Language Overflow

Man_From_India

00:55

Thanks @snailplane

Anonymous

@Man_From_India For and to were both historically prepositions, just like on. Over time they've both been grammaticalized, and although for N might appear superficially like on N, I think on retains it status as a PP while for has taken on a new role.

Anonymous

@Man_From_India Can you show me what the examples were with for and on again?

Man_From_India

01:20

@snailplane wait a second.

> We counted on them to support us.

and

> We arranged for them to meet the managers.

Anonymous

01:34

> We counted on them.

Anonymous

> *We arranged for them.

Man_From_India

02:11

@snailplane nods

CowperKettle

02:23

Sawasdee khrap

Donald Trump Mocks Hillary Clinton; She Can't Even Make it 15 Ft. to Her Car! SAVAGE

►

I think that Trump has made a big mistake. This is mentioned everywhere, even on our local news sites.

user62015

04:25

I called ——— my friend .
(A) on (B) off (C) in (D) at @DamkerngT. @CowperKettle @V.V.

I called ———— the doctor’s house .
(A) on (B) at (C) off (D) of @DamkerngT. @CowperKettle @V.V.

CowperKettle

@user62015 on

@user62015 at

user62015

Okay.

Why?

CowperKettle

dunno

user62015

call on and call at, could you please explain?

Anonymous

06:14

Needs more context.

Anonymous

For example, I called off my friend could work. :-)

CowperKettle

06:55

> call off: to tell an animal or person to stop attacking or chasing someone

O_O

Good noon!

You mean, if "my friend" is a dog? (0:

The poem of the day: The Unknown, by Rumsfeld

> As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know
We don't know.

Can we eat "a candy"? A single piece of candy?

Lawrence

07:34

@DamkerngT. @CowperKettle @Rubisco Thanks guys! :)

Anonymous

@CowperKettle Probably not. A candy might in some contexts refer to one kind of candy.

Anonymous

@CowperKettle Or a person who is attacking someone! :-)

Lawrence

@snailplane So could I called in my friend. Likewise, I called at my friend.

For that matter, I called DamkerngT. / CowperKettle / V.V. my friend all work as well. :)

"I called in my friend.": We had a really big problem with a specialist part, so I called in my friend.

CowperKettle

@snailplane That would imply that "my friend" is a kind of animal. (0:

Lawrence

"I called at my friend." Later, I caught just a glimpse of his bike leaving the compound, so I called at my friend to wait so that the team could express their appreciation.

Fun with exams ... when you're not taking the exam. :)

Ok, the at example's stretching it a little ... but only a little.

Anonymous

07:51

@Lawrence Yeah, we really need context to decide, and I suspect there isn't any.

CowperKettle

The exam is the context. You need to guess the examiners' expectations

Metacontext

> afucosylated glycans without mannose: 8 to 12 %.

Is it okay in English to omit the first percentage sign?

It is okay in Russian

Anonymous

@CowperKettle Yes, I think so, reflecting how we'd say eight to twelve percent.

Anonymous

But I wouldn't put a space before the percent sign.

CowperKettle

@snailplane Thank you! I would not also, but it is in the original, and @Rubisco once told me off for not using the space there

CowperKettle

08:14

first snow fell today in some parts of the Oblast

nice

Lawrence

09:13

@CowperKettle So long as there is an appeals process, having the question (not the sentence) within an exam context should mean that the student is free to choose the sentence's context, within whatever parameters the question brings with it.

user62015

(A) I, he and you / (B) are / (C) friends / (D) no error @Lawrence @DamkerngT. @V.V. @CowperKettle

Lawrence

@CowperKettle For something in written form, as opposed to verbal delivery, I'd prefer to see "8% to 12%", not "8 to 12%" - it looks better. However, I wouldn't mind as much if it was written as "8~12%".

@user62015 The first-person pronoun usually comes at the end of the list in English.

Damkerng T.

Yeah

CowperKettle

09:41

> Table 16 shows the percentage contents of different classes of oligosaccharides in the drug, as determined on LabChip.

