re endings. Usually the -re spellings are used in the UK and Commonwealth countries (like India and Canada). The -er spellings became popular in the US much after American independence. Consequently, many place names, like Newton Centre in Massachusetts, are spelt with “-re” even in the US.
There are ...
0
It is the difference between American and the British English in spelling.
Centre and fibre are British spelling.
Fiber and center are American spelling.
There are many words which differ in spelling.
Both are correct. You may use whichever you like. They mean the same.
1
The first 3 versions mean pretty much the same, but would probably be better expressed as
I will do the same amount [of it] as you.
In most cases the "of it" is optional. "do" could be replaced with a more specific verb to clarify. For example
I will eat the same amount of it as you.
I will pay the same amount as you.
I will run the same ...
1
I believe you answered your question correctly. Shall is asking permission, usually used more formally. A better way of translating it is: "Do you want me to open the door?"
"Will I open the door?" Sounds here like a rhetorical question. But it all depends mostly on the context of usage.
0
In context they could all mean the same thing, or they could be different.
"Pre-requisites" are likely to be applied to individual courses at a college. The pre-requisites might be other college courses, grades in tests, or general qualities that are needed.
The prerequisites for the Calculus 2 course are either a passing grade in Calculus 1, or a high ...
3
There is no relevant phrasal verb put up (there are some, but not applicable in this context).
So the up is indeed an adverb, with its full basic meaning, and would emphasis that the top shelf is high up. It can certainly be omitted.
3
Today is October the 18th. If you say
I will work next month
that means that you will work at some point in November.
If you say
I will work in the next month
that means that you will work at some point in the period from October the 18th to November the 18th.
And to say
I will work for the next month
means that you will work throughout the whole ...
4
I will work in the next month.
means that the day or days when you will work will occur some time within the next month. Perhaps you will work on November 4, or from November 8 to November 12, or just on November 3, 8, 14, and 29. Or perhaps you will start your next job on November 10 and continue working for the rest of November and beyond.
I will work ...
0
Infuriated and furious share a root meaning - "furious" is an adjective, and the state of being angry, whereas "infuriate" is a verb, meaning to cause someone to be angry. "Infuriated", as well as being the past-tense, is also an adjective form describing someone's state after someone or something has made them angry.
Likewise "enraged" can be an adjective, ...
1
Furious, Infuriated, Enraged
ALL of them mean VERY VERY angry and are mostly interchangeable.
According to Merriam-Webster:
Definition of furious
- exhibiting or goaded by anger
- indicative of or proceeding from anger
- giving a stormy or turbulent appearance
You can see that "furious"mostly means "very angry". However, it also has some extra ...
1
There is a subtle difference, although in the examples you cite, there is really no difference in meaning:
The old man gave all his money to the people in need.
The old man gave away all his money to the people in need.
Usually "give away" means that you give someone something that is yours - for example, you would not usually say this about a gift ...
2
In practical terms, there is no difference.
However, it's possible to construe a subtle difference.
1. He sat at the table and consumed a pie.
This doesn't necessarily mean that he consumed a pie at the exact time that he sat at the table. In theory, the sentence could also describe him sitting at the table, getting up, and then consuming a pie (while ...
2
They are both perfectly grammatical sentences, but mean different things.
You could try to phone his office.
This implies "phoning" might fail. It's like saying "Try to jump over the stream." You might fall in the water, or you might succeed.
The problem here is that "phoning" itself will almost certainly succeed. You will pick up the phone, and dial ...
1
The two sentences are both grammatically correct, and they mean essentially the same thing. The only real difference is a slight difference in emphasis.
He gets a bigger box than the one I lost.
This is the most common way that this would be phrased, so it's the most neutral in terms of emphasis: He got a box, and it was bigger than the one you lost.
...
0
Ok, first of all, I should clarify that there are two forms of the verb here that are often confused:
"have gotten" -- This is the present perfect form of "get". It implies something has happened (but may be continuing to happen) at some (unspecified) point in the past.
"have got" -- This is an idiomatic (not grammatically correct but frequently used to ...
1
Those two phrases have, I believe, the same meaning, and are technically interchangeable, however:
He was by no means a cruel man.
Is definitely much more common and natural. The second sentence:
He was by no manner of means a cruel man.
sounds distinctly outdated and embellished, the sort of thing I would expect to find in a Jane Austen novel from ...
