📚｜english-questions

[boreal ingot]

lol

but yes

that's a correct usage

[verbal heron]

btw what's the difference between—usage and use (as a noun)?

[acoustic geyser]

Usage is a noun

[verbal heron]

"Usage" is a noun and "use" acts both as a verb and a noun

[boreal ingot]

this is such a useless answer lol

[acoustic geyser]

Can't help it, my English is bad as hell.

[verbal heron]

what is your native language?

[acoustic geyser]

Vietnamese

[verbal heron]

Oh great

[boreal ingot]

Is the second message correct there?

And I don't mean using 'I've got' over 'I've gotten'; some Brits do that

I mean using the present perfect

[flat rune]

What is the difference between figure out and understand ?

[crimson vortex]

Figure out is more of looking for a solution by applying logic and eventually finding this solution

For example, if someone provides me with a solution to my problem, i understand it. But if i found this solution myself, i figured it out

[flat rune]

Are they interchangeable

Or not ?

[hoary lichen]

Figure out subtly implies more of a puzzle to piece together. It took active thought to get.

Understand is more just… you get it without any due process.

[autumn basalt]

Good evening guys, i have a question. How can i use In and On correctly? Thanks for help me

[flat rune]

oh ok what about i got it

[autumn basalt]

Thank you very much

[sacred mirage]

does anyone have any unanswered questions

[boreal ingot]

^ @sacred mirage I doo

[sacred mirage]

gotten

but both

[boreal ingot]

I know some Brits use 'got' in all cases

[sacred mirage]

both work

[boreal ingot]

Yeah

I meant if present perfect is right

that's what I was asking about

but I***'ve*** got distracted everytime I***'ve*** ...

should that be simple past or present perfect

[sacred mirage]

gotten is for americans and got is for british english

[boreal ingot]

Yeah I'm learning British

I was asking about the tense :c

[sacred mirage]

okay i see. ur question

okay aure

so the past simple as we know

is for relating to a specific event

i dont think this is helpful

okay lemme reword

[boreal ingot]

I'm just asking which of these would work best, and if they mean different things, what is the difference:

I've been wanting to look into impersonal sentences in Finnish for an actual 4 hours and I***'ve got*** distracted everytime I**'ve tried** to look into them.
or
I've been wanting to look into impersonal sentences in Finnish for an actual 4 hours and got distracted everytime I tried to look into them.
or
I've been wanting to look into impersonal sentences in Finnish for an actual 4 hours and I***'ve got*** distracted everytime I tried to look into them.

[sacred mirage]

if you want to emphasise and say that the distractions have happened and are likely to still happen, use present perfect. However if its a specific period in the past and no longer relevant use simple past

if the distractions are still relevant use present perfect

does this help better?

[boreal ingot]

I think makes sense

Since I'm not talking about smth complete yeah I get it

[boreal ingot]

I just don't see the difference between the first and last ones here ^

even with your explination

not sure what it is

[bitter hill]

I don't think the last one makes sense because each attempt of looking into them should logically have a subsequent distraction, so they should be consistent with one another imo

[alpine gyro]

Guys could this be c?

[autumn basalt]

Good night mates, i have a question between Can and Can't. For me, Talking about these two, confuse me

[hoary lichen]

Can = is able
Can't (short form of can not) = is not able

[bitter hill]

Yeah, I would say it's C

[boreal ingot]

Makes sense actually, thanks

[cloud badge]

the best phrasing would be "I've been wanting to look into impersonal sentences in Finnish for an 4 whole hours and have gotten distracted everytime I 've/have tried to look into them."

of the options you shared the second is best but since you said "ive been" in the beginning, it would be best to say 'I have' later in it. you could also say 'I tried to... for an actual 4 hours, but I got distracted every time I tried"

[boreal ingot]

for an 4 whole hours
what?

That should be 'a'

[cloud badge]

oops thats a typo

[boreal ingot]

and it still doesn't make sense

[cloud badge]

what part doesnt make sense

[boreal ingot]

'for an four whole hours'

[cloud badge]

i said the an is a typo

[bitter hill]

💀

[cloud badge]

oh oops, i meant for a whole four hours

[bitter hill]

I was about to say

[cloud badge]

sorry, typing faster than i can read

[boreal ingot]

I see, makes sense then. I don't see why you would change 'an actual 4 hours' to '4 whole hours though'
here is no meaningful difference in flow or meaning

[bitter hill]

Actual doesn't really make sense there

Maybe you could try 'literally'

[cloud badge]

because theres no such thing as a theoretical 4 hours

[boreal ingot]

Also, no, 'got' is correct there, doesn't have to be 'gotten'

[cloud badge]

no, have got is not correct

[boreal ingot]

Idk, I feel 'actual' works for emphasis. I might be wrong though, so I'd like others' opinions

[boreal ingot]

It is in BrE

[cloud badge]

its have gotten, or got

[bitter hill]

Got is past participle form in bre

[boreal ingot]

Even American uses 'have got'

I've got so much homework to do

[cloud badge]

i got something, i have gotten something.

i have something

[boreal ingot]

But BrE uses 'got' where American would use 'gotten'

and doesn't use 'gotten' at all

[cloud badge]

the got in have got is redundant. you have it so you dont have to got it

[boreal ingot]

'you don't have to got it' 😭

[cloud badge]

yeah i said it funny but it gets the point across

if you want to make the stylistic choice and be redundant you can but, its not prefered outside of casual british english

[boreal ingot]

American English uses 'got' as V3 of 'get' for possesion and 'gotten' for receiving

BrE uses 'got' for both

I've gotten two flowers
means you recived two
I've got two flowers
means you have two

In BrE,

I've got two flowers
could mean either

[cloud badge]

yeah its a stylistic choice, but most english speakers would drop the have or got because its redundant

"i got two flowers" 'i have two flowers"

[boreal ingot]

Anyway, this discorse over 'got' and 'gotten' aside, can we continue on about the emphatic use of 'an actual'?

Is it not something people use?

[cloud badge]

poeple use it but not in terms of hours

i mean, there are probably ways you couldm but i cant think of any because i dont know where the inverse of actual hours would be used

if you say 'actual' that means 'not theoretical', so where would you even have a theoretical hour. it makes more sense to use 'a whole hour' or 'a full hour' 'an entire hour'

[boreal ingot]

This is just to specify I'm not being hyperbolic

and to put emphasis on the length of the time

[cloud badge]

yeah but its like youre saying 'i used a real, non fake hour' as opposed to an imaginary hour

youre emphasizing the realness of the hour, not the length when you use 'actual' there

[boreal ingot]

It seems it can mean 'exact'

[bitter hill]

If you're not trying to put emphasis on the length of time then I think you can just say 'for 4 hours' or 'for a literal 4 hours'

I don't think anyone would use actual in that way

[cloud badge]

yeah, in that example, actual can be replaced with "real, legitimate, non theoretical' thinking. the opposite of which would be the fake, implied, symbolic or theoretical thinking. youre not trying to talk about the legitimacy of the hour, youre trying to talk about how long it was, so youd need to use an adjective about that.

I drank a whole glass of milk (as opposed to less than a whole one) because i need all the vitamins i can get

I drank an actual glass of milk, (as opposed to a glass of soymilk, oat milk, or coconut milk) because i decided to not be vegan anymore.

an actual hour doesnt make the point youre aiming for

[cloud badge]

yeah literal also works here perfectly

[boreal ingot]

@bitter hill @cloud badge, these are the examples I've been able to find from googling around

It seems to be used emphatically with 'hours' decently often

[acoustic geyser]

Hello

What's different between
In the north/south/west/east
On the north/south/west/east

[boreal ingot]

'on the [x]' would need a noun after it

On the east coast
On the north end of the country
On the west side
etc.
but for 'in' you don't need a noun, you can just use it to mean 'situated in the north'

[acoustic geyser]

Like " I live on the north Boston"?

[boreal ingot]

although, you can use 'in' with a noun if 'in' would make sense

In and around the south coast of [x] there is a lot of crime

[boreal ingot]

you need 'of'

[acoustic geyser]

Thanks

[acoustic geyser]

Oh man, I used the wrong preposition

[boreal ingot]

No, 'in' is fine, but you need to add 'of' before 'Boston'

Oh wait, you said 'on'

Yeah, it needs to be 'in'

and you need to add 'of'

I live in the north of Boston

I'm not an American, so idk how it's normally said, but 'in northern Boston' sounds better to me

[flat rune]

Hi, is it possible to overcome a2 almost b1 to b2 and c1 intermediate in less than 12months?

[boreal ingot]

maybe in 2 years to reach C1 with consistent effective study, but it's different for everyone

[flat rune]

I watch 3 hours of videos in english and spend almost 20minutes writing in discord

But look, i'm starting to learn from videos like picking up new phrases though i can't remember them to use it in a phrase i recoginze them

My record until today has been a week

I tend to do it until get fluency

I'm just asking this weird question because you know how it works to achieve fluency

[boreal ingot]

You can keep up immersion, but it will take a long while, or you can actively study rules and memorise vocab, which should be much faster

I think a mix would work best, study the rules and immerse yourself in content

[flat rune]

Alright thanks Scella for your councils

Yeah i want to reach at least a proficient b2 to get a job

[cloud badge]

you can use it, but it doesnt mean youre correct.

[boreal ingot]

Correction: when it means 'advice', it's writen as 'counsel', not 'council', and it isn't pluralised

But no problem

[boreal ingot]

I see many people are using it. Why would it be incorrect :p

[cloud badge]

also some of those arent emphasizing the time

[cloud badge]

because it does not make proper sense. youd have to interpret what theyre incorrectly trying to say, its not clear.