Can I omit the word "unit", "machine" etc. after LabChip?

I'd hate to ask on the main site, it would be downvoted, and I've no time to do prior research.

I'm also not sure about "contents" vs "content"

The table basically lists the names of the oligosaccharides along with their percentage value in the drug

Damkerng T.

What's LabChip? A brand name?

CowperKettle

A LabChip is a biotechnological system, it does a range of different analyses

Damkerng T.

I see. If it's a system, I think it's all right.

CowperKettle

> The LabChip® GXII Touch system is a complete solution for consistent and precise analysis of protein samples.

Damkerng T.

I wonder if on is the best choice, though.

CowperKettle

09:45

I would like to read about this more, but when you're translating different stuff all the time, you get used to being a half-idiot and having only a vague understanding.

@DamkerngT. I often use "using"

Damkerng T.

nods

CowperKettle

Then I get tired of using using, and use on instead

Damkerng T.

You know, the first episode of the new MacGyver makes me feel weird with on.

CowperKettle

nods

Damkerng T.

He says something like She's incomparable on computer in a narrative off-screen and the scene shows her and MacGyver making out on a keyboard!

Oh, wait! I think he said on keyboard. :D

CowperKettle

09:48

@DamkerngT. (0:

Damkerng T.

@CowperKettle Please go ahead!

Lawrence

@DamkerngT. There's a new MacGyver?

Damkerng T.

@Lawrence Yep! I missed its second episode, even!

I might be able to catch its rerun tonight.

user62015

You, he and I do you think the same as I think? @DamkerngT. @Lawrence

Damkerng T.

@user62015 @Lawrence explained that for you before I came back in. :D

MacGyver CBS Trailer

►

user62015

09:56

But I didn't understand what will be correct form of it?

@DamkerngT.

Damkerng T.

@user62015 One way is using He, you, and I instead.

You, he, and I is also fine.

user62015

Okay and if I say you, he and I then>

Okay.

Thanks @DamkerngT.

Damkerng T.

No problem. :D

Lawrence

@DamkerngT. Did you like the first episode?

(And are you familiar with the old series?)

Damkerng T.

@Lawrence Well, it's not bad, but I feel like this new MacGyver is a little bit cocky (because of the script, not the actor, I should say).

@Lawrence Yes, but I'm not someone who can remember all the episodes! :D

You know, there was a time that virtually all parents in Thailand wanted their kids to be like MacGyver!

Lawrence

09:59

@DamkerngT. Thanks. One of the people looks like NCIS LA character G. Callen.

Damkerng T.

@Lawrence Yes, I think it's him!

Lawrence

@DamkerngT. He was portrayed as the quintessential 'good guy', smart, capable, a likeable fellow indeed.

Damkerng T.

@Lawrence Yes! It's hard not to like him. :D

Lawrence

It wasn't very safe to be his friend, though.

CowperKettle

> This LabChip analysis method is a screening method, it allows determining only a limited subset of glycans, thus we provide no data on sialylated glycans. (Am I right to understand that allows to determine would be wrong?)

Damkerng T.

10:01

LOL

Lawrence

... I wondered whether he would have any left by the end of the series.

Damkerng T.

@Lawrence I can't remember how the original series ended now.

Lawrence

@DamkerngT. I think he rode off on his motorbike with his son.

Damkerng T.

@CowperKettle allows to determine sounds weird, I think.

@Lawrence Ahh

CowperKettle

@DamkerngT. But "allows determining" is not?

I'm trying to drill myself on using constructions with "allows" properly

Damkerng T.

10:03

@CowperKettle It sounds better to my ear.

Lawrence

@DamkerngT. "... allows one to determine ..." sounds better, but I think @CowperKettle wants something more direct.

CowperKettle

I know that "allows the determination" is okay

As well as "permits the determination"

Damkerng T.

nods and nods :D

CowperKettle

(0:

Lawrence

@CowperKettle "allows the determination of"

CowperKettle

10:04

nods

Lawrence

How about just determines or finds or marks etc?

