26
votes
In the phrase "there's a good film on late", does "on" mean "on TV"?
In this sentence "on" is not short for "on TV". Here it means "scheduled". It is the same use of "on" as in "What have you got on tonight? - I have a ...
- 6,135
24
votes
Why does this sentence have a "back": "Loving India back since 1924."
The intention is your (2), "India loves us and we have been loving them back since 1924".
1924 is the first year that British Airways started flying to India, thus "loving them back&...
- 3,556
21
votes
Accepted
Is Friday included in "until Friday"?
This is a really good question. Technically, you can't know for sure, because both situations (finished at the start of Friday, and finished at the end of Friday) could be described that way, and have ...
- 945
17
votes
Accepted
The men on board a hospital ship
The phrase "on board" is a preposition meaning "on" (in the context of a vehicle or vessel), so there's no need to use another preposition (and in fact it's not grammatical). From ...
- 15.3k
16
votes
When do we say "on the rack" and "in the rack"?
Which preposition ('on' or 'in') you use depends on the precise relationship between the object(s) and the rack. There isn't always a clear cutoff between the two cases though - sometimes either ...
- 719
14
votes
Can "he used to smoke with me" mean either we smoked together or he smoked but I didn't?
Yes, that sentence can have both meanings. The natural meaning is 1., but with the right context, meaning 2 would be easily understood:
A: Really. He never smoked when he was around me.
B: That's ...
- 48.9k
13
votes
Accepted
Meaning of a joke in the Big Bang Theory: "when your locus coeruleus sits around the house, it sits around the house"
The first time, he's using "sit around" to mean
to sit somewhere and do nothing or do nothing in particular:
He just sits around the house watching TV.
(Cambridge)
The second time, he's ...
- 15.3k
13
votes
Can "he used to smoke with me" mean either we smoked together or he smoked but I didn't?
The first meaning would be understood. A strict grammatical analysis doesn't prove that (2) is impossible, but it would not be normal for two people to meet habitually for the purpose of smoking (or ...
- 204k
12
votes
Accepted
"JUST" or "EVEN"? "These days it is expensive to take care of just one child."
In principle, just is a valid alternative to even in OP's context. But it's a very bad choice, because of the potential for misunderstanding. Note this default meaning...
1: X is [bad, impossible, ...
- 68.8k
12
votes
Accepted
Is there a difference between "get to the dining room." AND "get over to the dining room"?
Indeed, why don't they say "go to the dining room"? There's no requirement that "over" must be used in this situation.
You are probably right, "Get over to the dining room&...
- 204k
10
votes
"Of"—meaning in "The fox ate of it"
The sentence is correct. M-W gives the following definition of the preposition "of":
used as a function word to indicate a whole or quantity from which a part is removed or expended
| gave ...
- 15.3k
10
votes
Is there a difference between "get to the dining room." AND "get over to the dining room"?
Generally speaking, over in that sort of command (get over to the dining room) indicates that the speaker feels that the person who needs to move to the dining room must cross some amount of space to ...
- 3,216
9
votes
"Of" to explain possession
The structure [ "a" + person + "of" + X ] in this context means that X is part of the identity of the person. So it means more than the person merely possesses X or has X right now....
- 48.9k
9
votes
"JUST" or "EVEN"? "These days it is expensive to take care of just one child."
"Just", used adverbially, means only or simply, for example "just one child". You're most often to see it used with one of something as in your example of "just one child"...
- 96.3k
9
votes
Accepted
"speak English" vs "speak in English"
The sentence is correct with or without "in".
It's subtle, but there is a slight difference in meaning between the two.
With "the chance to speak English", "speak" is a ...
- 48.9k
9
votes
Aren't these questions correct?
Both questions are understandable and a native speaker would likely know exactly what was meant, but I’m not sure either are grammatically correct because the actual getting/traveling (the verb) has ...
9
votes
Meaning of 'for' in 'read poems for grammatical correctness'
The first sentence is using "for grammatical correctness" loosely. It should be understood to mean something like "for the purpose of investigating the notion of grammatical ...
- 204k
9
votes
Meaning of 'for' in 'read poems for grammatical correctness'
for introduces an end-purpose, goal, or aim: "I go shopping for food." "I hike in the woods for some peace and quiet".
But it's not at all clear what the first phrase introduced ...
- 121k
8
votes
Is there a difference between "get to the dining room." AND "get over to the dining room"?
The video is about students at Warminster School, which is a 300 year old private boarding school in England, and many older educational establishments in the UK are located in very old/historic ...
- 3,672
7
votes
"fly on one engine" VS "fly with one engine."
"Fly with" is definitely not incorrect.
To my ear "fly with one engine" is slightly more formal than "fly on one engine", and if I were writing a scholarly essay, I'd opt ...
- 9,071
6
votes
6
votes
Accepted
'clear A of B' and 'clear B from A'
They are clearing a collapsed section that belongs to a road, so it is a collapsed section of the road. The collapsed section is a section of the road that is going from left to right in the photo.
...
- 40.8k
6
votes
Is "I brought the book for her" confusing?
Yes, "for" can take multiple meaning which may not always be explicit from the context. In this sentence, it could feasibly mean "for the purpose of", or "in place of".
...
- 4,956
6
votes
Accepted
Can both "from"s be retained
Not quite. "From X to Y" describes a range of things, but doesn't function as a noun phrase itself. You need a noun for it to modify; the idiom is everything from X to Y:
This is a place ...
- 3,556
5
votes
Is it "house for rent" OR "house to rent" OR are both the same?
They're interchangeable, but one version might be preferable over another in an area, and each could be interpreted slightly differently:
"I'm looking for a house to rent," implies that I ...
- 5,259
5
votes
look down at vs. look down on
As with so many questions like these, the answer is "it depends." If you are standing on a hill, you can look down on or look down at a village in the valley. This ngram viewer shows that ...
- 15k
5
votes
look down at vs. look down on
To 'look down at' can mean, literally, to observe or see from a higher place, e.g. from the top floor of my house, I can look down at the tops of cars in the street below. It doesn't really have a ...
- 70.9k
5
votes
Is Friday included in "until Friday"?
If you say "I have to work until 2:00:00 PM tomorrow.", you have identified an instant in time, and the statement is precise.
"Friday" describes a long span of time, so "I ...
- 41.7k
5
votes
Is Friday included in "until Friday"?
I disagree with the two answers above.
"I have to work until Friday" unequivocally includes at least some part of Friday.
You might be free at (say) midday on Friday, but you're not free all ...
- 1,196
5
votes
When do we say "on the rack" and "in the rack"?
Yes, you got it right.
Cakes lie on a flat rack, and wine bottles lie in deeper grooved racks so the bottles don't roll around.
It's the same with your dishes. The plates are in each slot between the ...
- 48.9k
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