[boreal ingot]

It's very clearly emphatic

as 'actual' often is

[cloud badge]

yes but its emphasizing something that doesnt make sense to emphasize. the actuality of the time of 60 minutes. rather than the lengthiness

you can do an exercize to figure out if it makes sense or not. just write out the opposite of what you mean. if that makes sense and works, then you used the right adjective

[boreal ingot]

I don't think so. It's obviously just adding emphasis on how long something was. It's not being used literally, just like 'literally' is often not

[cloud badge]

so what would be the opposite of an actual hour

literally is used as hyperbole when its not used literally

[boreal ingot]

So is 'actually'

This is actually insane

[cloud badge]

as opposed to it being not really insane

[boreal ingot]

Okay

You're actually insane
this doesn't mean you really are insane, it's just hyperbole

[cloud badge]

no, it means 'youre legitimately insane' as opposed to 'youre acting crazy now but i know youre not'

[boreal ingot]

That was actually mad
This is actual insanity

[boreal ingot]

nope

it's just emphatic

Showing surprise

[cloud badge]

youre misunderstanding the word actual, i promise you

you dont use it to describe an hour. the other examples work because there are contrasts that make sense, but for an hour there kind of arent. maybe if youre talking about a video game where an hour wouldnt be 60 minutes, and youd say 'an actual hour' to emphasize that you dont mean an in-game hour, while you are playing with friends, but the way you used it, doesnt work.

its understandable because its close, but it is still, actually, incorrect

[boreal ingot]

I'm contrasting what wouldn't be an actual hour (less than an hour) with what is an actual hour

[cloud badge]

a non actual hour would still have to be a type of hour though

[flat rune]

Are you still debating about "actual"? Xd

[acoustic geyser]

Which preposition should I use to talk about direction? The question I asked was a bit confusing.

[cloud badge]

im not debating, just trying to explain

[boreal ingot]

There literally is a definition that says it can be used emphatically. I don't see any reason why it shouldn't apply to 'hour'. I suppose prescreptively it wouldn't work, with the literal meaning of 'actual', but it works in this non-literal meaning of 'actual'.

The second pic says that people have noted that 'actually is used for empty emphasis

the third pic shows another definition that says it's used for emphasis

It's just a non-literal meaning

not to emphasise the fact of it's reality, but just to emphasise the statement

[cloud badge]

ive never said its not used for emphasis. its used to emphasize realness of something. actuality. it still needs to do that, which doesnt work the way you used it with hour.

[boreal ingot]

sorry, this was supposed to be pic 3

[cloud badge]

what i said still applies there

[boreal ingot]

No, those are two seperate definitions. The emphasis one would be the 3rd in the 3rd pic, and the one you're talking about would be the first/second in the third pic

[cloud badge]

i dont think youve fully understood the things i said above so i dont know what else to tell you. youre misunderstanding actual. idk why youre arguing with the facts ive shared

[boreal ingot]

If there is evidence of people using it, I don't know why it wouldn't be correct

[cloud badge]

because people can be wrong

and still be understood

its still wrong. if i can understand you, no problem from me, but youre here asking english questions

[boreal ingot]

I'm not disagreeing that it can emphasise realness, I'm saying it can also be not about realness

[cloud badge]

it emphasizes the thing its describing. if its describing an hour, it has to be a kind of hour.

long, whole, full, quick, unending, not actual.

in that example

[boreal ingot]

Even with the definition of realness though, it can work with hour?
When I am being hyperbolic, my statments aren't based in reality, they're not how the actual thing is, and so when I say 'actual', I'm emphasising the fact of my the statment being the case in reality and not being an overstatment of the facts

[cloud badge]

"they showed up that actual hour" is how it would be used the way youre describing. means they showed up during that very 60 minute unit of time.

[boreal ingot]

so 'an actual hour' is just what an hour really is, instead of a 'hyperbolic hour'

[cloud badge]

but saying actual is used for hyperbole

[boreal ingot]

wdym

[cloud badge]

it is used to emphasize the realness, the houriness of the hour, if you will.

so the definition of hour still needs to stand

[boreal ingot]

Since I'm putting emphasis on the fact of it being an actual 4 hours and not an overstatment of the time, the entire statment gets a tone of surprise. Actual is emphasising the exactness of my statment of the length of time, so the sentence overall sounds surprised with the extra emphasis 'actual' adds

cuz '4 hours in reality' as opposed to '4 hours in a hyperbolic statement'

[cloud badge]

you could say 'I tried for what i thought was 3 hours but it was an actual 4' but thats not about the hours, its about the number of hours

actually 4, not 3

[boreal ingot]

Okay, I honestly don't think I'll get it without just more imerrsion in English tbh.
how do you feel about this rephrasing:

I've been wanting to look into that for four actual hours, but I keep getting distracted

[cloud badge]

that is better, but actual still is not the best there. it would be much more clear to move it to before been, 'ive actually been wanting to, ive honestly been wanting to, ive literally been wanting to, or you could say '4 literal hours' '4 whole hours' '4 gosh danged hours' haha but poeple will understand what you mean with what you said too.

[boreal ingot]

Alright, thanks. I still feel like 'actual' works with hours, but I suppose as I intake more English I will stop seeing it like that

[cloud badge]

it can, but just not in that specific context you shared. but yeah, youll get the hang of it the more you read, im sure c:

[bitter hill]

You can use it and still be understood

It's just that it's pretty uncommon and might throw some people off on first read

[boreal ingot]

So it's not exactly wrong? Or is it?

Maybe what threw you off was using 'an actual four hours' instead of 'four actual hours'? Do you feel the latter is better too

[bitter hill]

Grammatically I wouldn't say it's wrong...probably

[bitter hill]

No it just doesn't fit the phrase at all to me

[boreal ingot]

Odd, I've asked another native, who thought we can use 'actual' with hours, but preferred it be after 'four' rather than before

Maybe it's regional? Maybe it's a new thing? I'm not sure tbh

Ig I just have to ask around and see what natives and fluent people think of it

[bitter hill]

It could be regional, not sure

[boreal ingot]

ye I'll jus ask aroudn now and then

[meager lotus]

Hello everyone, hope you are great.
A question for Native speakers of the English language:
Do you guys automatically know how to pronounce "Conscientious" or do you make mistakes pronouncing such words?

[gaunt mango]

Most natives who aren’t children usually are able to pronounce the word just fine (con - she - en - shus) however it’s commonly misread as “consciousness” or “conscious”

Words that trip up natives are usually rare words that are pronounced differently from how they look as they’re spelled
Take “synecdoche” for example
It’s pronounced sin-neck-duh-key. First time I read it, I thought of it as “sin - neck - doke”

[meager lotus]

@gaunt mango First, thank you for your answer and help ^^
Second: Hearing (reading) this makes me feel both proud (when i manage to read one of these hard ones right the first time) and also relieved (knowing that making a mistake pronouncing such hard/confusing words can also happen to natives).

Also, IDK why I forgot to reflect on myself and my native tongue, I also happen to face the very same issue. XD

[boreal ingot]

My dumbass read that as 'syndicate'

[meager lotus]

i read it as si-neck-doushe

[boreal ingot]

That pronunciation did cross my mind, lol

I also thought 'si neck dock'

[meager lotus]

I can't blame anyone, English is inconsistent with such things

I am studying advanced English atm to refresh my memory and re-enrich my vocabulary, i keep facing these very complicated words but it is fun tbh.

[boreal ingot]

ye it is

[boreal ingot]

We three's cars were broken into last night, be careful.
Is this correct? If not, why not?
I know 'The cars of us three' would sound better (or even better, 'out cars'), but I'm only asking if what I said is grammatical (and if not, then why not), not how to rephrase it.

[west plover]

I dont understand this one, what do they mean by lines?
We also use on for lines (including rivers, borders, streets, etc.) and islands.

[meager lotus]

it looks ok and not ok at the same time XD

[boreal ingot]

On the third line of the page

I think

they mean that usage of 'on'

with lines

lol

[boreal ingot]

[west plover]

Line as a straight line?

[boreal ingot]

They mean the lines of a text

use the preposition 'on' when talking about lines of a text

I think at least

[west plover]

So what about the river and border they included?

[boreal ingot]

Maybe they don't mean lines of a text actually, they probably means 'line-shaped things'

Like borders between countries

rivers

those look like lines when looking on a map

That's probably what they meant

On the Nile river
On the Canada–United States border

On 7th street

etc.

generally those are 'lines'

they're saying taht as a rule, use 'on' for lines

idk how true this is, but they said it

[karmic pewter]

could you copy a whole paragraph or context of this?

[sweet breach]

I was so excited to eat
a. She didn't like the food.
b. She didn't like the table.
c. She was too tired to eat.
d. She was too nervous to eat.

[verbal heron]

Even the pronunciation of the word "epitome” is somewhat unusual. I used to pronounce it as /épi-tome/ before knowing that it's /ipitami/

[sacred mirage]

e

[errant kettle]

The use of actual, just doesn’t feel natural in the context you gave above. Changing the word order doesn’t really make it flow much better. One can say “I have been meaning to do it for four actual hours”. I just find it an awkward phrasing

[verbal heron]

isn't d close?

[west plover]

Whats different?
Ive got lots of thing
Ive got so many thing

[errant kettle]

The phrase “she was so excited to eat.” Indicates that she was hungry and really wanted to eat.