CowperKettle

nice!

Lawrence

:)

Time to go. Bye!

Damkerng T.

See you soon! o/

CowperKettle

The Russian economy has stopped falling

Damkerng T.

10:07

Great news!

CowperKettle

Vladimir-de-Mort needs to invent something fast to make it fall again. (0:

Damkerng T.

Hehe!

CowperKettle

It has been falling since December 2014

Now it has shown zero fall for a month.

Damkerng T.

Next month may tell us where it'll go.

CowperKettle

nods

Maybe if oil gets expensive again, it will grow again.

Damkerng T.

10:12

But, but, if oil is expensive, ...

polishing his solar panels...

CowperKettle

@DamkerngT. You have solar panels? Great.

Damkerng T.

Hee

CowperKettle

Do they permit the powering of your computer?

In Thailand, (the?) sun is powerful.

Damkerng T.

Only when they're in a good mood, I think. :P

@CowperKettle Usually, yes.

CowperKettle

You really have some, or it was a joke?

Damkerng T.

10:17

Which makes me keep wondering, why wouldn't we be more advanced in solar technologies?

@CowperKettle I was just kidding.

CowperKettle

I was thinking about buying some an installing in the balcony

Damkerng T.

The largest panel I really have is about 1x1'. :D

CowperKettle

They're expensive, however.

Damkerng T.

Indeed

CowperKettle

But in Thailand, they may be useful.

Damkerng T.

10:19

It can't be help, I think, 'cause our oil and natural resource companies are very big.

CowperKettle

I bet that in Los Gatos it would be great to have solar panels. There must be a lot of them.

I can see solar panels on some poles along our roads. They are used to feed the police video cameras and traffic measurement systems

So it's possible even in the Urals

Damkerng T.

I've heard that tax policies over there help, too.

CowperKettle

nods

> Children with Tourette syndrome may process aspects of language faster than other children, a new study shows. Researchers found that children with the neurological disorder were faster at assembling sounds into words -- the part of language called phonology -than typically developing children

sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160929111456.htm

Damkerng T.

10:34

Interesting!

CowperKettle

I recall reading about Johnson and his Tourette's

You know, the guy StoneyB uses for an avatar

Damkerng T.

Samuel Johnson, I think, IIRC.

I didn't know about his Tourette, though.

CowperKettle

> We determined the content of N-acetylneuraminic (NANA) acid in the studied samples using a calibration curve of peak area vs. sialic acid concentration.

Isn't this "content" ambiguous?

I want to write that we determined how much of NANA there is in the samples.

Damkerng T.

10:51

@CowperKettle I imagine that it's a typical phase in chemistry, but I can't be sure.

Using how much or the quantity may make it sound less technical than it should.

@DamkerngT. - You have all the material needed for a strong answer. Go for it! — J. Doe 9 hours ago

Ahh... but there are some angles that I'm not that sure.

CowperKettle

@DamkerngT. Indeed!

@DamkerngT. feel free to just not answer! I'm musing aloud in the chat. I'm already translating a sentence a paragraph ahead (0:

Damkerng T.

:D

Anonymous

11:28

@user62015 The rule is: and I comes last.

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. I think You, he, and I is the unmarked word order.

Damkerng T.

@snailplane nods -- I supposed that I, he, and you may not be ungrammatical, but probably undesirable in these tests.

@snailplane Between You, he, and I and He, you, and I, which is more likely in general contexts?

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. Well, I think it actually is ungrammatical.

Anonymous

But I suppose that's debatable.

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. I would think You, he, and I would be more common.

Anonymous

11:34

But it was hard to find enough examples to compare.

Anonymous

You can search on Google Books Ngram Viewer, but most of the results are false positives, and terms with less than 40 results are excluded, so it's useless for that purpose. Checking the actual Google Books corpus, I failed to find enough examples to draw any conclusions.

