30
You can see the same structure used with all sorts of English phrases, e.g.
Bottle of beer vs beer bottle
Soda can vs can of soda
Packet of crisps vs crisp packet
Paint tin vs tin of paint
If you say "water bottle" you're using "water" as an adjective to describe the type of bottle it is — a bottle (usually) used to store water. So that could be a branded ...
17
"Plague" can have several different meanings depending on context:
In its most technical form, "plague" is used to refer specifically to diseases caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis (e.g. "bubonic plague", "pneumonic plague", etc). This has historically also been known by names such as "the black death", etc. In this sense, COVID-19 is definitely not ...
14
A bottle of water is any bottle that currently contains water.
A water bottle is a bottle designed/intended to hold water. If you get an empty Coke bottle and put water in it, it's a "bottle of water" but not a "water bottle".
Now people do reuse purchased bottles of water and those do get called water bottles, but if you say "water bottle" most people ...
10
A plague is a general term for an outbreak of a virulent disease. Or even more generally, any outbreak of something unpleasant.
For centuries smallpox was one of the world's most-dreaded plagues, killing as many as 30 percent of its victims.
A plague of flies descended on a Russian village after farmers used chickens droppings as fertiliser.
The ...
8
Yes, you can use plague as a “general” term.
It is also usable (as The plague) to refer to the particular disease as noted already.
Without the the, it means anything that (a) afflicts, (b) besets and (c) in general is a nuisance i.e. irritating, persistent, and / or widespread.
It's often found in compound terms, such as [place] was plagued with [pest] (...
4
Agreed with Curiousdanii, but with one clarification. A "water bottle" is always a multi-use item, not a single use plastic bottle. Even when empty or when something else is in it, it's still a "water bottle" and is referred to as such. Even is someone refilled a crinkly plastic single use bottle and is using it as a "water bottle", it's only obvious if you'...
4
A bottle of water is a bottle with water in it. A water bottle is a bottle that is used to hold water whether or not it contains water right now.
This applies to many containers that hold liquids: a teapot, a pot of tea; a paint bucket, a bucket of paint; a wine glass, a glass of wine.
3
(For context, Sheldon is discussing the famous double-slit experiment in physics.)
Using "each" instead of "either" would change the meaning of the sentence.
Let's work with a simpler version of the sentence:
If either slit is observed, the photon will not go through both slits.
In context, "either" implies a choice between two options. During the ...
2
I think in this case the politeness will depend more on the context than the particular grammar used.
Posing a question in the negative ("Wasn't it...?") does more strongly imply that you believe that yes, it was supposed to start 30 minutes ago (which could in turn possibly be interpreted as accusing the teacher of being late, rather than just asking a ...
2
Let's consider the situations below:
We do know that "one" is a pronoun, but what does it refer to in the first sentences?
according to the post you linked I guess it refers to a point, a trick, use or something along those lines. Let's rewrite the sentences without one now:
that's a very good point to know. (similarly - that's a good trick to know)
now ...
2
Good question - they have quite an opposite meaning to most English speakers.
Saying "I really don't" makes your statement more emphatic.
On the other hand, "I don't really" softens it somewhat, and makes it less emphatic!
For example:
I really don't like carrots.
I would understand this to mean that the speaker definitely does not like carrots.
I ...
2
To my understanding:
"I don't know" means you have strictly no understanding of what the speaker is talking about.
While "I don't really know" means you have some vague knowledge about the matter but not sufficient to answer the person who is speaking to you.
2
I agree with Jeff Morrow's comment. I am 61 years old and have been speaking, listening to, and reading English all my life, and I don't recall ever seeing this wording. I'm an American so perhaps it is local to some other English-speaking country. If I read a sentence like your example I might be able to figure out what it means from context, but otherwise ...
2
“Bottle of water” refers to the container and its contents.
“Water bottle” refers to the container.
2
While I might opine that "uncrowded" is indeed the opposite of "crowded," much like "unintelligent" is the opposite of "intelligent," you explain your position well and I do understand your question.
