30
votes
What’s the difference between errands and shopping?
"Errand" is a more overarching term that describes a (mostly simple) task that needs to be done. That task may be to buy something, but it doesn't have to. It could also be, for example, to ...
- 1,865
13
votes
What’s the difference between errands and shopping?
Errands are any sort of task that you might be sent out of home (or your workplace) to do. It could be a shopping task, but it could be almost anything else too.
In my dialect (Dublin), the word used ...
- 990
7
votes
Accepted
native bat species residing in the trees
A native species is one that naturally lives in that region (as opposed to a species imported from overseas). It is important that such species should not be deprived of their habitat (the ...
- 41k
4
votes
What does the clause "giving a nod to the original looks" mean here?
In this context, "giving a nod to the original looks" means that the person who redrew the game characters acknowledged and respected the original appearance of the characters by ...
- 164
4
votes
Accepted
Any difference in meaning: "So, just how deep is the Black Sea." / "So, how deep is the Black Sea."
This is sense 16 of Collins. "Use just to indicate you are asking for exact information".
You could paraphrase as "So, exactly how deep is the Black Sea". As it is a rhetorical ...
- 176k
3
votes
What’s the difference between errands and shopping?
A possible difference could be that between the general and the particular. An errand is any short trip to do a job or task for someone. Shopping for someone else is one kind of errand. Other types of ...
- 66.9k
3
votes
If "some paper" means "a sheet of paper", then what would be the plural form of "some paper"?
Some paper means any number of sheets of paper, not specifically one sheet.
So the phrase "get some white paper" is equally good whether you need one sheet, two sheets, five sheets, or fifty....
- 1,461
2
votes
Can anyone provide a definition for "find" in this context?
Find
6. VERB If a time or event finds you in a particular situation, you are in that situation at the time mentioned or when the event occurs.
Daybreak found us on a cold, clammy ship.
His lunch did ...
2
votes
Accepted
Why is it "Have you got the 25?" but not "Have you got a 25?"
"Have you got the 25" is referring to the 25 pence that is mentioned as part of the price. Because it has already been mentioned, "the 25" can be used. On the other hand "a 25&...
- 5,180
2
votes
What’s the difference between errands and shopping?
In America, we have the expression "to run errands" which I learned was a totally bizarre concept to the Europeans whom I interacted with when I lived there.
The reason was quite apparent: ...
- 149
1
vote
Is "couldn't help doing something" used when you did have some control over doing it?
I disagree somewhat with earlier posts. Yes, "could not" has two rather distinct meanings. It can refer to physical inability, and it can refer to self-control.
"I could not get here ...
- 59.5k
1
vote
Is "couldn't help doing something" used when you did have some control over doing it?
There are at least two related meanings to "can't/couldn't help".
Talking about stuff you do because you lack mental or physical means to stop yourself from doing it:
"I can't help ...
- 990
1
vote
Is "couldn't help doing something" used when you did have some control over doing it?
The test-setter is wrong. We don't use couldn't help for things that you have to do for a good reason.
It is used, as you say, for things you can't stop yourself from doing (laughing at something ...
- 41k
1
vote
What does the phrase 'driving power' mean?
"Driving power" refers to the force to push something forward.
This can be a literal, physical manifestation such as the horsepower of a car engine, or the power behind an electric tool, or ...
1
vote
Is the phrase "populate with" used correctly in this context?
It is grammatical. As a transitive verb, "to populate" means to fill up, fill in or supply with people or things. "I populated my aquarium with tropical fish."
This is a ...
- 161
1
vote
Accepted
What does "came up from downtown" mean?
'Downtown' means the central part of a city. It would seem that the lab that processed the report is located there. It is very common for organisations that have sites across multiple locations to ...
- 86.2k
1
vote
What does "came up from downtown" mean?
Your definition says "northerly", but I think that "up" simply contrasts with "down" in "downtown". In New York, for example, someone could say that sentence ...
- 11.1k
1
vote
Does 'shorter frequency' mean it happens less often?
In this context, 'frequency' means how often something happens. Often this would be measured by the intervals in between instances, but in the previous sentence, it states that the "time ...
- 86.2k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible