This tag is for questions about the differences in the meaning of two words.
9
votes
3answers
9k views
“I like to do (be) something” vs “I like doing (being) something”
This is what I read in an answer to a previous question:
Verbs Followed by Either Gerund or Infinitive
Sometimes the meaning changes according to the verb used.
<…>
(dis)like
...
2
votes
3answers
1k views
Differences between ways to express future actions
I asked this question on a different site but I haven't gotten a useful answer. Could you tell me the difference in meaning between these sentences?
Do you think you will visit them next week? ...
18
votes
3answers
30k views
“Which” vs. “what” — what's the difference and when should you use one or the other?
Most of the time one or the other feels better, but every so often, "which" vs. "what" trips me up.
So, what's the exact difference and when should you use one or the other?
16
votes
3answers
1k views
What is the difference between “lay” and “lie”?
How do I know when to use lay and when to use lie, and what are the different forms of each verb? I'm always getting them confused.
35
votes
8answers
4k views
Is it “alright” or “allright”?
In practice I find both spellings being used. From a logical point of view, "allright" (as in: "all's right — everything is fine") seems correct. However, I recall hearing that "alright" is the ...
20
votes
3answers
8k views
What's the difference between using single and double quotation marks/inverted commas?
I'm quite unsure regarding the usage of single quotation marks (') and double quotation marks (") in English.
I had thought that double quotation marks were usually used to quote sentences from ...
39
votes
3answers
1k views
“Toward” or “towards”?
Which one should should I use? For some reason I have always used "towards", but I see some people saying "toward", like here:
A great deal of his work in economic
theory has been directed ...
23
votes
2answers
927 views
Why are clothes hung and men hanged?
I've heard it said that clothes can be 'hung' but men are 'hanged'. Is this correct, and, if so, why?
13
votes
6answers
13k views
What is the difference between “nothing but”, “anything but”, and “everything but”?
What is the difference between these phrases? When is it valid to use which? Should they be avoided as being ambiguous?
10
votes
5answers
4k views
Apostrophe-“s” vs “of ”
I gave a quick answer to part of this question which had not been covered by previous answers, trying to clarify the reason you would say time of decoding but not decoding’s time. I said it was ’s ...
10
votes
3answers
11k views
Difference between an acronym and abbreviation?
TLA is an acronym for "Three Letter Acronym". Is it also an abbreviation, since it abbreviates the original phrase?
3
votes
2answers
771 views
What is the difference in meaning between “I play” and “I do play”?
What is the difference between I play and I do play?
For example:
If someone were to ask to me, do you play soccer?
11
votes
1answer
454 views
Logging in or on?
There are a plethora of words for user accounts, like logon, login, signon, and also the action of logging in (or logging on) or signing in.
Are there any usage guidelines here?
8
votes
4answers
1k views
Is it absolutely necessary to use “than” over “then” in a comparison?
Do you think you are smarter then me?
While this question should be using than...I have to wonder if this is a debatable topic within English or is this cut and dry? If this specific instance is ...
8
votes
3answers
4k views
Rule for using “for” vs. “to”
A Brazilian friend speaks English very well, but has a very unique habit: it seems often that she needs to use "for" but she instead uses "to", and vice-versa.
For instance:
The present is to ...
2
votes
1answer
2k views
“There is no point in” or “There is not a point in”
I was thinking about these negations. Do these mean the same thing?
There is no point in ...
There is not a point in ...
or:
I have no clue
I do not have any clue
etc.
50
votes
10answers
7k views
What is the difference between an Emperor and a King?
I was at a loss when I was asked recently by my grand-daughter who is a school girl about the difference between Emperor and King. She asked me why Great Britain has King and Queen, while Germany and ...
50
votes
6answers
2k views
How small does a land-mass have to be before you live “on” it, rather than “in” it?
I'm sure virtually everyone agrees that people live on the Isle of Wight, but in Ireland.
Apparently the usage depends somewhat on physical size, but that can't be the whole story. How exactly do we ...
26
votes
12answers
3k views
“Nothing to tell” versus “nothing to say”
There's nothing to tell.
There's nothing to say.
Can anyone explain the difference between those two statements and give some examples on how they should be used? I think I do have a basic ...
25
votes
6answers
12k 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 ...
6
votes
4answers
7k views
What is the difference between “speaking” and “talking”?
It seems more politically correct to say that someone is speaking rather than talking. What is the definitive difference between these terms?
4
votes
2answers
3k views
Should I say 'What I wanted to say is' or 'What I wanted to say was'?
Following Martha's advice I am splitting up a question Compound sentences, the punctuation and mooore.
Let's put what I said / wrote something in the past. And now I want to elaborate some key points ...
2
votes
7answers
1k views
What is the difference between “anyone” and “everyone” in this context
What is the difference between "anyone" and "everyone" in the following context?
For example,
Anyone is welcome to do such and such.
and
Everyone is welcome to do such and such.
mean ...