[errant kettle]

So many adds emphasis to the number of things. They are basically the same meaning but could be interpreted in slightly different ways. Also, in both phrases it is “things” plural

[sacred mirage]

oh this is an english question 😭

i thought this was general chat

im so sorry

[sacred mirage]

it would be a as it indicates shes already tried the food and she was disappointed; it didn’t live up to her ‘excitement’

[alpine gyro]

Could this be b?

[west plover]

What's different?
This stadium can hold nearly 2000 people
This stadium can hold some 2000 people

[boreal ingot]

Idk, I've asked a few natives and they seem to not mind that use of 'actual'. It seems to be a subjective thing

[alpine gyro]

Guys am I right if i pick this as b

I feel like granted fits more here (I used process of elimination)

[errant kettle]

Yes, I agree

[errant kettle]

I have already confessed my weakness in relation to the use of colon and semi-colon to you, however I agree with "B" as the best choice here.

[alpine gyro]

It’s alright thank you so much 🙏🙏 I think we’re right

[bitter hill]

B for both yes

[boreal ingot]

From a [theist/theist's] prespective, God was never born and has always existed.

From a [scientist/scientist's] point of view, this problem is much more complicated than from a [layperson/layperson's] point of view

From a [prescriptivist/prescriptivist's] viewpoint, the pronoun 'me' should be 'I' in the following sincetence: 'Who did it, you ask? It was me!'

Do both work?

[boreal ingot]

I don't see why 'In other words' would be eliminated

'With many elements, [x]. In other words, [x] wasn't true for all elements'

Although, I see 'granted' working too

I feel 'granted' sounds better, but I don't know why 'in other words' wouldn't work

if that makes sense

[bitter hill]

In other words suggests some sort of reformulation. The relationship here is contrastive:

With many elements, X was the case. This (X) wasn't the case with all elements.
X represents the fact that 'scientists were able to isolate a relatively pure sample of the substance shortly after discovering its existence'

[boreal ingot]

I see what you mean, that makes sense yeah. It's B for sure

[boreal ingot]

Do you think 'in other words' would work in speech? If we emphasised 'many'?

So, 'Many' of us are going. In other words, some are getting left behind, eh?

It's not really a rephrasing, just drawing a conclusion

[bitter hill]

Yeah I think that works, since the first sentence emphasizes the exclusion of the 'some' getting left behind

[bitter hill]

I think they all technically work, but for the first one I'd opt for theistic over theist/theist's

[boreal ingot]

Thank you

[boreal ingot]

and got it, many thanks

[bitter hill]

Then possessive 's for the 2nd and prescriptivist for the 3rd

[boreal ingot]

thanks :> Seems to match up with how I felt

Although I didn't consider 'theistic'

[cloud badge]

Not subjective, those people are just wrong or inferring correctly so they don't mind the inaccuracy but is still not correct. Many native speakers don't know English very well and they'll be the first to admit that 😅

[boreal ingot]

People use it. I don't care what's prescriptively correct here, it's just informal langauge

At the very least it's regional

But it's not incorrect

[cloud badge]

It's incorrect but most people don't care, i just think in the English help section its best to be clear about that

Idk how you can say as if it's a fact that it is not incorrect when you are still learning English. I'm a native speaker, i know this for a fact, and am trying to help you so please just believe me and i promise you that further understanding will come with the more you learn.

[meager lotus]

We can't override standardised English. Natives for sure know when something doesn't sound normal but as @cloud badge said, it doesn't mean they are following the rules or know them.

I also understand where you are coming from, I also have this idea in mind that if a native says something a certain way, then it should be accepted as just the language having a new trait, but at the end of the day it doesn't work like that.

I remember that they mentioned irregular cases in syntax of a poet intentionally messing around with some grammar and even tho they taught it to us as correct only in his case, they stated or hinted that it would still be wrong to do the same thing the poet did. (talking about my native tongue, not English.)

[boreal ingot]

This intensifier meaning has been confirmed to me as sounding alright by four people, one of whom is an editor, and another is an English teacher. Now, I know language has its set rules, but to so majorly be against something that obviously has some backing and a decent amount of usages is just unreasonable. I understand it's formally not correct English, but in an informal context, to some, it's correct; that's all what I was saying. I feel this has really dragged on for way too long, when the obvious answer is 'It's a usage of the word that is employed by some people but that is not strictly in accordance with the original meaning of the word'. Words change, maybe this meaning of 'actual' is uncommon in their dialect or region, but I sent multiple screenshots of it being used and have been told by people I find the knowledge of whom when it comes to English to be trustworthy that it's at least acceptable. I conceded it may not be standard usage, but to outright and so earnestly call it 'incorrect' was just a bit much, in my opinion

[meager lotus]

You sure do have really good points, and I agree with them. A dead language never changes such as Latin and MSA, but spoken living languages always evolve, and so it is true that meanings or usage of certain words if not phrases/sentences will also change.

[gaunt mango]

i opened this channel hoping for some nice easy answer questions but that is an insanely dense amount of text wth

[errant kettle]

Sometimes a discussion will come up here in this channel about usage versus correctness and I can appreciate that @cloud badge is exercising some diligence in trying to be precise about what is correct , I can also appreciate that @boreal ingot sounds ready to end this discussion and has decided they will continue to embrace this particular usage. We don’t all have to agree and the beauty of language is that we can use it creatively to express our thoughts and ideas. If one finds they are not being well understood, it is likely that they will change their usage to something more conventional. Often we speak like the people around us regardless of how precise they are in their mastery of the language. I do agree it is important here in this channel to try our very best to draw distinction between informal usage and what is actually correct.

[boreal ingot]

Alright, thanks for helping end this discussion. It was really long

Let's all agree language is cool and answer English questions

[flat rune]

Hey

[flat rune]

R u the admin?

[gaunt mango]

no

[flat rune]

So r u tutor ?

Waiting for response 🫠

[flat rune]

I'm talking to u 😼

[gaunt mango]

i help out some times

[flat rune]

How ?

[boreal ingot]

What Why do you only help out some times? What about the other times? Do they not deserve help too?

[flat rune]

Why my name is highlighted?

[bitter hill]

I think you mean why

[boreal ingot]

Ye typo lol

I suppose Zov's sentence can also be read as 'I (regularly) help (to) out some times'

In which case, why would you do such a thing? Those poor times shouldn't be outted like that. Besides why do you help out sometimes but not all times? I would much rather if you helped out no times but at least be fair in what you help out in the outting of :(

[cloud badge]

If anything itd be read 'i help out some times (of the day)" vs 'i help out sometimes (occasionally)'. Help out is too common of a phrase to be misinterpreted as help (to) out or help (take) out.

[boreal ingot]

I mean, if we are really trying to see all the misinterpretations possble, then what Zov wrote would mean 'Help to out [some times]' or 'aid [some times]'
But realistically no one will analyse it like that

It's just fun to see how the sentence works

For fun :p

[cloud badge]

Yeah that is a funny way to interpret it

[errant kettle]

So this channel is a place to post any questions you might have about English and volunteers here will try and answer them.

[haughty sapphire]

Hello, how are you? Could someone help me by giving me tips on how to get on the phone to speak English? I'm embarrassed and afraid of making mistakes when speaking. If I make a mistake, what do you advise me to do?

[flat rune]

I'm not good at grammer
What should I do

[errant kettle]

I am not sure I know how to help with the phone, I imagine you are talking about using the phone to translate. You can try with google translate. Don't worry about making mistakes, people will understand that you are learning.

[flat rune]

Also which topics of grammar will help me improve my English

[haughty sapphire]

but in call?

thanks

[haughty sapphire]

About grammar it is really confusing, I advise you to do some exercises... This is good all the time

[errant kettle]

Oh, I don't know how to do that

[haughty sapphire]

Geez, I need a teacher then lol

But thank you very much

[errant kettle]

I think that practice helps you to gain a lot of skills and there are classes here in the server that might help you as well. Grammar is a pretty broad topic.

[haughty sapphire]

What are the classes like?

[tidal lily]

You scroll down this server and you'll find many voice channels active. There are beginner, advance, fluent levels. There's shy voice channel as well.

I was hesitant in the beginning as well. I can talk with you in 2 people's voice chat channel to help you overcome hesitancy.

[haughty sapphire]

I liked it, I will look for more about it here

How does it work, just log in?

[tidal lily]

Just tap on any channel and click join.

[haughty sapphire]

Okay

Thanks

[boreal ingot]

If you put stuff in #📝｜proofreading someone will correct you eventually

Idk about any sites for that though, sorry

[flat rune]

Talking or text with ChatGPT sound like good practice for English … did anyone try that ?

[meager lotus]

I tried it and a friend of mine, we tested if it could have a solid conversation in my own dialect and the accuracy was too high it freaked me out.

[flat rune]

It good at translating, I found

[boreal ingot]

I guess it can be good for conversation, just as input in the language

But don't ask it for explanations of rules cuz it sucks at that

It's not really good at teaching English, but it speaks it well enough, so you could use it as a conversation partner

[flat rune]

Yeah that makes sense

It is also terrible at math

And scientific problem solve

[crimson vortex]

Hello, can "to choke" be used as a synonym for "to strangle"? I know these verbs are different, however in mma "to choke" is used as "to strangle"

There's even a word "chokehold"

[opal copper]

?def strangle

[hazy herald]

Word: strangle

Definition 1 (verb): prevent the progress or free movement of
Definition 2 (verb): struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake
Definition 3 (verb): kill by squeezing the throat of so as to cut off the air

Other definitions can be found here

Definition requested by irractical.c

[opal copper]

could be

what is creolin and myrrh

[vestal hedge]

I wonder, how to use the word "confound"

I'm looking at the Cambridge dictionary and it's pretty much confusing me about how to describe

it's more likely to say "amaze"

[ebon lark]

can i remove all the words that following after adverbs in these sentences?
You go on dates more often than me
Alice is very shy. I always notice that she talks more quietly than others
im not asking about losing the sense of sentences idc, im just asking like is it possible is it k?