Anonymous

So all I can offer is what my intuition says.

Damkerng T.

@snailplane That's more than good enough! Thanks! :D

Damkerng T.

12:23

0

A: Future-going to, What does it exactly mean?

Yes. It seems that the speaker knows it as a fact. Else, it could have been said that "she may be going to". Allwords.com defines "going to" as: Going to - verb "Going is the present participle of "to go" and "to," in this case, denotes an inifnitive. "Going to" is technically a progres...

We sorta have a serious problem with citation.

I guess these explanations were rinsed and repeated over and over all over the internet.

> Going is the present participle of "to go" and "to," in this case, denotes an inifnitive. "Going to" is technically a progressive participle, in which "going" serves as an auxillary verb, and is always preceded by the verb to be or a conjugation thereof. It is, however, almost always used as form of the future tense: I am do do, I will do, I shall do); or as the past progressive(imperfect) to indicate definite non-completion: "I was do" as as opposed to "I was doing."

> allwords.com/word-going+to.html

Really?!?

> Dictionary content provided from Wiktionary.org under the GNU Free Documentation License
Allwords Copyright 1998-2016 All rights reserved.

The page says.

Good thing that en.wiktionary.org/wiki/going_to doesn't have anything like that!

Anonymous

12:48

@DamkerngT. I think I'll go with "no". :-)

Damkerng T.

:D

Damkerng T.

13:17

Kanemoto Yokose -- It's the name of a character in an anime (Ghost in the Shell). I wonder if there's any special meaning attached to it.

Deo

13:28

Hello

CowperKettle

13:45

Dobry evening, Deo

Man_From_India

15:33

A very interesting question

0

Q: Time taken or taken time?

if I have a transmitter that sends one packet in time T. Which of the following sentences are correct and why? Please let me know if there a grammar rule for this. 1- T is the taken time by the Transmitter to send one packet. 2- T is the time taken by the Transmitter to send one packet. ...

Damkerng T.

16:07

@Man_From_India "Which of the following sentences are correct and why?" -- It could be a better question (IMO, of course), if there was no bold part.

Steve Melnikoff

@snailplane Notwithstanding the dictionaries' opinions, to me (a native BrE speaker), "to busy" (non-reflexive) indeed sounds wrong; and "to busy oneself" sounds OK - but old fashioned. It reminds me of the kind of thing I encountered when reading classic English literature at school.

@Man_From_India "she's an inspiration to busy me to put aside one night a week just for Gordon": "busy" here is being used an adjective, not a verb; it's modifying "me".

Damkerng T.

@SteveMelnikoff Thanks for the feedback. Though, apparently, our answers say it's fine, not only "to busy oneself" but also "to busy anyone" or "anything". -- (BTW, I'm not snailplane! And welcome to the room.)

Steve Melnikoff

@DamkerngT. Thank you! I don't think I'm learned enough to cite myself as a source, hence my comment here instead. :-)

Damkerng T.

@SteveMelnikoff LOL -- Personally, I think all opinions by native speakers are worth reading.

Strange. A comment I wrote yesterday was deleted!

@DamkerngT. - Oh dear, I'm afraid "I know not of his busying her for months" is bringing to mind something other than jam-making.... — J. Doe 17 hours ago

I replied, Jam-making or not, you would agree that it's not the way to score in these exams, right?

Now, what's wrong with that?

If I'm not mistaken, we had 22 comments under that answer. Why was mine the only one that got deleted? o_O

Someone flagged it or something?

Man_From_India

@SteveMelnikoff right. That is one of the special cases.

@DamkerngT. I haven't done anything :-)

Damkerng T.

16:23

@Man_From_India I don't think you'd do anything. It's very curious, though. :)

I might understand it if all comments in that part of the discussion were deleted.

But when it was mine alone, I can't help but wonder...

Man_From_India

Hehe. It means that moderators are working :-)

Damkerng T.

Maybe it's a signal to me that I should just read and vote quietly. Don't do anything else.

