Tagged Questions

0
votes
0answers
69 views

New verbs we make by adding “up, off” etc [closed]

help him out or help him Can anyone tell me what is the difference between two sentences I mentioned above? what about the list below? write & write down come & come up take & take up ...
2
votes
2answers
108 views

Why are prepositions out of place with many phrasal verbs?

Please, restrict your answers to etymological info. I browsed some other questions and found some good info here: Is it correct to change the common structure in these phrasal verbs?, which is more ...
2
votes
2answers
91 views

Why is it “objections to moving”, not “objections to move”? [closed]

I got this sentence from the Economist: There are two primary objections to moving to the chained CPI. My question is, why have they used moving instead of move after objections to?
1
vote
1answer
273 views

“Take the role” vs. “take over the role” vs. “take on the role”

Is there a significant difference between the three expressions, or can they be used interchangeably? I'm trying to say that a colleague of mine succeeded to another after the latter had quit his ...
2
votes
2answers
98 views

“Wash hands of” — why not “off” instead of “of”?

The phrase "wash hands of" is supposed to mean giving up or having nothing to do with something. But why is it "of" and not "off"? Using "off" sounds more like giving it up and distancing oneself ...
2
votes
2answers
178 views

“Add up to total” vs “add to total”

! There is a possible problem with this: The six numbers may add to more than the total population and the six percentages may add to more than 100 percent because individuals may report more ...
2
votes
2answers
234 views

What does “to look by” mean?

According to an article I read, the following sentences are roughly synonymous: He looked by the building. He looked past the building. I don't know what look by and look past mean. I found a ...
5
votes
3answers
430 views

Is there any rule about splitting phrasal verbs?

I thought of this question right after I posted a tweet about a service upgrading me to a free student account since I am in college. I said "That really helps a broke college student out." I actually ...
3
votes
3answers
715 views

Distinguishing whether “up” is a preposition or a part of a phrasal verb in this case

In the sentences below, “bill” and “hill” are both nouns. He ran up a big hill. He ran up a big bill. Can someone explain how one distinguishes whether “up” is a preposition or a part of a ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views

Difference between “she cut her hair” and “she cut her hair off”?

Why are we using off here? What additional meaning does it add? The meaning of off from http://tfd.com/off that suits this sentence is: "away (from a place, time etc.)".
2
votes
2answers
152 views

Should “in” be used with “aiding and abetting”?

Aiding and abetting, also sometimes aiding or abetting, is often found in legal definitions of accessorial liability for crimes, for example "aiding or abetting a felony." Is it proper to use "in" ...
3
votes
2answers
718 views

“nibble” vs. “nibble on”

I've been told by a native speaker that the verb "to nibble" can be used both with and without a preposition. So, is there a difference between I would definitely like to nibble on one of those ...
3
votes
3answers
6k views

Does the phrase “who's in?” or “I'm in!” exist in (informal) English?

I really think I've heard it in some American sitcom/sitcoms, meaning something like participating in. "I want to play football. Who's in?" — "Great idea, I'm in!" Does it really exist, or am I wrong? ...
3
votes
4answers
3k views

Throw away/in/out for rubbish?

Is it best to use "throw away" or "throw in" for an expression when you ask someone not to throw something, like "Don't throw them away/in/out (the rubbish bin)." Specifically, if one doesn't know ...
0
votes
2answers
441 views

The phrase, “It's on tonight.”

Is the sentence, "It's on tonight," grammatically correct? What about "It's on for tonight?" Are they both correct? Is there any difference at all?
0
votes
2answers
348 views

“Plugging in X” vs. “plugging X in”

Does one say Plugging in that value into the previous equation... or Plugging that value in the previous equation... or something else?
4
votes
5answers
963 views

Should we say “borrow from” instead of “borrow off”?

I hear and read the term "borrow off" frequently however I say "borrow from" as that makes more sense to me. Is it grammatically incorrect to say, "may I borrow the book off your friend"? In my mind ...
11
votes
4answers
12k views

“Fill out a form” or “fill in a form”

Does one fill out a form or does one fill in a form? I've gotten different answers from the people I've asked. Google search results: fill in a form — 14,200,000 fill out a form — ...
5
votes
5answers
3k views

Is there any difference between “talk to someone” and “talk with someone”? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: “Speak to” vs. “Speak with” Well, the question is in the title. I always had the impression that "talk to someone" refers to situations when some ...
4
votes
6answers
6k views

How can I explain to people that the phrase “off of ” is grammatically incorrect?

How can I explain to people that the phrase off of is grammatically incorrect? I‘ve heard this phrase used a lot, especially by Americans (though they aren't the only ones). In my understanding, ...