Learnenglish  +  587766 Sat, 15 Nov 08 09:54 AM Dear Teacher,        I meet the sentence in a novel:        "Beverly gave me a smile then, but it had a hard edge to it."         What's the meaning "it had a hard edge to it"?  Who does "it" refer to?  Please explain.        Another kind of question:  How to pronounce all kinds of abbreviations?  Could we pronounce their letters one by one?  For example, the abbreviation of Maryland is MD, Can we read MD?  pp. (pages)?  How to pronounce the signs "/" and "&" in sentence?  For example:  Do you wish to email and/or snail mail?  Radio & TV online.        Thanks in advance. Learnenglish Joined on Wed, Aug 1 2007 New Member 42 Abbreviations

	Clive  +  587820 Sat, 15 Nov 08 03:34 PM Hi,  I meet the sentence in a novel:        "Beverly gave me a smile then, but it had a hard edge to it."         What's the meaning "it had a hard edge to it"?  There was something about Beverly's smile that suggested seriousness or even danger of some kind. We also say things like 'Her voice had a hard edge to it'. Often, the word 'hard' is omitted. The term 'edge' here may be an analogy to a knife, which has a dangerous edge on the blade. Who does "it" refer to?  Please explain. Beverly's smile.        Another kind of question:  How to pronounce all kinds of abbreviations?  Could we pronounce their letters one by one?  For example, the abbreviation of Maryland is MD, Can we read MD?  Generally speaking, we pronounce the letters, eg For a doctor, we  say 'emm dee'. But for state abbreviations, we say the complete name of the state. So, it depends very much on the particular anbbreviation you are dealing with. You might also want to look up the word 'acronym'. This is an abbreviation that is pronounced as a single word, eg NASA promounced 'nahsah', NATO pronounced 'naytow'. pp. (pages)?  Just say 'pee pee'. How to pronounce the signs "/" and "&" in sentence?  For example:  Do you wish to email and/or snail mail?  Don't pronounce it at all. Just say 'and or'. Radio & TV online. Say 'and'. Best wishes, Clive Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,679 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo Abbreviations, Analogies

	Clive  +  587823 Sat, 15 Nov 08 03:36 PM Hi,  I meet the sentence in a novel:        "Beverly gave me a smile then, but it had a hard edge to it."         What's the meaning "it had a hard edge to it"?  There was something about Beverly's smile that suggested seriousness or even danger of some kind. We also say things like 'Her voice had a hard edge to it'. Often, the word 'hard' is omitted. The term 'edge' here may be an analogy to a knife, which has a dangerous edge on the blade. Who does "it" refer to?  Please explain. Beverly's smile.        Another kind of question:  How to pronounce all kinds of abbreviations?  Could we pronounce their letters one by one?  For example, the abbreviation of Maryland is MD, Can we read MD?  Generally speaking, we pronounce the letters, eg For a doctor, we  say 'emm dee'. But for state abbreviations, we say the complete name of the state. So, it depends very much on the particular anbbreviation you are dealing with. pp. (pages)?  Just say 'pee pee'. How to pronounce the signs "/" and "&" in sentence?  For example:  Do you wish to email and/or snail mail?  Don't pronounce it at all. Just say 'and or'. Radio & TV online. Say 'and'. Best wishes, Clive Clive Abbreviations, Analogies