Tagged Questions
-4
votes
1answer
93 views
“Haven't” vs. “hadn't”
Are there any differences in meaning between the two sentences?
We hadn't left the place yet; we will be there in 10 minutes.
We haven't left the place yet; we will be there in 10 minutes.
...
3
votes
2answers
175 views
Have American English speakers always used the term “last name” instead of surname?
I am aware that speakers of British English generally use the term "surname" and AmE speakers use "last name." What I want to know is how long it has been this way, i.e. if AmE speakers ever used the ...
0
votes
3answers
140 views
“I went to bed hungry” vs. “I went to bed hungrily” [closed]
What is the exact difference between "I went to bed hungry" and "I went to bed hungrily"?
0
votes
2answers
322 views
“Do you have” vs “Have you got”
I am studying English and I want to know the main difference between “Have you got?” and “Do you have?” questions. Are they the same? Is one more formal than the other?
6
votes
4answers
504 views
Different Meanings of 'Jumper' (Transatlantic embarassment)
I'm originally from Wales, now living in the USA, and as the cold weather is approaching I'm determined, this year, to start using the word sweater to describe the item of clothing I'm wearing, as ...
3
votes
1answer
319 views
“Meet up” vs. “meet” vs. “hook up”
What's the difference between meet up, meet and hook up as a synonym of meet up?
The Free Dictionary has the following definitions:
to meet up: to see and talk to someone familiar or someone ...
-3
votes
1answer
568 views
what is the difference between “hook up with” and “have sex with”? [closed]
I would like to know the subtle difference between hook up and have sex. I'm asking because hook up seems have a subtly different meaning than have sex: in the situations I've heard this word it seems ...
2
votes
3answers
126 views
how to handle EN US/UK differences [closed]
If you are from Great Britain, or other English speaking country (except US), or even most of European countries where you learn british-english
and are working for an American company
would you ...
2
votes
5answers
272 views
Pronunciation difference between “cycle” and “psycho”
When I speak English, I can't tell the difference between cycle and psycho, I pronounce them the same.
And it's not only cycle vs. psycho; when words end in -le or -o, I always confusee them.
How to ...
9
votes
7answers
6k views
Difference between “slacks”, “pants”, and “trousers”?
I wonder what differences are between usage of slacks, pants, and trousers? Their meanings seem the same by looking up Google’s Internet dictionary and Wikipedia.
10
votes
4answers
387 views
Ambiguous connotation of “just” - How do natives interpret these?
First of all, these questions are a bit related but not what I'm actually asking about:
Is “I just spent all my money” grammatically incorrect?
“I just ate them” and “I've just eaten them” - What's ...
0
votes
1answer
674 views
What is the difference between 'would you' and 'could you'? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How to use would or could in English?
This question is about English grammar. I am an absolute Chinese, I can read, write, and speak English, but sometimes I am confused ...
1
vote
4answers
450 views
Difference between “heck” and “hell”
Many say that one shouldn't use "hell" as it is informal. You can use "heck" instead. Both convey the same meaning. Then why this difference? Why can't one use "hell" everywhere?
7
votes
2answers
407 views
Is there a clear delineation between the usages of 'this' and 'that' in American English?
One of my linguistics professors speaks English as a second language, and remarked that she never knows which of the two is appropriate. Given a list of examples, all native speakers in the classroom ...
0
votes
1answer
513 views
Difference in application of “in” and “at” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“In school” vs “at school”
I've been writing some rules for an NLP recently, and I've come across a small problem... What is the difference in ...
2
votes
1answer
326 views
Convolve vs. convolute
I understand that for common usage these words have distinct meanings. However in mathematics there is a process called convolution, and sometimes you hear "you need to convolve X" and sometimes "you ...
3
votes
3answers
290 views
Is “Most of the world does not distinguish captions from subtitles” true?
In the wikipedia article about closed captioning one reads
Most of the world does not distinguish captions from subtitles. In the United States and Canada, these terms do have different meanings, ...
1
vote
1answer
570 views
Mixing British and American spellings in writing [closed]
I like color more than colour, but I like favourite more than favorite. For me it is better to write
My favourite color is blue.
Is it wrong to mix British and American spellings in writing, and ...
2
votes
1answer
60 views
Does “fare” apply to non-persons?
If one pays for transportation of oneself a fare has been paid. What is paid if the transportation is of a non-person object (a parcel, a letter, a vegetable, a box of rocks)?
5
votes
1answer
427 views
What's the difference between “Yours sincerely” and “Sincerely yours”?
I have read online that "Yours sincerely" is British English and "Sincerely yours" is American English.
Is this true?
Or is the difference in formality? I think the first one is more formal and the ...
4
votes
1answer
2k views
“Lunch” vs “luncheon” [closed]
What is the difference between lunch and luncheon? Is it just American spelling vs British spelling, or do they have some sort of formal/professional touch to them, say, a casual midday meal with ...
1
vote
2answers
286 views
Difference between “engage” and “hire”
For example,
"We decide to engage a lawyer for the case."