[cloud badge]

Maybe it could help your understanding to break up the word into its parts. Con and found. Con, meaning bad, suggests that the information found the person badly, like, they did not expect it, plan for it, it stumped them and they're a bit shocked by how unprepared they were for it. And the opposite can be done for profound. That means stunning in a way, finding something or some info that feels so true to you, that it is deeply meaningfull.

[hoary lichen]

Yes, though it may make the sentence more vague due to the loss of clarification

[ebon lark]

thx!!

[acoustic geyser]

Which one is correct?
On the TV/facebook/discord/youtube/etc/...
In the TV/facebook/discord/youtube/etc/....

[ebon lark]

"Driving is nowhere near frequent at the death as flying" is it fine?

[cloud badge]

When you use more, you ideally should have something in the sentence you're comparing it to. If not in that sentence, it could be in a different one, but there should be some reference to what is the thing is more than. Otherwise, you could just say 'i always notice that she talks quietly' or 'you go on dates often'.

[ebon lark]

im confused now. when im trying to compare sth using the adverbs of manner or adverbs like often, frequently, rarely with "more" its always necessarily to use "than" too? or its not necessarily always?

can "soon" be an adjective?

[cloud badge]

If youre comparing something, you should always mention both of the things being compared. There are exceptions when the compared thing is implied, but the two things need to be obvious. You can use often, frequently, and rarely without a comparison, but yes, when it's with 'more', you need 'than'.
And no, i don't think soon can be an adjective on its own.

[ebon lark]

i think i got it! thank u soooo much for helping me, i appreciate it)))

[cloud badge]

Yay, happy to help

[ebon lark]

1 "Waking ups are getting sooner and sooner"
2 "Driving is nowhere near frequent at the death as flying"
is it correct?

[hoary lichen]

On

Though for TV you’d say I’m watching TV instead of I’m on the TV

The latter means you’re being displayed on the TV rather than being the one watching

[cloud badge]

neither are correct, you could say "wake ups are sooner and sooner", "wake ups are getting earlier and earlier", or "The time i wake up is getting to be sooner and sooner"

and the second, im not sure exactly what you mean but im guessing something like "Driving has nowhere near as frequent casualties as flying" (that sentence still feels wrong to me somehow, though) or "Driving is nowhere near as deadly as flying"

[cloud badge]

if you drop the 'the' in 'on the tv' youd mean that youre being shown on the screen. 'im/its on tv, turn on channel 9' then someone could reply, 'ok, im at the tv, ready to watch, what time does the show start' youd only say 'in the tv' if youre talking about the internal tv parts, like to fix it or something.

you could say 'on the tv' if youre interacting with it, like we do when we are 'on the computer' but its usually be something more specific like 'its on the tv guide' or 'im on the tv setting, trying to fix the volume' rather than just 'on the tv'

[boreal ingot]

I understood the sentence like this

driving is nowhere near as frequent a cause of death as flying
or maybe
To be driving at one's death is nowhere near as frequent as it is to be flying

@ebon lark what did you mean exactly? So we can help correct the sentence

[flat rune]

What does the sentence '' i gazed a gazely stare '' mean ?

[boreal ingot]

Hey, as far as I could find, 'gazely' is not a word. Might you have modified the last line of these lyrics?

[flat rune]

Let me give you the context

I was listening to a song

I was looking at the lyrics in the description

The lyrics were :

We passed upon the stair
Although I wasn't there
He said I was his friend
Which came as some surprise
I spoke into his eyes
I thought you died alone
A long long time ago

Oh no, not me
I never lost control
You're face to face
With the man who sold the world

I laughed and shook his hand,
And made my way back home
I searched for form and land
For years and years I roamed
I gazed a gazely stare
And all the millions here
We must have died alone
A long long time ago

Who knows? not me
We never lost control
You're face to face
With the man who sold the world

[boreal ingot]

Yeah, they might have mistranscribed

gazely is not a word

however, 'to gaze [something]' means 'to gaze at [something]'

and 'gazeless' would mean 'unseeing'

so they're saying they gazed at a star that cannot see

[flat rune]

Gaze is a synonym of look ?

[boreal ingot]

I didn't read the full lyrics, so I couldn't tell you what they mean by that, but it';s likely metaphorical

[flat rune]

right ?

[boreal ingot]

Kind of. 'Gaze' means 'stare intently' normally in admiration

so if you gaze at something, you look at it for a long time

and admire it

[sacred mirage]

gaze is like dreaming

but in vision

like your dreamy almost

gazing up at the stars

eg

[flat rune]

Like stare ?

[boreal ingot]

yea

but more dreamy

like pinguin said

[flat rune]

They could have said stare

but it's a poetry

[boreal ingot]

gaze has more emotion to it

[flat rune]

So they won't say i stared

[boreal ingot]

it's a pretty common word

[flat rune]

Oh ok

Why did he invent a word ?

He could have said

i gazed a gazeless stare

[boreal ingot]

Anyways, seeing as you seem to have not seen the word before, I'd liek to clarify that 'gaze' is normally not transitive, meaning it doesn't take a direct object but takes an indirect object with 'at' (you wouldn't say 'gaze the sky', but 'gaze at the sky')

[sacred mirage]

stare is like an uncomfortable word ??? its not something that is positive I would say, unless its modified by something positive

like staring at someone

[boreal ingot]

This usage in the song is not common

[flat rune]

Yeah i have never seen the word

[sacred mirage]

yeah its not usual in lyrics

[flat rune]

Like look at

[boreal ingot]

yea

anyways, in the song, do they say 'gazely' or 'gazeless', cuz the former is not a word

I believe 'gazely' is a mistranscription

[flat rune]

He said

' I gazed a gazely stare '

[sacred mirage]

seems to be just a play on words

it would suggest the star is probably dreamy, maybe its stunning etc

ive not read it

[boreal ingot]

wait I've been reading 'stare' as 'star' lmfao

[sacred mirage]

oh me too

haha

[boreal ingot]

😭

[sacred mirage]

i would guess its like an intense stare??

[boreal ingot]

this is weird, you don't normally 'gaze a stare', but I can see what they mean ig

could you link the song? @flat rune

[flat rune]

Would a native figure it out ?

[flat rune]

Sure

[sacred mirage]

well i am a native

[flat rune]

I am allowed to send links ?

[sacred mirage]

yes

[boreal ingot]

Here, Wikitionary says 'gazeless', so I think you're mishearing it

[sacred mirage]

and u can interpret what it means

i mean i guess its an intense stare

[flat rune]

not that

wrong link sry

https://youtu.be/IU2wBKoDOzg?feature=shared

[flat rune]

So if you had listened to the song for once time

You could have figured it out

[sacred mirage]

i mean ive just listened to it and its quit poetic

[boreal ingot]

Yeah he says gazeless

https://youtu.be/IU2wBKoDOzg?t=95

I hear gazeless

1 min 35 secs

[flat rune]

Am i allowed to send pictures ?

Look at the description

[boreal ingot]

hm actually it might be egazely. They probably made the word up

It probably is like, a stare filled with emotion

is wehat they're saying

[boreal ingot]

yea I found them on genius and they also have 'gazely'

[boreal ingot]

people sometimes make words using affixes

[flat rune]

Even youtube understands

gazely

While it isn't a word

[boreal ingot]

those are subtitles written by the creator

not auto ones

[flat rune]

You might be right

But i don't see any option to turn the subtitles to english

English ( not made by the creator )

[boreal ingot]

anyways, yeah, generally don't use this word. Here the artist took creative libreaty and made a word up using an affix. Often people do that informally, but yeah, you can derive the meaning. It means 'long, and intent and filled with emotion (of a a stare or gaze)' I would imagine

[flat rune]

I didn't know you could invent words in english

And i had another question : Would an english teacher figure it out ?

[boreal ingot]

it's not so much invent as it is utilise the parts that make up words to jokingly (or for the sake of convenience) cobble something together in the moment. It's not anything 'proper'

You most often see this with the prefix 'non-', where people add it to anything

[flat rune]

Who is not native

[flat rune]

oh ok

[boreal ingot]

What do you mean?

Would an English teacher figure what out?

[flat rune]

Figure the word out

Figure '' gazely '' out

[boreal ingot]

Yeah, an annoying English teacher would just say it's inncorrect and not give thought to the meaning, but typically fluent and native people can figure out these words with affixes attached to them without issue

[flat rune]

He could just have said gazeless

It'd have been correct

[boreal ingot]

Like, once I was talking to someone in VC, and I couldn't remember the term 'mutual intelligibility' for the life of me, so I just said 'inter-communication-ibility between the the two languages' and they got what I meant. Now, I will say this is an extreme example, and we had a laugh about my choice afterward, but you see it to a less extreme degree quite often. To get better at understanding this sort of thing you can 1. try to study the meanings of the affixes in English, 2. just keep using English and your brain will over time notice how some affix patterns are present in English and understand how they change the meanings

[flat rune]

You're right

I remember asking my teacher

if we had to know every word in english

My teacher was a girl

she told me : we can't

There are many words that exist in english that even a teacher wouldn't know

[boreal ingot]

Gazeless means something else, though.

