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1500 questions
124
votes
14 answers
When should I use "a" versus "an" in front of a word beginning with the letter h?
A basic grammar rule is to use an instead of a before a vowel sound. Given that historic is not pronounced with a silent h, I use “a historic”. Is this correct? What about heroic? Should be “It was a heroic act” or “It was an heroic act”?
I remember…
crowleywilson
- 1,391
124
votes
24 answers
"Lunch" vs. "dinner" vs. "supper" — times and meanings?
I've seen cases where a noon-time meal is referred to as dinner, and the evening meal is called supper. There's also lunch around noon followed by dinner in the evening. Is there a particular difference between dinner and supper, or a circumstance…
Jeff Ferland
- 1,371
124
votes
7 answers
What’s a “handegg”?
What’s a handegg?
NOTE: This question is primarily related to the etymology of a compound noun which is not in The Dictionary.
There is a hat this year called “Handegg”, given out for a posting that reaches a score of +7. But here’s the problem:…
tchrist
- 134,759
123
votes
11 answers
Can “thanks in advance” be considered rude?
Some argue that because “thanks in advance” is written before any help has been offered, it adds an expectation of help and thus can be considered presumptuous.
Is this reasonable? Would it be appropriate to use this phrase in business…
Orion
- 2,041
122
votes
11 answers
What is the difference between “tits” and “boobs”?
What is the difference between “tits” and “boobs”?
P.S. I'm not sure if this question is appropriate but as English is not my native language I really would love to know the difference.
Sergey
- 1,465
120
votes
11 answers
How many tenses are there in English?
Do we have 16 tenses in English?
With
future
present
past
future in the past
in these forms
simple
continuous
perfect
perfect continuous
Can we manipulate these together to create English tenses? For example, "present perfect" or "future perfect…
Mohammad Rafiee
- 1,321
120
votes
19 answers
How do native English speakers respond to "Thank you"?
In my school and university I was taught to say "Not at all" or "Don't mention it" in response to "Thank you!". Now I rarely hear these phrases used, but rather something like "You're welcome", "It's OK", "My pleasure", or "No problem".
My real life…
rem
- 10,331
118
votes
8 answers
"Whether or not" vs. "whether"
This will depend on whether he's suitable for the job.
This will depend on whether he's suitable for the job or not.
This will depend on whether or not he's suitable for the job.
It is still not defined whether we're following that…
b.roth
- 21,782
116
votes
14 answers
"Jane makes over six figures" - how much money does she make?
Suppose you are told that "Jane makes over six figures". Assuming this to be true, what is the minimum amount of money that Jane can be making?
I have always understood this to mean "Jane makes at least seven figures", i.e. "Jane makes at least…
senshin
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114
votes
6 answers
"Here's looking at you, kid" meaning?
I'm sure many will know Rick's famous line from the film Casablanca:
Here's looking at you, kid.
While I can guess at it, I was never fully confident about the meaning of this phrase. I am not a native speaker. It's clear that it's a toast. …
Ilsa
- 1,109
113
votes
10 answers
"A/An" preceding a parenthetical statement
When a/an precedes a parenthetical aside (sometimes seen in informal/conversational writing), should the vowel rule depend on the first word in parentheses, or the next word in the "regular" flow of the sentence?
I need a (memorable) idiom…
keithjgrant
- 3,404
113
votes
11 answers
Is there a suffix like "phile" or "phobe" for don't care?
Thinking that every thing that you can like and dislike, you can also not care about and there may be a suffix for it.
Mr. TA
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113
votes
3 answers
How did 7 come to be an abbreviation for 'and' in Old English?
According to A History of the English Language: Revised Edition by Elly van Gelderen, p.53, in Old English the numeral 7 was used as an abbreviation for the word and:
Abbreviations are frequently used, e.g. 7 stands for and …
The same book…
user28567
113
votes
4 answers
What does "something 101" mean?
Many times I saw the phrase something 101, such as Microsoft Excel 101. What exactly does it mean?
Yousui
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112
votes
8 answers
Which is correct: "__ is different from __" or "__ is different than __"?
As someone who learned English later on in life, I was taught that different from is the correct grammar to use: this is different from that. However, it seems these days everyone uses different than instead. I know it's incorrect usage, but does…
Jin
- 1,333