Tagged Questions
0
votes
2answers
71 views
Is “Cutting Across the Afternoon of Life” grammatical? [closed]
I'm using this for a title of short story. The title has to reflect the last line of the story, which is as follows:
A long, dark shadow cuts across the countless cubicles.
I've thought of ...
-3
votes
1answer
101 views
Proper use of “drop” and “drop off”
Can I use drop to say I will leave something somewhere?
I will drop the books at your house.
I will drop off the books at your house?
4
votes
5answers
220 views
Looking for the opposite of “drill down”
I am a programmer working on a chart component that allows to drill down on selection of a node. Drilling down will show the details of that node (like its children etc.). But I am struggling to find ...
0
votes
2answers
67 views
“Roll” vs. “roll up” [closed]
Are these two verbs the same? According to Longman, they are the same.
Here are some made up sentences:
I rolled this (up) into a ball.
Let's roll (up) our sleeves.
(I made up these ...
1
vote
3answers
103 views
Is “get someone up” the same as “wake someone up”?
Is using get up in this expression correct?
I am sorry I woke you up.
I am sorry I got you up.
I use get up for wake up all the time, but in this expression it sounds a bit odd.
3
votes
3answers
173 views
What is the difference between “carry out a crime” and “commit a crime”
Do these both have the same meaning?
John carried out a crime.
John committed a crime.
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
4answers
324 views
Another verb for “to skate by” or “to skirt by”
People sometimes use the phrases to skate by x and to skirt by x with the meaning: to do x with ease or to do x with minimal effort. Is there another verb that sounds like to skate or to skirt that is ...
5
votes
3answers
231 views
“Went” vs. “went along”
At work, he made up lies as he went along.
At work, he made up lies as he went.
Is one of the above wrong?
12
votes
6answers
1k views
Difference between “run into”, “come upon” and “come across”
These phrasal verbs have a similar meaning (please correct me if not):
run into
come across
come upon
Are there any nuances to choose between them? For example, I might be wrong but I mostly see ...
3
votes
2answers
712 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 ...
-2
votes
4answers
212 views
To retroactively create?
Is there a verb that means "retroactively create"?
For example:
John wanted to retroactively create a relationship with his estranged father.
I'm not looking for a word that means ...
2
votes
1answer
70 views
“Heat up” or “heat”
It seems they have same meaning but why are we using the phrasal verb? Or they have same meaning?
1
vote
2answers
350 views
“Open” vs. “open up”
Which of the following two variants is correct with reference to some email attachments?
I am unable to open them.
I am unable to open up them.
2
votes
2answers
733 views
Phrasal verb/expression for “bring people together somewhere”
Is there a phrasal verb or expression to express the idea of bringing people together somewhere, other than explicitly using "people" in the sentence?
I am looking for something that already implies ...
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 ...
15
votes
2answers
1k views
Does “filling out” equal to “filling in”?
I quoted the following from a pamphlet:
Please read the instructions carefully before filling out the application
form. The application will be returned to you and the registration may be
...
1
vote
2answers
674 views
What's the difference between “call off” vs. “cancel”?
You have to get Chang to call off some of this homework.
3
votes
4answers
2k views
Why use 'step down' instead of 'resign'? Is there any difference?
Ozzie announced his plans to step down from his role at Microsoft on October 18, 2010
15
votes
4answers
2k views
Burn up or burn down?
What's the difference between "burn up" and "burn down"? Or is there a difference at all?
6
votes
2answers
174 views
Which would be correct: “outputs” or “puts out”?
Which word should I use in the following context? Is the required before data?
Any algorithm first reads data, processes (the) data and finally [outputs|puts out] the processed data.
5
votes
3answers
6k views
“Differ to”, “differ with” or “differ from”
In what ways are differ to, differ with and differ from different?
Providing examples would be really appreciated.
11
votes
6answers
3k views
“Speak to” vs. “Speak with”
What are the differences between these two phrasal verbs and what are the best situations to use each?