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, ...
7
votes
2answers
10k views
“Covered with” vs. “covered in” vs. “covered by”
I want to find out the differences in meaning among covered by, covered in, and covered with. For example, what is the difference between:
covered with blood
covered in blood
or the ...
2
votes
2answers
3k views
What is the difference between “no” and “not”? [closed]
What is the difference between "no" and "not"?
We know that "no" and "not" have the same meaning.
I'm studying English. I hope to get help.
Sorry for my language.
21
votes
3answers
6k views
What's the difference between a gerund and a participle?
What is the difference between a gerund and a participle?
7
votes
2answers
436 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 ...
22
votes
6answers
2k views
Using “utilize” instead of “use”?
My friend has been raising a ruckus about the abuse of the word "utilize" in place of the word "use." He complains that it just makes your sentences sound pretentious.
u·ti·lize [yoot-l-ahyz]
verb ...
14
votes
3answers
1k views
Is there a general rule for the prefixation of “un-” and “de-” to words?
Given the different questions we have seen about the prefixes "de-" and "un-", I have grown curious if there is a overarching rule for terms that need undoing.
“Unselect” or “Deselect”?
“Unregister” ...
10
votes
4answers
2k views
What is the distinction between “among” and “amongst”?
It seems amongst is quite often used as a synonym for among but it is supposed to sound more distinguished. Is there any difference in the meaning?
7
votes
3answers
796 views
“Backward” versus “backwards” — is there any difference?
The dictionaries I've looked in don't distinguish between these two words, backward and backwards (at least when used as adverbs). Is there some real historical, grammatical or regional difference ...
12
votes
3answers
2k views
Parentheses vs. double commas vs. dashes to provide additional detail
When do you use commas and when do you use parentheses to provide more detail about something?
For example:
The suspect, Tom Wilson, is now being charged with murder.
The suspect (Tom Wilson) is ...
11
votes
8answers
14k views
What's the difference between a jumper, a pullover, and a sweater?
Following on from a recent question, in Australia we have the word jumper for a knitted long-sleeved garment, typically woollen and long-sleeved.
When cosuming foreign media I always assumed the ...
5
votes
7answers
2k views
the difference between fast/quick/rapid
She is a karate coach. She is not very powerful, but she is very quick/fast/rapid.
Can I use all three words quick, fast or rapid in the sentence?
Could you tell me the different meanings ...
2
votes
3answers
219 views
“At/In the Summer Olympics”
!
I found this to be strange: in Wikipedia,
Russia at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Russia competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics
How different is the meaning if at is changed to in?
1
vote
0answers
1k views
Difference between “in” and “into” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
When should “into” be used rather than “in to,” and vice versa?
I often get confused about which one to use: in or into? Kindly tell me what the ...
0
votes
4answers
5k views
“I understand you” vs “I do understand you” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the difference in meaning between “I play” and “I do play”?
What is the difference between "I understand you" and "I do understand you", ...
32
votes
9answers
21k views
“Unregister” vs “Deregister”
The concept of "undoing a registration" is widely used in my line of work. While most dictionaries define unregister as the proper verb for it, several widely used and highly considered sources also ...
51
votes
8answers
6k views
What's the difference between “null” and “void” in legal language?
In the legal term "null and void," what is the difference between null and void? Why not just use one of the two terms? And can either term be used without the other?
22
votes
3answers
18k views
40
votes
6answers
8k views
Which is the correct spelling: “grey” or “gray”?
What is the difference? Or is there any? Which would be more British English?
26
votes
2answers
5k views
When I should use “assure” vs. “ensure” vs. “insure”?
When is it appropriate to use assure vs. ensure vs. insure?
14
votes
4answers
7k views
What's the difference between “informal”, “colloquial”, “slang”, and “vulgar”?
It seems many people get confused about the differences (and similarities) between "colloquial" and "slang", so what exactly does each term apply to?
But to be even more thorough it seems to me we ...
3
votes
1answer
5k views
“Did you find” versus “have you found”
What is the difference between "Did you find?" and "Have you found?"
When should I use the first sentence, and when the second one?
1
vote
2answers
2k views
“It could/might/may be funny” — what is the correct usage?
What is the difference in meaning in these three sentences?
it might be funny
it could be funny
it may be funny
The answer was partially touched on in this post.
6
votes
4answers
4k views
5
votes
3answers
946 views
What's the difference between the various dialects of English?
I've read and heard "British English", "American English", "Australian English", etc. I know there are differences in accents and word choices but is there a larger difference that makes ...
9
votes
5answers
4k views
What's the difference between “these” and “those”?
First of all, I'm not a native English speaker, but in school I learned that these is used if referring to something near, and those is used when referring to something far away (temporally or ...
9
votes
2answers
2k views
Difference between “due to” and “thanks to”
When should "due to" be preferred over "thanks to", and vice versa? When can they be used interchangeably?
