12
votes
Accepted
How do you respond when someone tells you their parent is deceased?
That's as good as it gets. Responses like “my condolences”, “he’s in my prayers” and “sorry for your loss” are usually used for recent deaths, and comments like “he's in a better place now” or “at ...
- 2,277
11
votes
What is the difference between didn’t get to sleep and “toss and turn”?
"Toss and turn" is most often used to indicate a restless sleep. The idea is that while you may fall asleep, you also move around frequently and don't sleep very soundly.
Cambridge Dictionary:
...
- 207
7
votes
Accepted
'I says' in spoken English
While "I says" appears often in spoken, informal speech, it is also often used as an example of extremely (excessively?) casual language -- almost a stereotype of a relaxed storytelling mode in which ...
- 943
6
votes
What is the difference between didn’t get to sleep and “toss and turn”?
To get to sleep means to manage to fall asleep.
To toss and turn means to move around restlessly while sleeping or trying to fall asleep. Therefore, these two expressions are not synonymous. You toss ...
- 3,519
6
votes
"So I have learned."
It’s not so much an expression as a common way to employ so with certain verbs:
so, adv. and conj.
4. a. Representing a word or phrase already employed: Of that nature or description; of or in that ...
- 19.7k
6
votes
What is the most suitable antonym for the word loud?
Antonym is a concept that's widely misunderstood. It involves negation, always a slippery concept, and supposes that there are pairs of opposed words X and Y, where X means not Y, and Y means not X. ...
- 109k
5
votes
My wife, I just have the one, is
I would argue that the word "the" is being used for emphasis in this context.
With this sentence structure, it can be hard for the listener to grasp the meaning of those first seven words. The commas ...
- 136
4
votes
What’s the origin/etymology of “mm-bye”?
MMM is in anticipation of "B".
I find descriptions of the use of "mmm-bye" going back several years and all across the country but most often in the South or warm weather states. ...
- 5,502
4
votes
"So I have learned."
Yes, saying "So I have learned" (or, the more common "So I've learned"--thanks, Kate Bunting) is perfectly acceptable.
Thinking about what a person could infer from hearing someone ...
- 19.4k
3
votes
Accepted
Difference between saying basically and essentially?
I think that the aversion to the word "basically" you describe in your professors comes down to its differences to "essentially" in semantic range and contextual usage.
"Basically," according to ...
- 76
3
votes
What is a word that means to avoid making an admission or confession?
You can say someone is Evading a difficult topic, or deflecting the conversation away from it.
Evade the question
Deflect the conversation away
- 1,645
3
votes
How to answer when an American asks "Which part of ___ are you from"?
You are right, people often ask stupid questions based on ignorance and thoughtlessness. Now I will answer the question that you didn't ask -- what should you say in response?
Say something charming ...
- 21.6k
3
votes
Accepted
How to answer cheers?
Short answer
The best answer is "Cheers", followed immediately by whatever you'd like to say, such as "Thanks" or "See you on Tuesday" or "That was really useful".
You then need to go through the ...
- 48.7k
3
votes
Accepted
Proper use of "we" in this conversation
A native speaker would not say 'we had lunch with Jack' if the only people having lunch were the speaker and Jack. The word 'we' means that there was at least one more person having lunch.
- 12.1k
3
votes
"Truth" as a reply instead of "True"
Truth and true are subtly different in that true, in this sense, is more about accuracy and facts. Truth extends into a person's veracity, belief system, and perception of reality. Truth tends to be ...
- 78
2
votes
"I understood her to say"
So I understood her to say.
"So" here means roughly "that".
It's easier to grasp in the phrase "if you say so". "So" is effectively a pronoun: if you say [whatever you just said], I will believe ...
- 28.2k
2
votes
"I understood her to say"
"Oxford Dictionary" gives a hint about this particular usage of the verb 'understand'.
understand somebody/something to be/have something: [transitive] (formal) to think or believe that ...
- 755
2
votes
What is the difference between didn’t get to sleep and “toss and turn”?
"I didn't get to sleep for two or three hours" could mean that the person wasn't trying to fall asleep -- maybe they were listening to music or reading a book.
"Toss and turn" means they were trying -...
- 417
2
votes
Accepted
What phrase do you use instead of "Nice to meet you" when the two of you have already met but
I have used the following in the exact same situation:
"Its nice to finally put a name to a familiar face."
"Nice to finally meet you."
"Nice to officially meet you."
"Its nice to finally know ...
- 4,046
2
votes
How to punctuate rhetorical question in an informal sentence?
I'd punctuate it as:
"It's been, what, twenty-five years since I've seen you?".
I don't think the "what" is, in itself, a question here. As dicitonary.reference.com says, it's an ...
- 14.9k
2
votes
Accepted
Would it be possible to respond "Not" if someone ask me that "Do you ~", or "Did you ~"?
Do you know how to swim?
Not. (incorrect)
Do you know how to swim?
No. (correct)
Do you know how to swim or not?
Not. (acceptable but usually considered to be an ...
- 37.4k
2
votes
Accepted
Synonym for "sure" and "yes please"
I will say that this question asks about two phrases. One is polite, the other is neutral, so please take the below as neutral, not as particularly polite.
"Sounds good"
"Sounds good to me"
"...
- 220
2
votes
Accepted
Is having "a past" always refering to a bad history?
Well, saying "a past" isn't the same as saying "a painter's past."
If I say, "He has a past" (see def. 11), that is taken as a euphemism to convey he has a history that I think is shameful or at the ...
- 10.6k
2
votes
Accepted
how to recognize places and people's names easily during conversation
Most of it is due to context, if I say:
"tomorrow brown is going to bath to meet carpenter" (notice that I have omitted the capital letters)
then "brown" is the subject of the verb ...
- 17.2k
1
vote
Using "Excuse me, ..." for asking questions
Your "Excuse me?!" is an apology for saying "Excuse me", for interrupting them and claiming their time. (It's not "Sorry", because your interruption was deliberate and you would do it again under the ...
- 2,664
1
vote
Will/would be able to
They generally mean the same thing, however "would be" implies that it is presumed based on the speaker's understanding, not necessarily acknowledged fact. For example, "would be" has a similar ...
- 715
1
vote
Accepted
How to ask to repeat a phrase?
It is correct but doesn't sound good while speaking to someone. Using "pardon me" or maybe "sorry, come again" can be really polite and a good way to ask to repeat their last sentence.
- 36
1
vote
Accepted
How to say "dulcet" in verbal English (or slang)?
For slang do not use "sweet" safest bet is
That's a nice melody.
Just be sure there is no partner the other side who may be called Melody.
Alternatively as long as they are not South African you ...
- 3,179
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