Man_From_India

@DamkerngT. oh no. Don't take it that way.

Damkerng T.

I don't know what to think, anyway.

Cardinal

> These few miles took 5 years to build.
> There is less than a mile to go.

I got confused

I mean what I should use for qualifying distances?

few or little (less)

Damkerng T.

16:37

miles should be quantified by few.

Cardinal

> There is less than 2 miles to go.

What about this

Damkerng T.

I think you could use either less or fewer in that one.

Cardinal

BTW, hi @DamkerngT. and @CowperKettle

Damkerng T.

9

Q: "Five thousand tons of water flow/flows"?

Every minute, five thousand tons of water flow/flows over a cliff into the river below. Should the verb 'flow' be conjugated in singular or plural in this sentence?

grammatical-number subject-verb-agreement singular-vs-plural

Cardinal

@DamkerngT. I see.

CowperKettle

16:41

@Cardinal Good evening!

> Deamidation of the protein in the position N 299 (can we use 'the' here?)

Good evening, @V.V.!

V.V.

Good vecher!

CowperKettle

I'm starting to deliquesce from all the mass-spectrometric terminology I've imbibed

Damkerng T.

@CowperKettle Nice use of words! :-)

CowperKettle

(0:

All chat users should be obligated to use starboarded words of the day

Damkerng T.

LOL

CowperKettle

16:44

Lest they be called desultory moggies for shirking this duty

Cardinal

@CowperKettle Sleep tight!

Damkerng T.

@CowperKettle It could be too viselike an order. :D

CowperKettle

(0:

@Cardinal That was not word of the day!

> Damkerng T.
yst 4:39 PM
Word of the Day: viselike

Damkerng T.
yst 8:36 AM
Word of the Day: deliquesce
2

Cardinal
Sat 10:22 AM
Word of the day: hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian

CowperKettle
Thu 8:40 AM
Word of the day: Hill's slope

Damkerng T.
Wed 2:57 PM
Word of the Day: pantscraper

Damkerng T.
Sep 27 9:21 AM
Word of the Day: gogglebox

Damkerng T.
Sep 26 6:03 PM
Word of the Day: visceral
2

CowperKettle
Sep 25 4:56 AM
Word of the day: hydraulic head

Damkerng T.
Sep 24 11:32 PM
Word of the Day: remunerative

Cardinal

Ah- I see.

@CowperKettle o_O

V.V.

What is that hippopo...

Cardinal

16:48

Word of the evening: angiosperm

2

Damkerng T.

@V.V. It's a monstrous hippo-ish word. :P

CowperKettle

@Cardinal good word

> The term "angiosperm" comes from the Greek composite word (angeion, "case" or "casing", and sperma, "seed") meaning "enclosed seeds", after the enclosed condition of the seeds.

V.V.

I prefer to be ignorant. Can't read it to the end.

CowperKettle

It was a major revolution in plant history when flowering plants appeared

Cardinal

CowperKettle

16:52

> The apparently sudden appearance of nearly modern flowers in the fossil record initially posed such a problem for the theory of evolution that Charles Darwin called it an "abominable mystery".

Damkerng T.

Truism of the day: hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian is hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian

Cardinal

@CowperKettle I really enjoyed reading how plants multiply themselves

CowperKettle

@Cardinal I studied that in 2009, it was very interesting, but I've forgotten almost everything

I still have the book though.

Damkerng T.

@Cardinal If only voters could multiply themselves, too. :P

Cardinal

@CowperKettle Nice

@DamkerngT. :-)

Damkerng T.

16:57

0

Q: Meaning of: "Find to the nearest principal, the compound interest on..."

I came across a sentence but I cannot understand its meaning. The sentence is as follows: Find to the nearest principal, the compound interest on: Rs 7oo for 3 years at 5 p.c. It is asking to find the principal or for compound interest?

sentence-meaning

See, a comma is very important!

Damkerng T.

