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English grammar and vocabulary: quick questions thread

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Original post by Joeyy113
Some one please check out my thread...stressing :/


What thread? I can't find anything
Is the phrase 'eat death nazi' use of figurative language?
Would 'Elected as xyz, from a club with 10,000 members' be grammatically correct? I'm not exactly sure on how to describe the total amount of people in the club. Another way I was considering writing it was 'within a club of 10,000 members'. Again, not too sure on the grammar. Any help would be appreciated!
Hi guys, could you please check out my thread.. I really need help. It is my English Narrative I would love any of you to help me grade it and give me further advice pls!!
Just panicking a bit but would I be right in saying that both cat and dog are subjects in the following sentence:

The cat and dog were in the kitchen.
Original post by zakkaz
Just panicking a bit but would I be right in saying that both cat and dog are subjects in the following sentence:

The cat and dog were in the kitchen.


Both the cat and dog are being discussed and have been joined through 'and' therefore you are correct, they are both subjects
Original post by swiftylol
Would 'Elected as xyz, from a club with 10,000 members' be grammatically correct? I'm not exactly sure on how to describe the total amount of people in the club. Another way I was considering writing it was 'within a club of 10,000 members'. Again, not too sure on the grammar. Any help would be appreciated!


The first and second could both work although changing 'with' to 'of' seems to flow better for me.
Original post by Excuse Me!
Is the phrase 'eat death nazi' use of figurative language?


I think so, considering they're not literally eating or consuming death lol
Collective noun question. I am so confused with these:

1. "My family are doing well" or "My family is doing well".
2. "How is your family?" or "How are your family?"

I also don't understand the difference between these: "Arsenal is a successful football club" and "Arsenal are struggling to get to the top of the premier league"

Please help!
I'm stuck finding sources for my assignment and am having trouble writing it, was just wondering if anyone here could provide some sources/help with my assignment? Thanks.

Here is the question:

1. ‘Youth use more non-standard language than older speakers'.
Focussing on either accent or grammar or lexis, discuss this statement with reference to sociolinguistic studies of the language of different age groups. Having considered these findings, do you agree with the statement? Ensure that you make use of language examples in your discussion.
Original post by owwwww2
Collective noun question. I am so confused with these:

1. "My family are doing well" or "My family is doing well".
2. "How is your family?" or "How are your family?"

I also don't understand the difference between these: "Arsenal is a successful football club" and "Arsenal are struggling to get to the top of the premier league"

Please help!


About the Arsenal sentences; it all depends on if you're thinking of Arsenal as a group as a whole, or as the individuals that make up the group. In 'Arsenal are struggling...', it indicates that the focus is on the individual players and staff. You could easily replace the word 'Arsenal' with 'They'. Whilst with 'Arsenal is a successful football club', the focus is clearly on the club; the group as a whole.

Your family sentences are very similar to the above. Both versions of both sentences are OK - it just depends on whether you are focusing on the family group as a whole, or as individual family members.
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Ecro
I've seen something several times, but I can't understand the meaning of it. So, I'm just going to give an example from one book.
"Do they often do that as well?"
"Why, burn my soul, those are just brigands."
So, the question is: if the guy is responding to a question, why does he start with a why? Does it mean anything? Does the why change the meaning of the rest of the sentence? If not, why do you even bother saying it?
Original post by Ecro
I've seen something several times, but I can't understand the meaning of it. So, I'm just going to give an example from one book.
"Do they often do that as well?"
"Why, burn my soul, those are just brigands."
So, the question is: if the guy is responding to a question, why does he start with a why? Does it mean anything? Does the why change the meaning of the rest of the sentence? If not, why do you even bother saying it?


It is just a turn of phrase, used in a colloquial expression. As Collins' dictionary has it, an introductory expression of surprise, disagreement, indignation, etc.
Original post by dylantombides
Surely they should be capitals if they are the names of terms?



Of course not! Initial capitals are used for proper nouns only - not for common nouns. This is English, not German. Anyone who tells you anything different is wrong.
Original post by Ronove
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Hi dear Ronove!

I thought that you can tell me the difference in using 'to dip' and 'to dunk'. So would you help me, please? :daydreaming:
Original post by Kallisto
Hi dear Ronove!

I thought that you can tell me the difference in using 'to dip' and 'to dunk'. So would you help me, please? :daydreaming:

Hmmmmmmmmmm interesting one. Without looking anything up to check I'm not talking out of my arse, dunk sounds like it might be an American development and later export, and dunk also sounds like it (nowadays) applies only to relatively non-viscous liquids, while dip is applied to substances of a slightly thicker consistency. I would say I dunked a biscuit in my tea, I would never say I dipped it. I would say I dipped my chip in the ketchup, not dunked.

...but then I would say I dipped a paintbrush in some water. If I dunked a paintbrush in some water I would probably be being more rough/forceful and careless, and more of the paintbrush would be submerged than if I were to dip it. Intriguing. Maybe it's a case of correlation rather than causation - you tend to dip in more viscous substances because you also tend to submerge less/wish to pick up less of the liquid in those cases, perhaps?
Original post by Ronove
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Oh, after I read it I hope that I have not confused you so much. Its interesting anyway that a non-English-native-speaker like me did it that you think about your native-language carefully (again). Your examples seem to be fit, as I can remember me that I was in a forum where members are talking about what kinds of drinks they used to dunk (and not to dip) biscuits. That was also the reason why I have asked the question here. The example with the verb to dip makes sense, as many Germans used it when they dip a food in a viscous liquid like ketchup. And in terms of the paintbrush, I would not say neither to dip nor to dunk. I would say that I have wetted the paintbrush with water. :tongue:
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Ronove
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I wonder what word is more common in English. Is it supper or dinner. I would say the former, as a dinner is associated with a festive meal to a special time for a special reason (christmas eve for instance).
Original post by Kallisto
I wonder what word is more common in English. Is it supper or dinner. I would say the former, as a dinner is associated with a festive meal to a special time for a special reason (christmas eve for instance).

There are quite significant regional differences as to the meaning of dinner (and presumably also supper), but I would be virtually 100% confident in saying that 'dinner' is more common.

In some areas of the North, 'dinner' refers to the meal in the middle of the day, while in the South it only ever means the evening meal. Supper would come later in the evening, if it occurs at all.

I suspect the most common ways of describing the three meals of the day are:

North: Breakfast, dinner, tea
South: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

For me it's always been breakfast, lunch and tea though (and both of my parents are northerners, though from different, non-bordering counties), and I don't think the use of 'tea' to mean the evening meal is unheard of in the South. There are plenty of southerners on here who can share their knowledge on that point.

I've only ever heard 'supper' used once, in an attempt to sound particularly middle class. I think it might be a word used far more by the older generations as well.
Original post by Ronove
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I don't know that there is a difference between the regions in north and south. What would you suggest to a foreigner? I mean which word should more frequently used by non-English-native-speakers to prevent awkward situations for instance?

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