The '-ly' suffix is used to make adjectives from nouns and adverbs from adjectives. So 'gaze' the noun becomes 'gazely' (meaning 'having to do with/of gaze')

The '-less' suffix means 'without [x]'. It makes adjectives that mean 'without [x]' from nouns, yup. An example would be 'fearless' meaning 'without fear'. 'Gazeless' would mean 'without a gaze'

[flat rune]

Yeah but

since the word gazely

doesn't exist

[boreal ingot]

yeah, they could have used an alternative

but they decided to make a word

probably for the rhyme

or smth

artists have creative liberty; they may play around and bend the rules a bit

[boreal ingot]

yeah, I beleive the amount of words in use in English is around 100K

oh, closer to 200K

[flat rune]

How

It's more than i thought

[boreal ingot]

ye, English has a lot of words :p

French seems to have a lot too

btw, by head words I believe they're only counting words without inflections

[hoary lichen]

bludclart

[boreal ingot]

so they count 'ship' and 'ships' as one

'plays' 'play' and 'played' as 1

etc.

[flat rune]

Less than english

as i can see

[hoary lichen]

bludduh raazclart

[boreal ingot]

what's that

[hoary lichen]

ascended English

[flat rune]

Do they count je faisais and il faisait

It means

i was doing/he was doing

[boreal ingot]

I don't speak French sorry 😅

not sure

[flat rune]

Np

[hoary lichen]

blud = slang for bro
rasclart = jamaican euphemism

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1196642066378268745/1316493498249253096/attachment.gif

i am guilty of saying blud a fair too much

[flat rune]

cutie cat blud

[honest trellis]

Guys i want to ask
What is the different of: Jungle, Forest, Wood?

[vast shadow]

Hi everyone, I have a question.How do I ask how much time a person has, otherwise I ask and they don't always understand me

[hoary lichen]

How much time do you have?

[mossy pulsar]

hello. what verb should i use in mmorpg game when i want to say did you clear all mobs and defeat final boss? like do, close, pass dungeon?

[sacred mirage]

if its just generally say: “did you clear all the mobs and defeat the final boss?”

if its for a specific location: “did you clear all the mobs and defeat the final boss (near,by,in) the…”

@mossy pulsar

[mossy pulsar]

i need a verb. a synonim

[crimson vortex]

What do you want exactly?

[crimson vortex]

What do you ask them, so they don't understand?

[mossy pulsar]

corrrect verb for knowing if the have done(?) dungeon or not

[boreal ingot]

Clear and do both work

[boreal ingot]

I think 'clear' works best for if you wanan focus on the fact everything was killed

and 'did' would just focus on the fact you passed it

ngl Im pretty sure theyre interchangeable tho

We're gonna go clear some dungeons
We're gonna go do some dungeons

both sound fibe

fine

[mossy pulsar]

i got it thank you, wasn't sure if word do is fine

[crimson vortex]

Hello, guys

I know the difference between to choke and to strangle. My question might sound weird, but I have repeatedly heard "to choke" being used as "to strangle" in mma (ufc)

There is even such a word "chokehold"

So can these two mean the same?

[boreal ingot]

I'm guessing you mean the difference as in how to strangle is to obstruct the airway until death and to choke is to have something stuck in the airway?

Choke is very often used in the first sense

but strangle is never used in the second sense

[knotty bay]

Hi... I need help finding the lyrics of a short song, I can't understand all the words... is someone willing to help me?

[crimson vortex]

Shazam

[crimson vortex]

So choke often equals strangle, right?

Okay

[boreal ingot]

yea

[crimson vortex]

By the way, are you a native speaker or an english learner?

[boreal ingot]

Learner

If you wanna wait for a native that's fine

[knotty bay]

Nope, it's an unreleased song

[crimson vortex]

No, I just asked out of curiosity. It's just I often see you answering people's question correctly

[boreal ingot]

Oh, thanks 😅

[crimson vortex]

Unreleased where? I might confuse something, but how are you gonna find a song's name if it's not released yet?

[knotty bay]

By listening to it?

[crimson vortex]

But if it's unreleased, how are you gonna find it then?

[knotty bay]

Not the name, the words they're singing

[boreal ingot]

lmao

[versed escarp]

hello.

[crimson vortex]

Ohhh, i got it

[boreal ingot]

Hello.*

[crimson vortex]

You wrote "the lyrics", i didnt notice it

[versed escarp]

Who can speak in spanish?

snooze here

[crimson vortex]

Hello, forest has higher tree density, so the tops of trees cover bigger amount of land. Woods have sparser tree density, the tops of the trees cover smaller amount of land, so the soil is more unshaded and is mainly drier. Jungle is a specific type of forest that is located mainly in the equator region. Jungle (also rainforest) is a very hot and humid forest with frequent rains. You should google what jungle looks like yourself.

[flat rune]

Is the sentence correct ? : During the cold war, the world was divided by 2, in Europe and America, it was called the western bloc while in Asia it was called the eastern bloc, there wasn't any physical touch, there were only threats etc. During this war, there was a space race, the challenge happened between America and Russia, the goal was to go to the moon the first, and in 1964, Neil Amestrong got onto the moon so Usa won the space race, and the cold war ended because the wall of Berlin got destroyed in 1991.

[crimson vortex]

Not an expert myself, but first, i would say not "divided by 2", but "divided into 2 halves"

Not "bloc", but "block"

[flat rune]

Yeah i forgot the k

[crimson vortex]

What does "the challenge happened America and Russia" mean? Did you forget "between"?

[flat rune]

I forgor it

I wrote it on the phone

[crimson vortex]

Not "Usa", but "the USA"

[flat rune]

I hate writting on phone

[crimson vortex]

"the" is mandatory

[flat rune]

I typed western bloc on google

It says westrrn bloc

[crimson vortex]

I would avoid saying " Russia" here. It is more about Soviet Union

[flat rune]

Not western block

[crimson vortex]

And I would say that the cold ward ended because the Soviet Union collapsed

[flat rune]

I have been taught

That rhe cold war

Ended

Becaude the wall got destroyed

[crimson vortex]

Basically, your text is fine

[flat rune]

Ty for correcting me

On google it's said

That the cond war ended in 1989

Actuallt i am right

On wikipedia it's said

It ended on the 26th December 1991

[honest trellis]

Ohh i got ittt....
Thank u so muchh for the explanation, now i know the difference and when should i use it :D

[trail slate]

What's the difference between "i was thinking about you" and "i was thinking of you" ?

[flat rune]

What is the difference between these two sentences : Either way, even though i had helped you, you'd not have passed the test as well. Anyway, even though i had helped you, you'd not have passed the test as well.

[arctic jungle]

Hello

Can someone critique my short story review?

[flat rune]

In what context do I use "subject", "topic" and "materials". For example, " what is your favorite subject in the school?"

[flat rune]

In my view, the first sentence says that you were thinking a lot about the person. In the second, it seems that you thought about the person by chance

[sacred mirage]

hi send it in #📝｜proofreading

does anyone need their questions answered? that are either new or have gone unanswered

[flat rune]

Me

[acoustic geyser]

Is this correct?
Had I known, I would have help

[sacred mirage]

okay so, let me know if this needs more explanation but to put it simply:

subject: a broad area of knowledge. e.g law, psychology, english, cars

topic: a specific theme or issue within the subject. e.g disputes in law, mental health, adjectives, fast cars

materials are used to help you understand the subject or topic better . e.g books, laptop, headphones, whiteboard etc

[sacred mirage]

yep it is

well done

[acoustic geyser]

Is this sorta form a bit of formality?

[trail slate]

Yep

[sacred mirage]

what do you mean?

[acoustic geyser]

The form I've just said: "had I known"

[sacred mirage]

is it formal or informal?

[acoustic geyser]

Yes

[sacred mirage]

hmm i would say it leans into more formal but its just basic stuff if you get me, because its saying had I known, so its necessary to the sentence

you could say if i had known aswell

so its neither really formal or informal

[alpine gyro]

Is it c? I think it refutes two explanations. Does anyone have different answers?

Coz at one part it says mass is not attributable to solar energy driven ice vaporization and it hasn’t lost mass at its perihelion

So these r two explanations?

[dreamy spear]

This is my friend, isn't he?
This is my friend, isn't it?

Which one is grammatically correct?

I'd say the second one is correct. Am I right?

[weak harness]

you are talking about a person so the first one is correct, ✍🏼
if you said this is my car, isn't it would be correct because a car is an object suitable for it

[dreamy spear]

"Is" is used prior to "my friend"
For example
"That boy is handsome, isn't he?" Is correct whereas "that is the boy we talked about, isn't it?" Is correct.

But in the sentence I already sent I feel a bit of a difference.

[dreamy spear]

Don't we use "is" for "this" so the proper usage would be isn't it? I don't know why I feel that way and make sure why I'm wrong

[flat rune]

I understood now, thank you very much for your help!

[flat rune]

What is the difference between : keep, continue and carry on

[sacred mirage]

where

[flat rune]

...

[sacred mirage]

hm can you put them in sentences please

[sacred mirage]

i agree witth zoey

[flat rune]

i think carry on means to bring something continiously

He kept carring on his wheel's car hours after the accident have happened

i don't know if that's right , i may be wrong though

[boreal ingot]

How about subject vs object (not in grammar). Stuff like 'she was the subject of much opprobrium' and 'she was the object of much opprobrium'?

