Search results for 'tag:Difference between tag:Expressions' matching tags 'Difference between' and 'Expressions'

Re: I really don't get it :(

CalifJim — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:01:42 GMT

You don't normally say: I say I don't like cats. You just say: I don't like cats.

But supposing you did say such a thing,

a) My general opinion is that I don't like cats. > Your opinion on cats is that you don't like them.

b) I am hereby informing you, in case you haven't understood it from the words that have just now been coming out of my mouth, that I don't like cats. > Ah! So the words you are just now forming with your mouth mean that you don't like cats.

_____

The paraphrasing of one set of sentences after another is not going to do any good. Each verb and each expression has its own ways of showing a difference between the PS and the PC version. You will have to continue this exercise for the rest of your life before you reach the end of all possible pairs. It's better just to pay attention to the contexts in which these forms are used. If you have been speaking English already for many years, you may have already developed so much ability to communicate, even without always selecting the correct tenses, that it will be very difficult for you to pay attention to as much detail as is necessary to master the tenses.

Re: difference between I was thinking and I have been thinking

Avangi — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:38:13 GMT

Hi, eagerness,

I agree some people would use them interchangeably in the same situation.

To me, the expression "I was thinking" means the thought crossed your mind on perhaps only one occasion.

"I have been thinking" usually means you've spent quite a bit of time in considering a certain matter, perhaps on several different occasions.

Best wishes, - A.

Re: tweedledum and tweedledee

CalifJim — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:48:10 GMT

He's saying that there is very little difference between the two. Tweedledum and Tweedledee are fictional characters. They are brothers, possibly twins, who dress and act exactly alike. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tweedledum_and_Tweedledee

A similar expression is "Six of one; half a dozen of another". That is, there is no difference.

Re: What's the difference between these words?

Mr Wordy — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 22:17:33 GMT

"Maybe" is more conversational and less likely to be used in formal writing, but other than that the two words are very often interchangeable -- as they are in all your dictionary examples. There might be some expressions in which only one of "maybe" or "perhaps" is idiomatic, but none immediately come to mind.

John is not a engineer, maybe a technician.

This is not very good English. You could say John is not a engineer; maybe/perhaps he's a technician. or John is not a engineer; he may be a technician. In ordinary conversation John is not a engineer ... maybe a technician. is a kind of shorthand, but I wouldn't punctuate it with a comma.

Perhaps/maybe, but I'm not sure about that.

Fine.

Perhaps, I may have a car.

I'd punctuate this as Perhaps I may have a car (unless you actually mean Perhaps. I may have a car.). Strictly you don't need both "perhaps" and "may", but in ordinary conversation it's the kind of thing one would say. Actually, to answer my own question, when the sentence (redundantly) also includes the word "may", it would sound odd to use "maybe". For example, Maybe I may have a car is strange (while Maybe I'll have a car is fine).

Re: Football / Ice hockey results and scores: How to write and talk

optilang — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 20:13:17 GMT

That is interesting indeed and I agree with you Old Man Gordon. I am from Finland and according to my Finnish-English dictionary I should say "Finland is leading 2-0" without using the plural verb and
"The Finns are leading 2-0" when using a plural expression. But I guess this is just a difference between British and American English.

I guess so. I am not from America or Finland.

Re: Football / Ice hockey results and scores: How to write and talk

EagerSeeker — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 20:04:46 GMT

Old Man Gordon

Optilang-

Is that how it is said on sportscasts in England? The team uses a plural verb, even if the noun (England/Manchester United/etc.) is singular? In the US, we'd use the plural only when talking about the team name which is usually plural, eg The Yakees are losing./ New York is losing.

It gets confusing with the modern innovation of uncountable team names. The Detroit Shock is winning (are winning?).

Re: the expression of action or that of occurrence?

Grammar Geek — Fri, 16 May 2008 20:28:25 GMT

I'm afraid you've lost me again.

I understood what you meant about the difference between an actual occurence and a possible action when talking about thing that have not yet taken place (I expect to, I expect that). But I don't see how they are anything other than occurrences of actual fact when they are in the past.

urgent

Anonymous — Tue, 13 May 2008 00:40:07 GMT

hi all nice and kind pals

really I have such a confusing Q in linguistics and I hope U all can help me ..

what's the difference between hyponymy and prototype

I know that hyponymy is a word that contains the meaning of another word

and prototype is typical member of the extension of a referring expression

my Q is about this example:

oak tree,,oak could be both a hyponym and a prototype ...

how it could be both ...??

is there any difference ?

it's a little ambigious ..so please help me to clarify the difference?

thanx

Re: need to back-shift?

Ant_222 — Sat, 10 May 2008 08:56:25 GMT

Â«I feel for those two examples, since they are not concern with someone's feelings, but pertain to factual scenarioes like being married and a candy being on sale yesterday and today, the need to back-shift isn't there for both of those situationsÂ»

I don't think it's too deep. It's OK.

Try contemplating the difference between reported speech, reported thinking (I thought, he thought) and reported knowing (I knew, they knew).

What has been said has been said. A spoken statement is only the expression of thinking/klnowing, which exist irregardless of whether they have been expressed in words or not. And it is this independence that allows us to avoid tense-shifting sometimes!

With reported thinking we refer to the root (the Thought), rather than an oral/written manifsetation of it. The thought is what is reported and a thought's lifespan is finite, so by saying: "I thought the spider is an insect" you force a thought to be timeless (or eternal) which is unnatural and sounds unnatural. A fact may be timeless (if it is a general truth), but one's thought thereabout may not!

Re: "See it yourself" or "See it for yourself" - what's the difference?

Clive — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:10:43 GMT

Hi,

What's the difference between "See it yourself" and "See it for yourself" ? Google shows both expressions are popular. What I want to say is: don't take our word on it, click here, to see it yourself/for yourself.

There's not a lot of difference here.

Generally speaking, 'See it for yourself' suggests 'Look at it yourself to make sure that what people are telling you about it is accurate'.

In your example, 'Don't take our word on it' conveys the same message.

Best wishes, Clive