1.What does 'He's wound up tighter than a drum' mean? It's a mixed metaphor/simile for tension, but it used to be quite popular. The coil springs which powered old fashioned toys were wound up with a key. We used to wind our

Del's point about the sensations of the present triggering past memories, raises an interesting issue. How does this differ from simple learning? If the child hasn't burned his hand on the hot stove, is it really something to be avoided?

Welcome to English Forums, tampu. Thanks for joining us! You've come to the right place to agonize over this distinction. I've been doing so for three years, and I get absolutely no sympathy. The popular wisdom is that the gerund is NOT,

(May I do it backward?) The ideal situation would be for our minds to have a full tank of energy. This energy would be best used in processing new sensory data. The world is full of great stuff, and we should be experiencing and enjoying the

Yes. (This seems like a new question.) But do these sentences have the same meaning ? I was under the impression that when we say " I called my mother from my cellphone" ,we mean that the call was made from my cellphone, and when we

They're both common. In my opinion, "from" is more likely to be taken as stressing that you didn't call her on a land line.

Both are correct and have different meanings. "The effects of this administration will be felt for years to come." (Something will continue.) The "event" in question is continuous . "I shall remember this day for years to

“ I'd like to point out that some cultures do have grammar structures in this form and commonly used by people.” Therefore,I didn't feel the need to repeat it. Thanks for the clarification. Somehow your sentence just didn't seem right.

I'd like to point out that some cultures do have grammar structures in this form and commonly used by people. What's missing here?

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