[flat rune]

I kept being a bad person now i am no longer a bad person

I continued my road hoping to find the restaurant that i've been looking for

[sacred mirage]

It was in the context of school, so presumably it was about subjects etc within like a learning environment

[flat rune]

I carried on the tradition so that it is not forgotten

[boreal ingot]

Oh ye that makes sense. I should've probably specified my question wasn't really related to theirs lol. I just dk the difference between subject and object in the usage above

[sacred mirage]

I guess with subject its like it makes her sound more like she's more actively involved in being criticised, mainly her personally.

However, with object it implies that she's being criticised, but the focus might be more on the actions or circumstances rather than on her personally ifygm,

but theres no real clear distinction, its kinda nuanced

[sacred mirage]

okay sure so:

with keep its mainly about it implying maintaining a state or action, over like a certain period of time. Often just used to show that its a persistent behaviour.

Continue: it indicates that something is ongoing but that action persists without interruption, often used for maybe progression of an event or activity e.g i continued to search for a restaurant

carry on: often used for persisting despite a difficulty. But it could also imply taking over responsibility or 'carrying on' a tradition.

[boreal ingot]

I think I get it kinda. Thank youu

[boreal ingot]

Continue can also be for starting to do an interrupted action again: 'Now that Tim is done yammering, we can continue talking about what's important'

[odd bone]

Hello everyone, I joined this server yesterday and wondering which activities while learning English have had the most impact to your improvement? Was it watching series and movies with subtitles or without? I use English everyday at my work on daily calls but sometimes I notice that I am thinking 'which word should I use for this sentence'? In those moments, I'm blocked and dont know what should I say. I'd like to eliminate this habit and wondering if reading books with B2 level (Jo Nesbo) for example could be good idea or the better is watching series/movies. How did you learn?

Are you able to recommend any series/movies without a large amount of idioms, inside jokes etc.? for example 'Friends'? 😉

[flat rune]

Ty

[alpine gyro]

Can someone help me on this one I’m stuck

[trail slate]

Ok so

Can you talk about a bad news and then say "anyways, on a happy note ..." and go on to say a good news that is irrelevant to what you were previously talking about??

[boreal ingot]

My dad just died, but anyways, on a happy note, my order is arriving today!

I mean ig it works

If it's not too major a contrast

I would also say I feel 'on a happier note' sounds better

But I couldn't tell you what the difference is or why, so it may just be me

[bitter hill]

C seems good

[cloud badge]

A happier note would imply that the first note was happy, but it's not so, a happy note is actually better.

[cloud badge]

Yeah you can do that, for sure.

[boreal ingot]

Something that is happy is happier than something that is sad

It has no implication as to how happy the first thing was

[cloud badge]

It does in that sentence, happy is better because the first thing wasn't happy. Happier would be if they were both happy

[sacred mirage]

I don’t agree here Red, I think both are fine

[cloud badge]

I know that being happy is happier than being sad but theres no need to correct happy to happier cuz the first thing was not even happy. I didn't say they're not both fine, im just saying there's no need for a change from happy to happier

Like you can say a happy note if you're not trying to draw a comparison to the first thing.

[boreal ingot]

I said it sounds better to me, that's it

Both mean the same thing but happier sounds better to me

[cloud badge]

Happier makes it a comparison. But yeah it's up to you. Id just say happy cuz i wpuldnt want to compare.

[cloud badge]

Yo, i wasnt saying that you're wrong, i was just pointing out that your change was a preference and not absolutely necessary so the person understands. Can you stop having a problem with literally everything i say please?

It's just a different perspective, gosh

[boreal ingot]

I literally said 'it may just be me' to show it might be a preference, I don't have a problem with you. You just came and told me they mean different things and said I was pushing a preference

[alpine gyro]

Thank you so much

[boreal ingot]

I really don't have the energy to argue with you for another 4 hours

[cloud badge]

I didn't say you were pushing anything and i didn't say your perspective was wrong, i was explaining that 'a happy note' is good enough, its perfectly correct. That's all.

Saying something is correct without a change doesn't mean your change is incorrect

Neither is better, it depends on if the speaker intends for the listener to compare the two topic or not.

[boreal ingot]

You said 'happy' is better ^

I don't really think there's is a difference in meaning personally, but I can't find anything online that compares the two, so I can't say if there indeed is a difference or not

[cloud badge]

Happy to me is better, that's my own opinion, its better in that specific sentence to me because i wouldnt want to draw a comparison between the death of someone and something completely unrelated

[boreal ingot]

Can we not go on back and forth for a long time? I really don't mean to argue

[cloud badge]

You can stop replying whenever you want

[boreal ingot]

Alright, fair enough. When you put it as your opinion then I see no reason to object :p

Just opinions

[cloud badge]

In my eyes, everything anyone says is an opinion unless stated as otherwise.

[boreal ingot]

ig so

anyway English question

I know not when seasons start and end; [the vicissitude of winter and autumn, of summer and spring, it passes by me], for I am but a mindless being floating through time, awaiting my undoing. I am not yet arrived at my destination, the reaper's embrace, but I so do long for the time I shall know it.
or
I know not when seasons start and end; [the vicissitudes of winter and autumn, of summer and spring, they pass by me], for I am but a mindless being floating through time, awaiting my undoing. I am not yet arrived at my destination, the reaper's embrace, but I so do long for the time I shall know it.

1. which version works better?
2. is the semicolon correct?

Oh, also,
3. 'pass me by' or 'pass by me' here? I feel the former fits better

[cloud badge]

The first, because you're talking about the vicissitude, which is one thing. Id use a period instead of the semicolon cuz the sentence reads just fine with a clean break there. 'Passes me by' rather 'than passes by me' is a more poetic way and fits the theme more nicely. Also, where it says 'i am not arrived' id replace am with have. Or say 'I've not arrived' if you want it to also sound poetic, but also be a little more gramatically correct.

[boreal ingot]

'to be' was used for the present perfect of intransative verbs in the past

but thanks a lot for the other corrections

[cloud badge]

I looked it up cuz it seemed like an old timey way to speak, apparently it is. "It depends how long ago the sentence was written. In contemporary English we always form the perfect with to have - “I have arrived”. However, in English right up to the 19th Century we would use to be to form the perfect in “unaccusative” verbs. " so i guess if you're going for an older vibe that's cool, but yeah, if not, maybe use have.

[cloud badge]

And yeah sure happy to help

[boreal ingot]

ye I was going for an older style with that

thanks

[unkempt breach]

@cloud badge hi dear, I'm Patricio. How are you doing?. Are you a native speaker or like me an English learner? Regards

[cloud badge]

im a native speaker

[cloud badge]

and im doing well, thanks for asking, hopefully you are too

[unkempt breach]

Yes also. Today it is impossible to sleep well. So many thoughts and things to learn in English. 😆

[boreal ingot]

What do you call this thing?

the pink is a badly-drawn arrow

I don't mean shoe strap btw, I mean the specific type that like sticks

[opaque topaz]

Sleep slays

[opaque topaz]

velcro shoe strap

[boreal ingot]

ohh, 'Velcro' is the term?

I see, thank you

[tidal lily]

Velcro ?

I'm late 😭

[boreal ingot]

yea lol

thanks

[tidal lily]

No it's fine all credits go to the governor

[sweet breach]

any help with this question

[acoustic geyser]

What difference between:
Tomorrow will be my birthday
Tomorrow it's my birthday

[signal shell]

in the first, tomorrow is acting as a noun
in the second, tomorrow is acting as an adverb
they both mean the exact same thing

[signal shell]

probably C, the other options wouldn't be used to describe a violation

"egregious" is being used to emphasize just how bad the violation was

[sweet breach]

thanks alot for your help i just found and example for this ... The doctor committed an 'egregious violation' of medical standards, the court heard during his trial.

[acoustic geyser]

My mistake lol

Tomorrow is my birthday

[signal shell]

there's really no difference between the two sentences

the only difference is in how the speaker in conceptualizing how time and language works

to say "tomorrow is my birthday", the speaker recognizes that in the present state of things, tomorrow is currently their birthday

to say "tomorrow will be my birthday", the speaker is thinking about how their birthday is in the future and hasn't yet occurred in the present

[sweet breach]

please help with this one

[sacred mirage]

are there any which you don’t think goes in the blank?

[trail slate]

What's the difference between "they are" and "there are"

[boreal ingot]

'they are' refers to either 1 person, more than 1 person, or more than 1 object, 'are' is just in any of its uses (e.g. to exist, have [x] quality, etc.)

'there are [x]' means '[x] exists'

[flat rune]

I've been wondering why do we say they for one person

Because we do not know their gender ?

[boreal ingot]

Yeah

when you don't know someone's gender or they prefer being referred to as 'they'

you use 'they'

Some ppl say it's bad English and you should use 'he'

but singular they has been around for 650 years

so yea, mainly use the generic masculine 'he' when going for an older style I suppose, or when being extremely formal

otherwise 'they' will do

[flat rune]

Oh ok

I thought saying 'he' was wrong

[boreal ingot]

which onee

which class

[flat rune]

But i kept saying it

[boreal ingot]

It's only an older thing

I personally dislike it, but it's not incorrect

[boreal ingot]

If you were to kill someone's mother, would he not be justified in avenging her?

This would be an example of 'he' used generically. It refers to the genderless 'someone'. It may be replaced with 'they'

Ohhh her class is today?

Thanks for the reminderr

[sweet breach]

yes i think (could and had better ) can't be suitable for this one because they indicate to the Past .

[boreal ingot]

I shall attend for fear that I should be harmed otherwise

[sacred mirage]

well its telling us something will happen, from this what do you think?