The thesaurus gives these antonyms: deserted, empty, imprecise, loose, uncongested, unfilled, and, yes, uncrowded.
Looking at the synonyms for deserted, I ...
2
"Pulled down" implies some force was applied, and usually means that there was some resistance. For example, you pull down a roller blind.
"Took down" is far more gentle.
"Grabbed" is an alternative which implies hurriedly taking, but does not imply any resistance.
2
Although without qualification, 'destiny' means 'fate' or 'final state', it is possible to use the word 'destiny' to discuss events that are now in the past, but which were in the future at some past time.
A sweeping historical narrative examines the personalities, events,
and political maneuvers that shaped Japan's destiny during the years
of World ...
2
It's a deliberately mixed metaphor, but the sentence you quote even explains what it means.
Something that "sucks" is bad or unpleasant. It is North American slang.
An onion is often used as a metaphor to describe something that is multi-layered.
Your quote "an onion of suck" is explained within the same sentence when it says "layer after layer of ...
1
This is very much a matter of style and intention. If I were describing Times Square in its current state, I would say it is desolate.
1
Most of those options are actually reasonably natural, but you might choose one or another if you wanted to emphasize certain aspects more.
The only one that sounds a little strange is #4 ("the body of Mike"). It just sounds a bit unnecessarily wordy (most people would just say "Mike's body" instead)
As for which to use when, it's mostly a stylistic thing:...
1
The Cambridge Dictionary offers these definition for pop out and spill:
pop out: to move quickly and suddenly, especially from a closed space
spill: to (cause to) flow, move, fall, or spread over the edge or outside the limits of something
Note the highlighted words in these definitions. We generally use pop out when something happens quickly, and ...
1
Pop suggests an active movement, jumping or being thrown out. Spill is better for clothes falling out of a suitcase - or you could use fell or tumbled.
I think most native speakers would say something like The suitcase came open and...
1
More often than not means more than 50% of the time (it is the case more often than it isn't the case). Usually could be almost always. So, no, they don't mean exactly the same.
1
No, the dictionary is not entirely wrong, but like any short description if arguably doesn't give the full story.
Antedate is a rather technical, and infrequently used word. It is used in the context of historical events or discoveries. We cannot say (for example) exactly when the wheel was invented, but there is no doubt a generally accepted date. As and ...
1
The adverb "not" can modify either the verb phrase "know" or the adverb "really"
The syntax tells us what the meaning is. "I don't really know" means "not really", And so it is understood to mean "I partly understand".
Whereas "I really don't know" we have "not know", which is strengthened by the adverb really. And so it is understood to mean "I have no ...
1
First of all, the subject would usually be someone, human being. "it" would probably be inappropriate.
The subject isn't the person saying the phrase, the subject is the phrase itself.
There's no reason that the subject has to be a person. In fact, anything can be the subject.
"That car comes across as a practical daily driver."
Is the word "as" ...
1
To answer your first question, it may help you to consider the concept of logic in mathematics. A hypothesis is followed by a conclusion (i.e., if, then). Applying this to your example shows that if a thing happens, then this is the result.
When she looks at me, I get embarrassed
This sentence is a conditional because the if/then construction depends ...
1
All elephant's tusks are of ivory, so referring to them, I would just say "elephant tusks".
If a smuggler had a bag of elephant tusks, one could say that he was smuggling ivory.
I wouldn't say "an elephant has two ivories".
I think all elephants have two tusks, unless they have lost one or both, so I wouldn't say "This elephant has two ivory tusks"....
1
At first I thought to answer yes, however "When we (verb)" is actually not a hypothesis or theory (which are deliberate ideas or notions about something).
"When we" is an assumptive declaration. Meaning the speaker assumes everyone does (verb).. A better way to possibly phrase it would be "When people (verb)..." "When it is (past tense verb)...", which is ...
1
Both versions sound natural and I wouldn't flinch hearing either version from a native English speaker - which would explain why that contributor was confused at the question.
The first version certainly sounds more natural and smoother to me but I'm trying to pinpoint exactly why; I'm unsure if it sounds better for a grammatical reason or if it's simply a ...
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