17:22

@DamkerngT. That is the point made in my answer, and precisely why I wrote it; but, unfortunately, as sometimes happens, concision here is preferred to mentation. — P. E. Dant 10 mins ago

I thank you, but I'll thank you in here, in case you pass by.

Thai proverb:

> Meat, you don't have; skin, you won't get; bones, around your neck.

Cardinal

17:50

@J.Doe and everyone, I think it's quite interesting that I was just asked by a learner if there's any errors in He behaved me as if he is my boss in our chat room. (I think it was from a mock exam question.) Personally, I think the example sentence for busy in M-W is a bit unexpected. It sounds like something old, like writing I know not of ... FWIW, I'm not sure if a learner will get a good score if they write I know not of his busying her for months in these exams. — Damkerng T. 21 hours ago

What is relation between "He behaved me as if he is my boss" and that reflexive pronoun discussion?

Damkerng T.

@Cardinal Think :-)

Cardinal

"Behave me" is wrong

Behave is intransitive IMHO

Damkerng T.

We can say to a kid "Behave yourself", right?

Cardinal

Behave yourself means "be polite"

@DamkerngT. Yes.

user62015

@DamkerngT. @Cardinal Hi!

Damkerng T.

17:55

But telling a mother to behave her child would sound strange.

user62015

concerned with vs about vs of? Please tell me difference among them

Damkerng T.

Do you have a full sentence?

user62015

Yes.

I am concerned ———— my son’s affair .
(A) about (B) at (C) of (D) off @DamkerngT.

Cardinal

@DamkerngT. Yes, but I think that sentence is wrong because "behave" is intransitive in that context.

Damkerng T.

@user62015 Ah, but it has no with in the choices.

user62015

17:57

But I checked in the dictionary

Cardinal

@user62015 I would go with A. but of is also working IMHO.

Damkerng T.

@user62015 Good idea! What did you find?

Cardinal

The correct sentence is:
"He behaved as if he is the boss".

user62015

When should be use with, about and of?

Damkerng T.

@user62015 You need to consider both the words before and after the preposition.

user62015

18:00

I almost understood but not sure when to use macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/concerned @d

Damkerng T.

@user62015 Ah, why not?!

user62015

@DamkerngT. ?

Damkerng T.

@user62015 Why are you still not sure?

user62015

@DamkerngT. There is a little difference among them and I need to understand that difference as I am going to fight competition exams

Damkerng T.

In this level of exam, Macmillan is almost an ideal solution.

It can give you the most likely choices in general contexts.

user62015

18:03

This is a company that is directly concerned with the defence industry. This is a company that is directly concerned about the defence industry. @DamkerngT.

Damkerng T.

Let's see...

user62015

Do you see any difference after making the change?

Damkerng T.

It lists:
concerned about
concerned that
concerned with
concerned for
concerned to do something

Right?

user62015

Yes.

Damkerng T.

@user62015 It could convey different meanings. But that's beyond the level of your test, to be honest.

user62015

18:05

Okay.

Damkerng T.

If you read the definition of each of the commonly used phrases listed on that page, you may get an idea how they're used differently.

user62015

Okay. @DamkerngT.

Cardinal

10 mins ago, by Cardinal

The correct sentence is:
"He behaved as if he is the boss".

Damkerng T.

@Cardinal behave to/toward someone is also common.

Cardinal

Do you get me? I mean, that "behave" differs from the the behave in "behave yourself"

Damkerng T.

18:10

Hmm... probably not that different.

Cardinal

he behaved as if ... == his attitude was such that one may think ...

Damkerng T.

We could use either a broad brush or a fine brush when we think about meaning.

As an aside, synonyms and definitions of a word can't really substitute the word, IMO.

user62015

This is the first time I ——— here.
(A) am (B) was (C) have been (D) has been @DamkerngT. @Cardinal

Damkerng T.

I'm sure you know the answer. :D

V.V.

Have been

user62015

18:22

C

but why not A?

Damkerng T.

Right. Hmm... why? It's not how people speak.