[sweet breach]

would ?

[sacred mirage]

yep. exactly

well done!

[sweet breach]

thank you a lot

[acoustic geyser]

Does "be meant to" sound poetic than "be supposed to"?

[boreal ingot]

You aren't meant to babble on about our private life
^ pretty casual I'd say. Doesn't feel poetic to me

Unless you mean the

I'm meant for greatness

usage

then I suppose that's a bit poetic

but ye not that poetic overall

[rapid bison]

a direct example where you must use "they" to refer to one person...
is me

scella's explanation is also another use, yep

[feral spindle]

Hello
I have a question

How can i know which level I'm in?

[flat rune]

Hello. Do you know if "quested for" is commonly used by native speakers ?

The scientist is questing for a new vaccine (it's possible because it's a search, right?)
But if I say the need of someone required/ requested the development of a tool or sometime... Is it right to use quested for instead?

[acoustic geyser]

Hello

Does "be bound to" mean that something is certain to happen and is inevitable?

[sturdy jolt]

There are some tests on the Internet. I don't know are they reliable but you can try. Or you can Take TOEFL/IELTS exams. They are verified tests and you can also take a certificate .

[feral spindle]

I'm studying for IELTS bro

[sturdy jolt]

Oh okay you can give a chance to Internet tests or YouTube tests

[feral spindle]

[sweet breach]

guys is this right ? i'm not sure

[alpine gyro]

Could the fitted transition here be B (granted)?

[boreal ingot]

none work?

[boreal ingot]

B sounds best

[alpine gyro]

Thank you 🙏

[bitter hill]

C

[boreal ingot]

'unless' works best cuz the others sound weird with the surouding grammar

a. 'In order that the accused has been be found ...'; doesn't work
b. 'So that the accused has been be/is/will be found ...'; doesn't work
c. 'Whereas' doesn't work cuz there isnt a contrast being shown
d. 'Unless' sounds best, but logically doesn't make sense, cuz first is the most severe

[bitter hill]

'Unless' implies that the punishment will be severe except if the accused has been found guilty of murder which is basically the complete opposite of the intended meaning

[boreal ingot]

Yeah

that's why I said it doesn't make sense logically

but neither does 'whereas'

there isn't a contrast being made

[bitter hill]

Google lists another definition for whereas:

(especially in legal preambles) taking into consideration the fact that.

This is a much more fitting definition

[boreal ingot]

oh, I haven't seen it before. Yeah this would make the most sense then, for sure

is it particularly well known? If I may ask

[boreal ingot]

@sweet breach, going by this legal definition, 'whereas' is the way to go ^

[sweet breach]

so the correct answer would be C?

[boreal ingot]

yea

all credit to Akuma, I'm just passing his message

[bitter hill]

Maybe for those familiar with legalese? I personally wasn't aware of that definition til I searched it up

[boreal ingot]

makes sense, yeah. Thank you

[sweet breach]

if i want to use UNLESS >>>> unless the accused has been found gulity of murder in the first degree, there will be no punishment ,,,,,,,,, am i right /

?

[boreal ingot]

yea that works

that means that in any case beside this one, there will be no punishment

it's properly used

[sweet breach]

thanks a lot guys

[acoustic geyser]

How do I use be bound to

[boreal ingot]

when you're making a prediction that you're really sure about

She's bound to come back; it's just a matter of time

[acoustic geyser]

Only in the future or present too?

[boreal ingot]

You're bound to run into the bunch; tell them I said hi.

[boreal ingot]

it's a prediction

so yeah it's about the future

[bitter hill]

There are several meanings so it depends on what you mean

[acoustic geyser]

I saw it that has a meaning the same as be supposed to

Can it interchangeable?

[verbal heron]

Can "concision" and "conciseness" be used interchangeably?

[signal shell]

yeah, i would think so

[acoustic geyser]

Are be bound to and be supposed to interchangeable?

[verbal heron]

alright, thanks

[acoustic kayak]

Hey, it's me. Why did u.......?

[trail slate]

What are your plans for the holiday?
(Is this ok to say?)

I'm asking about the new year n Christmas

[flat rune]

"Shall" is still used for the future instead of "wiil" as in "I shall see"/" I will see"

?

[lyric parcel]

past tense is hella confusing

he was dead

he is dead

same

cake was good

cake is good

[round jungle]

Neither of these mean the same thing.

• He was dead. = At some point in the past, he was dead. The implication would be that he has come back to life. 🧟‍♂️ (Unless you're telling a narrative in past tense. Then the present tense form would only be found in dialogue.)

• He is dead. = At this moment, he is dead.

• Cake was good. = At some point in the past, in general, you liked cake, but now you don't anymore. (Again unless it's a past narrative.)

  • Or the/a specific cake was good in the past, but now it's either gone or not good anymore.

• Cake is good. = In general, you like cake.

  • Or the/a specific cake is good at this moment. It has not been fully eaten yet and is still good.

[lyric parcel]

but there's no way to tell "unless"

"I liked the movie" I wouldn't know which

[alpine gyro]

Can someone help me with this passage it’s so confusing to me and I don’t understand it

[hoary lichen]

the mice do not forage when the moonlight is dim because the risk outweighs the reward

the monkeys do forage more when the moonlight is brighter because they cannot see nearly as much as they need to when its darker

[bitter hill]

High moonlight is held constant for both

[round jungle]

Context, and often intonation. In the real world, people don't usually say just one sentence out of context and walk away. It would be part of a larger conversation that would remove the ambiguity.

Is the speaker telling a story or recounting an event in the past? Or is the sentence reported speech (eg. "John said that ..."), where the tenses are also "back-shifted" into the past? Those would fall under the "unless" note and not inherently imply that things have changed in the present.

If the context is about the present moment, then past tense implies a change, and the speaker will usually clarify with more information. The intonation may be different as well. For example: "He WAS dead, but now he's walking around outside. 😱"

I liked the movie.
Would usually be referring to liking the movie during a specific instance of watching it in the past, unless there's further context that suggests a different meaning.

If your friend says "I liked the movie" as you're leaving the cinema, for example, you can assume that they're using past tense because they're speaking about the past event of watching the movie and not to imply that they don't like it anymore.

If they do mean they don't like it anymore, then they would normally say more, like "I liked the movie at the beginning, but by the end, I hated it." Otherwise, the implied meaning is "I watched this movie and liked it then," only speaking in the context of the past.

Compare:

(while watching the movie)
Person 1: Do you like the movie?
Person 2: Well, I LIKED it ...
In this scenario, the conversation is about what person 2 currently thinks about the movie they're watching. Person 2 answered the present tense question with past tense and also emphasized "liked". This context strongly suggests that they used to like the movie, but now they don't, even though they didn't directly say so.

[alpine gyro]

In this case it could be c

[alpine gyro]

But for this case it’s d

I’m so confused how do ik high moonlight is held constant for both I don’t see this in the passage

[bitter hill]

No. There's nothing in the text to suggest that the night monkeys would experience a reduction in foraging success during greater lunar intensity, and it doesn't support the latter half either. Also, this is probably the most important part:

...a finding explicable in terms of benefits and costs

If you simplify the comparison, it basically works like this:

• Under greater lunar intensity:
  • Arizona pocket mouse
    • cost > benefits
  • Azara night monkeys (display the opposite pattern)
    • benefits > cost

[alpine gyro]

So it’s c coz that’s the only thing that compares costs and benefits ?

[bitter hill]

I wouldn't say it's specifically because of that

It's just that C is the only relevant option that stays true to the text

I highlighted the costs and benefits part to show how it's directly supported

[alpine gyro]

Oh I understand noww. So these two animals behave differently coz they differ in costs and benefits. One has higher cost low beenfit/ the other has lower cost higher benefit

[serene plinth]

C imo

[alpine gyro]

Tysmm 🙏

[bitter hill]

That's the general idea of it, yeah

[alpine gyro]

Could this be b or c?

[bitter hill]

C

[alpine gyro]

Why not b

[bitter hill]

If I'm not mistaken a colon can't have scope over another colon

If you chose B they'd be operating at different levels which doesn't work

[serene plinth]

is this an exam/homework?

[alpine gyro]

Oh. So if there’s a colon in the same sentence I can’t add another? That’s something new

[alpine gyro]

It’s revision for an exam

I’m not actually doing any hw or exam rn

[serene plinth]

ok

I'd prefer you tell us your answer first before asking us for the correct one

[alpine gyro]

I thought it was b initially

[bitter hill]

I think it's possible to have 2 colons when the clauses are separated by a semicolon

[alpine gyro]

I’m confused could u give me an example

[bitter hill]

The press secretary gave them the rules: they were not allowed to speak to the committee directly; all other members were forbidden to discuss what the committee had decided: a hiring freeze would take place.

[alpine gyro]

Thank you so much

[serene plinth]

I really wanna question whoever sets these questions what they consider as 'Standard English'. Respectfully, semi colons aren't exactly used much in modern day English, so it's about damn time they stop asking these questions....

[alpine gyro]

I think the answers here is c. Could it be right?

[alpine gyro]

They use full stops instead?

We use semi colons a lot especially in English classes

But sometimes I struggle on it

It’s confusing

[serene plinth]

because to separate two main clauses, you use a semi colon. You might want to look into the basics of complex and compound sentences

[serene plinth]

commas and full stops are your go-to punctuation yeah

[alpine gyro]

Oh I thought the second sentence was introducing something like adding onto it that’s why I thought a colon would be perfect

[serene plinth]

are you majoring in English?