"We decide to hire a lawyer for the case."
Is engage used particularly in British English? Do speakers of American English use engage in ...
0
votes
2answers
355 views
Are there clear differences in formality of words between British-English and American-English [closed]
I wonder if there are any clear distinctions regarding using formal words in British-English and in American-English. Do American and English people use different words when for instance asking a ...
4
votes
3answers
218 views
Usage of “note (bill)” and “banknote” in AmE
Do American English speakers use note to mean bill (as in ten-dollar bill)? If so, is note a shortening of the word banknote?
4
votes
2answers
2k views
“Interfere in” vs. “interfere with”
I was taught that when interfere is followed by in, it means to get involved in something that doesn't concern you; when followed by with, it means to prevent something from being done. And this is ...
3
votes
2answers
309 views
“cold cash” vs. “hard cash”
Context (New York Times):
Besides piling into Treasuries, institutional investors are also
seeking out the safety of cold, hard cash, pouring billions
into commercial bank accounts backed up ...
3
votes
3answers
156 views
“Transitioning” vs. “transitional” phase
I am wondering if it is correct to say:
This is a transitioning phase.
Personally, I would say
This is a transitional phase.
but my friend insists that the above is just as correct as my ...
2
votes
2answers
184 views
“What it is that is” versus “what is”
I recently heard an American presenter using the phrase "discover what it is that is important to you."
What is the linguistic difference between saying "what it is that is," rather than "what is"?
3
votes
2answers
1k views
What is the difference in meaning between “pattern” and “rhythm”?
What is the difference in meaning between pattern and rhythm?
It seems to me that the former is more American-English and the latter more British-English. Are these more or less synonyms or are there ...
10
votes
6answers
3k views
Difference between “canteen” and “cafeteria”
Are there any differences between canteen and cafeteria?
In India, usually an eating place attached to an office, factory or school is called a canteen. Of course, in some new offices it is called ...
25
votes
1answer
54k views
What's the difference between “requester” and “requestor”?
Both are in dictionaries. I've heard people insist "requester" is correct for a person who requests something, and that "requestor" is wrong there, leaving me to wonder how it is used. Requestor ...
4
votes
3answers
444 views
Spelling protocol (American/British/Canadian) for an International conference
If I'm a Canadian who'll be presenting in an international conference, should I use my country's spelling, which is the Canadian/British spelling like "grey" or the more used American spelling like ...
7
votes
4answers
2k views
Difference between “garbage” and “trash”?
What's the difference between garbage and trash? Is the difference significant?
2
votes
1answer
695 views
What is the difference between American and British pronunciations of “world” and “girl”?
I can definitely hear a distinct difference but I am not sure if it is from the long vowel or from the "r".
12
votes
1answer
532 views
“Defense” or “defence”
Is the only difference that in USA they write it with s and in UK they write it with c, or is there anything more?
3
votes
1answer
505 views
American English: which vs that [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
When is it appropriate to use 'that' as opposed to 'which'?
We've had an American Americanise some phrases for us (with the point of teaching children ...
5
votes
4answers
263 views
US Route 101 — “The 101”
In my part of the world, we refer to highways without any article. So we drive on "Highway 64", or "Interstate 64", or "I-64". But when I go to California, they say "The 101". Is there any explanation ...
10
votes
3answers
1k views
How can I distinguish “can” & “can't” from pronunciation?
It's very difficult for me to separate them.
I was just listening to some video and it said
"Fat cells can’t reproduce themselves."
What I thought I've heard is "... CAN reproduce ..."
Frankly, ...
25
votes
6answers
10k views
“Oriented” vs. “orientated”
What are the origins of the word orientated?
As far as I know, the correct spelling is oriented and orientated is not an alternative spelling but an error that is in common use.
Is it for example ...
9
votes
3answers
533 views
“I park my car in the yard”
What is the origin of the different pronunciation of words like park, yard,
cartoon, margarine in American and British English?
In other words, why doesn’t British English generally pronounce the r ...
14
votes
4answers
7k views
What are the important differences between Canadian and American (USA) English?
English is not my first language; the little English I know is mostly from the USA.
I know some of the differences between British English (or just English?) and American English, and the same with ...
2
votes
1answer
1k views
What is the difference between “to oblige” and “to obligate”?
What's the difference between oblige and obligate?
Speculating, is the latter an Americanism of the British former? Or is there any distinction about what/who has caused someone to be oblig(at)ed to ...
0
votes
0answers
358 views
How Would One Use A Semicolon (;)? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How does one correctly use a semicolon?
I'm wondering about the difference between just ending the sentence and starting a new one based on the same subject and using a ...
9
votes
3answers
1k views
Why is “a couple of <things>” often shortened to “a couple <things>”?
I would write a couple of . I often read/hear a couple .
I assumed this was an American English thing (I'm British), and just a convenient shortening of the phrase for speaking. It's easier to say a ...
11
votes
3answers
3k views
Is there any difference between “color” and “colour”?
What is the difference between color and colour?