2
First, the direct answer to your question:
... and the universe — or fate, you decide what to call it ... (correct)
is the correct way to say this.
... and the universe — or fate, you decide how to call it ... (incorrect)
is not grammatically correct.
In English, the phrase "how to <do something>" is often explained as meaning something like "...
2
Any dictionary will give a definition of mover:
[Merriam-Webster]
: one that moves or sets something in motion
As a kind of idiom, the individual words in mover and shaker are not really meant to be understood individually.
However, if you really want to do so, you could consider them in this way:
Mover: Someone who moves things, changing ...
0
A laugh refers to a single vocalisation that people make when they are amused. It may be a brief laugh or slightly extended. If a person continued to laugh beyond a second or two, you might say that s/he was laughing.
Laughter generally - although not necessarily - refers to vocalised group amusement - when two or more people laugh. We talk about the sound ...
1
You can't hear pleasant and [also hear] something else, because pleasant is an adjective (it must be immediately followed by a noun, not by and).
You could hear pleasant laughter or maybe hear pleasant laughing (both highlighted elements being "abstract / mass nouns").
OR you could hear a pleasant laugh (a single instance of the act of laughing).
The ...
4
"Byheart" as single word is restricted to Indian dialects of English, and so should be considered non-standard (ie incorrect) when speaking British or American English.
The phrase "by heart" is quite common, but cannot be used as a verb.
You should learn the play by heart.
If someone told me to "You should byheart the play" I would probably be able to ...
0
"Well under way" is generally used after something is started and a good amount of the started thing has been done.
while
"Fully under way" is generally used to indicate that the staring of something is complete, but it makes no statement about how much of the thing has been done.
To provide an example, a group doesn't start walking all at once, a few ...
0
I tend to say “I’m a hundred . . .” but that may be because of my Southern U.S. tendency to slur over certain word landscapes, so to speak.
0
Both versions mean the same thing:
I learn a lot while talking to someone
I learn a lot as a result of talking to someone.
You are free to use either without risk of it sounding strange and your meaning will be perfectly understood.
1
They both basically mean the same thing.
She refuses to acknowledge the fact that her son was smoking.
.
She closed her eyes to the fact that her son was smoking
She shut her eyes to the fact that her son was smoking.
The first one uses visual imagery to indicate that when she sees her son smoking, she shuts her eyes, preventing her from seeing it, ...
1
The phrase "to close/shut one's eyes" is not often used figuratively or metaphorically. It most often means to literally close one's eyes. The expression "to turn a blind eye to (something)" is inherently figurative. So in this situation you should use the 2nd version:
She turned a blind eye to the fact that her son was smoking.
0
Will used when we planning for something in the future, or action take a place in the future.
Would used for the wishes in the future in the original action.
0
Will is the simple future verb form. It indicates items that (with the best understanding) are going to happen.
Would is a conditional verb form. It states that something happens based on something else. Sometimes the "something else" is mentioned, sometimes it isn't.
I will attend the party.
Means I'm planning to Go to the party.
I would attend ...
1
Stacks imply putting one item on top of another, such that you can't get the bottom item without removing the top item first.
Some foods are served stacked. It is very natural to say
I ate a stack of pancakes.
But not all food is stacked. For example, one would be very confused to hear
I ate a stack of soup.
I believe that the person who says "...
4
In both of your cases, you could call the medicine an anesthetic (or if you are using the British spelling, anaesthetic). We distinguish between the two kinds of anesthetics with an additional adjective. A general anesthetic makes a person unconscious, while a local anesthetic makes one part of their body numb.
The phrase "anesthetic medicines", while not ...
1
I'd say normally:
1 A tin of biscuits, Implies that there is a container, which contains biscuits.
2 A biscuit tin, implies that there is a container, that is associated with biscuits.
For clarity:
2 A shoe box, is a box that contains shoes.
2 A metal box, is a box made of metal.
1 A box of metal, is a box that contains metal.
(Although, in irregular ...
1
Good question. You may find that some native speakers use these interchangeably.
Doing good to someone means that they are the direct recipient of the benefit of your action. For example, if someone is hungry and you give them something to eat.
Doing good for someone means that they are an indirect recipient of the benefit of your action. For example, ...
1
Do good to others.
That means the others are directly receiving the good.
Do good for others.