[alpine gyro]

I guess my problem just lies in misunderstanding the text maybe

[alpine gyro]

Nope

[serene plinth]

then ig it's justified you're being taught all that

then?

what do you study?

[alpine gyro]

Im at school currently

Not majoring in anything

[bitter hill]

College Board 😂 they still test semicolon usage in their SAT tests

[alpine gyro]

I don’t read a lot like u guys but I’m surprised that they don’t use semicolons anymore

[serene plinth]

SCHOOOLLLLLLL?!???

[alpine gyro]

I feel like they should cancel the college board for making us learn outdated things

[alpine gyro]

Yup

[serene plinth]

nvm

[alpine gyro]

Can someone help me here which is a suitable transition

[serene plinth]

when 2 clauses are dependent on each other, use a colon
when 2 clauses are independent, use a semi colon @alpine gyro
for reference, check complex and compound sentences

again such uses today are strictly academic and the only place where you might think of using them are some formal letters

[serene plinth]

yup

[acoustic geyser]

Hello

[acoustic geyser]

Basically, this grammar is the same as present perfect, isn't it?
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/perfect-infinitive-with-to-to-have-worked

[serene plinth]

Well not exactly, perfect infinitives are more like a special form of infinitives, they're not stand-alone in the sentence

[acoustic geyser]

Does it use commonly in real life conversation? If it does, when do I use it?

[serene plinth]

Yeah it's definitely used in real life conversation

And whatever Cambridge dictionary has written is quite self-explanatory... I don't know what else to add

[trail root]

Hello everyone I’m a beginner. Now I am leaning about grammar.
“The bards held lutes as they stood in the soft lighting of the tavern”

I want to know. In this sentence as they stood or in the soft lighting of the tavern

Who is Direct Object who is Indirect Object

[sweet breach]

any help with this one guys?

[boreal ingot]

Yeah, iss C

[boreal ingot]

His comments often leaned pedantic, yet there was that about his manner in the delivery of them that always made me take them in earnest.

1. Have I used 'lean' correctly?
2. Have I used 'in earnest' correctly?

To have wanted to volunteer was a very brave thing.

1. Is this correct?
2. This means the spoken-about did want to volunteer, right?
3. Does this say anything about if they did end up volunteering?

[boreal ingot]

There isn't an indirect object in that sentence

Don't conflate prepositional complements/objects and indirect objects

[flat rune]

Guys, "shall" is still used for the future instead of "wiil" as in "I shall see"/" I will see"?

[boreal ingot]

I gave Tim my bag.
Tim: indirect object
I gave my bag to Tim.
Tim: prepositional complement

[boreal ingot]

It's not that used anymore

When it is used it gives off a very formal tone

it has an implication of confidence to it

It can be used for stating rules ('you shall not steal')

But it's not that used anymore

you mainly hear it in polite questions nowadays

Shall we?

[flat rune]

I saw on a website that used in "I" and "we" indicates offer or request and in others it is used in literature

[boreal ingot]

It's used in books, yeah

but otherwise, it's not common anymore

And yes, it was used for 'I' and 'we', but it can be used with second- and third-person pronouns too

But way back 'shalt' was used for those

this one is 100% not used anymore, tho

[flat rune]

So would it be good for me to learn how to use this exception in the future?

[boreal ingot]

It's not that useful, no

It's good to be aware of it

but you needn't concern yourself with it overly

[flat rune]

Okay, thank you for the explanation

[boreal ingot]

np

[acoustic geyser]

I wonder what does they mean by something might have happened when we use "perfect infinitive"

Can anyone ebolarate?

[trail root]

You can explaining me about complement?

[signal shell]

do you have an example sentence?

i'm not sure i understand the question

[acoustic geyser]

She claims to have seen them
She claims to have met lots of famous people's number.

[signal shell]

it's basically the perfect form of the infinitive, to put the action in the past and affecting the present

you can imagine saying something like:
she claims that she sees them
she claims that she saw them
she claims that she has seen them

the one you are looking at has the same meaning as the last one i put up there^

[boreal ingot]

complement are parts of a sentence that are needed to complete the meaning of it. The subject complement acts on the subject

You are very angry.
it adds info about the subject 'you' and serves to make the setnence gramamtical

Object complemetn would be

The crazy smart man made me a cat

here, we add to the object 'me' by saying 'a cat' and we need it for the sentence to be grammatical

Now, when a phrase completes the meaning of a preposition, it's a prepositional complement

I ran with
& incomplete
I ran with [my friends]
^ complete, the noun phrase 'my friends' is the prepositional complement of 'with'

I ate a lot of
^ incomplete
I ate a lot of [candy]
^ complete, the noun phrase 'candy' is the prepositional complement of 'of'

For

I gave Tim my hat
it could be argued that 'Tim' is an object complement of the verb 'give'

but there it's also classified as an 'indirect object'

but when it comes after a preposition ('to')

It's not complementing the verb anymore

but the preposition

so it's not an indirect object, but a prepositional complement

[trail root]

Thank you for the explaining

[boreal ingot]

np

[boreal ingot]

Hey, @signal shell, idk if it's okay to ping you, but could you have a look at my question ^

if you feel like it, ofc

[signal shell]

1. I definitely understand what all this means and it feels kinda right, but I'm not sure if this is formally correct usage of putting the word "pedantic" following it.

2. Yes you used it correctly.

3. Sounds correct to me.

4. It certainly means he had the intent to do so. But mentioning that it was brave seems to imply that he might have been afraid to do it.

5. It does not imply that he actually did end up volunteering. Either he lost the opportunity to do so, or, even after he did volunteer, he wasn't able to complete the task.

[signal shell]

And yes, feel free to ping me whenever. I'm very open to that

[boreal ingot]

Thank you so much for answering! I was unsure about that use of 'lean', cuz the only time Ive seen it was while reading the Wiktionary entry for the word (pic below, second example)

Again, many thanks. Sorry for bothering you

[boreal ingot]

got it, thank you

[signal shell]

Yeah, seeing that example, now I can see that what you did is basically the same syntactically.

I'll say that you are using the word perfectly fine

[boreal ingot]

thank youu

[delicate crystal]

Hi, I'm doing a translation from Italian and I don't really know how to translate "centenario" wich basically means "the hundred years celebration" and the translator suggests me "centenary" or "centennial" which I never heard of and I don't know if it's too uncommon

[raw pike]

I'm just wondering that what is the difference between "accomplished" and "experienced"?

[cloud badge]

Centennial is common, id recommend to use that. You can say something like 'this centennial celebration' or such. I've often heard of something called the "bicentennial' but i can't remember what it is exactly. But it's common enough to be understood.

[delicate crystal]

is it better to use 100th anniversary tho?

[cloud badge]

Accomplished is a bit different from experienced in that, you can be accomplished without having much experience, if you get lucky. For example, an accomplished author could be someone who had a best selling novel series published before they even finished college.

[cloud badge]

It probably depends on the audience, but, a centennial celebration is almost the same thing as a 100th anniversary, the only difference being, a 100th anniversary would have to be on the exact day it turns 100 years, a centennial event could occur at any time during that year.

[delicate crystal]

I understand thank you very much

[boreal ingot]

100th anniversary means you celebrate every year and this is the 100th, centennial celebration would mean the celebration happens every 100 years, a centennial would be the celebration of the 100th year (the, 'yeah it's been 100 years so we're celebrating that')

If I'm not mistaken at least

[cloud badge]

Not necessarily true, you could celebrate as often as you like, anniversary just means on the day 100 years have passed. Centennial is on the 100th year, but any day.

[cloud badge]

Like, if its 50 years after a marriage, its still a 50th anniversary if you only celebrate anniversaries every ten years,

[boreal ingot]

Truw for aniversiry, actually. But Im pretty sure centennial celebration would be every 100 years (not just the 100th)
I think what you're describing would be centennial as a noun

[cloud badge]

Not in my experience of hearing the expression

[boreal ingot]

The centennial = the 100th year celebration
100th anniversary = 100 years since the day it happaned
Centennial celebration = the celebration that happens every 100 years
(I think it would be more obvious if you compared the last one to 'annual celebration')

[cloud badge]

The third example you gave, the centinneal celebration world be the first one. The second one (200 year) would be the second centennial celebration. Its not necessarily a recurring event

[boreal ingot]

I think we're both right

weird, I never thought centennial was exactly the 100th

good to know

[cloud badge]

Its like saying annual, so you can mean it in both ways yeah

Or yearly

Just, 100 yearly haha

[boreal ingot]

oh true, we can say 'the 19th annual celebration', right

[cloud badge]

Yup yup

[acoustic geyser]

Is for uncommon when it's used to explain the reason for doing something?

[boreal ingot]

'He was killed for he was a sinner' type of thing? Yeah it's pretty formal

[acoustic geyser]

I saw a sentence from a film:
I am here for what you did.

[cloud badge]

That is a bit of an odd way to say that but it makes sense. 'Because of' would make better sense but they're both ok.

[cloud badge]

If the last word was something other than 'did' like 'im here for what you asked' 'what you needed' 'what you told me to be here for' itd be better, but with did, its a bit odd.

[boreal ingot]

Thas weird

I get it but haven't heard it before

I mean, ig it could work in a specific senario

imagine a prisoner talking to someone else outside the prison. He says 'I am here for what you did'

Maybe the prisoner was blamed for aother person's acts

[cloud badge]

Oh true yeah great example

[boreal ingot]

In that case, it would be the same usage as the 'what did you get arrested for?'

[boreal ingot]

thanks