Rubisco

This is the first time I @DamkerngT. here.

Damkerng T.

"This is the Nth time X's(ve) done something." <-- a prototypical sentence

user62015

Okay. @DamkerngT. So have been is present perfect tense?

Damkerng T.

yes.

Rubisco

18:24

@user62015 No, it's present perfect form.

It's not called a tense.

If your teacher does that, throw a book at him.

Damkerng T.

Ah, that's more technically precise. :D

user62015

@Rubisco Okay. We were on same page.

Rubisco

@user62015 I'm in the preface.

user62015

@Rubisco I agree.

Rubisco

You're in the bibliography.

user62015

18:26

@Rubisco Okay.

V.V.

It's a good question, btw...why.

Damkerng T.

If it helps, you may think of it as something you "have".

Rubisco

@V.V. What is a good question?

V.V.

Why "have been"

Damkerng T.

You do it once. You did it. Now you have it with you.

V.V.

18:36

Have ever been, I think, close to it.

Rubisco

'Ever' is another story.

It sometimes works, it sometimes makes it flow better, it sometimes looks weird, sometimes funny.

Cardinal

It is the first time that I .......... this town

1. have visited
2. am visiting
3. visit

V.V.

The same.have visited.

Cardinal

I would go through with 2

V.V.

Yes, it's a clever hint.

Cardinal

18:45

It's the the first time that I ..... in this part of city.

1. am
2. have been

V.V.

You see, we treat this from the point of our mother tongue.

Cardinal

exactly.

V.V.

But they think that first of all you should come to the place

Damkerng T.

There is one caveat, though. We'd use the simple aspect in, say, The Nth/first/last/only time I did something was back in ...

Cardinal

nods

V.V.

18:51

When I first came across "it's time, it's the first time, the last time I did..." I thought i would never understand it

So I just tried to remember

Damkerng T.

And prevailed!

Cardinal

It was the first time that I had been there.

That, the past time, perfectly matches to my mother tongue.

V.V.

Because to understand "it's time we went." is beyond my ability

Cardinal

However, we can also say easily that "It was the first time that I was there"!

V.V.

The past is easier to explain.

I find that our languages agree here.

Cardinal

18:58

:-)

V.V.

I don't know "user's " language but I would also use present simple in my language. But...we should apply English rules of the game.

Cardinal

@V.V. So do I- I would say I am if I want to follow my native language.

Hmm, shouldn't it be ".... how I can... " rather than ".... how can I" ? — Cardinal 2 mins ago

V.V.

Then we speak similar languages

CowperKettle

Today was the last dry day of autumn

Rain and mud starts tomorrow

A snow shower on October 10

O_O

That's early

Good night!

Damkerng T.

19:13

Good night!

Rubisco

19:29

Good night!

Anonymous

20:39

@DamkerngT. I think it should really be less. There are fewer than two miles to go is strange.

Rubisco

@snailplane I choke up on it

Damkerng T.

I might've overlooked something.

Was that the original sentence or the number of miles was in some other part of the sentence?

Rubisco

chemistry.stackexchange.com/election/2#post-60198

Is this a bit too much of a show-off?

Damkerng T.

Wow, both "There are fewer than * miles" and "There are less than * miles" and "There is less than * miles" are extremely rare on the web!

(6, 0, and 2 results)

None were in books.

Rubisco

You don't see them on the web, you see them on a GPS device that's leading you to a pond.

Damkerng T.

20:44

I doubt if any brand of GPS will use full sentences!

It's ... and There is/are make all the difference.

อัธยาศัยไม่ดี - โบ๊ท สิริโรจน์ [Official MV]

►

A cute song. (Sorry, no subtitles!)

Title: อัธยาศัยไม่ดี (Bad attitude)

♫〜 I'm gonna be a man with bad attitude. I'm not gonna look at anyone. I'm not gonna care anyone, but you. I'm not gonna smile to anyone, but you. 〜♫

:D

Transcript for