The others may not be directly receiving the good.
Do good by others.
The others consider what you are doing to be good. Some people not included in "the others" may not consider what you're doing to be good.
0
Originally cans we made of tin (the metal). So, like photocopying is called 'xerox' in the USA, it became usual to call a can 'a tin'. Later, cans were made from other (iron?) metals and the inner of the can was lined with tin. This is the reason why in the 1970s/1980s (when I was much younger) it was prohibited to sell damaged (bent) cans of fruit, mackerel,...
1
A bus stop is the enclosure, sign,bench on anything that signifies the place the (omni)bus stops to pickup/drop off passengers.
Similarly a/the bus depot means where the 'bus goes to sleep/refresh' :)
'This is where the bus stops' can mean a literal stop or a figure of speech.
Trust this helps.
1
While 'TechnoCats' answer is correct.
Literally 'the/a biscuit tin' may mean just the tin.But it would depend on the context.
For example: A mother would say 'Son bring me the biscuit tin' while serving tea, or, the mother can say 'Son bring me the {empty} biscuit tin {to store my sewing} or {to store the biscuits from the NEW packet/box'.
In a factory, '...
2
Although the sense of the two sentences is the same, there are subtle differences.
The first tells you two things: 1. that Alex is not present, 2. that she is visiting her mother.
The second also tells you two things: 1. that Alex is not present. 2. that she has left the premises with the intention of visiting her mother.
Whether she is still on the way ...
1
I (UK) call this a "washing up bowl"
Amazon shopping list
0
Where I come from, this is a plastic basin or bowl - it is round, has no lid, and can't be described as a box.
A plastic tub is perhaps a slightly more generic term, applying to pretty much any kind of plastic box, but particularly one with a lid.
3
As an addition to what @TechnoCat said:
I ate the tin of biscuits.
vs
I ate the biscuit tin.
In both cases the person has a bad diet, but in the first case they're eating the biscuits (yum!) and in the second case they're eating the metal tin (ouch!).
-1
A bus-stop is a compound noun like shoe-box, and a crowd is a collective noun, like a flock of birds.
A stop is a rarely used noun, also used for door stop and pit stop. It follows the same logic as the noun station, wine bottle, rain coat. there are exceptions like a chest of drawers, a crowd of people, usually related to the speed and ease of ...
4
Several answers address the difference in emphasis (the emphasis on biscuits vs the emphasis on the container), I think there's an extra layer in there in that a biscuit tin would often be assumed to be more specialized or dedicated than the tin of "a tin containing biscuits"... some biscuit tins are decorated, some are collectible, some, okay most, are ...
30
Compare it to A packet of crisps and a crisp packet. A box of shoes and a shoe box. A box of cigars and a cigar box. A barrel of oil and an oil barrel. A chest of treasure and a treasure chest, a bottle of wine and a wine bottle.
The first form states a substance, some items, associated with the container. The second form emphasizes the type of container, ...
14
I agree generally with the previous responses, but have one minor detail to add.
Semantically, the difference between "a tin of biscuits" and a "biscuit tin" can be significant. The first refers to an object, a tin, which contains biscuits, whether or not it was originally meant for that purpose. The second refers to a tin which was made to contain ...
3
Per my now-deleted comment,...
Singapore just happens to be located somewhere which is of strategic importance (in principle, it's the location that IS "strategic", rather than it having been a "strategic choice" to establish it there, though obviously the two "meanings / causes" overlap to some extent).
Sure - in some contexts, to be situated / placed / ...
10
A cup of coffee is a serving style of coffee (you could put coffee in a jug or a glass, but often itis in a cup). A cup of coffee is made of coffee. On the other hand a coffee cup is a type of cup, designed for coffee.
A "bus stop" is not made of buses. It is a type of "stop" intended for use by buses. So you couldn't stay "A stop of buses". That would ...
2
I agree with JVL's answer up to a point, but he has not quite answered the question. The two sentences under discussion are
1) If I had studied English grammar very hard, I would have been a good writer.
and
2) If I had studied English grammar very hard, I would be a good writer.
I have no argument with JVL's analysis of 1) with or without "good", ...
4
Here is a similar example of a noun-noun construction:
My mother in law has a biscuit barrel.
These are still common; hers is like this (they don't all look like little kegs):
source: Google Images (biscuit barrel)
Top 50 recent answers are included
