Nơi chia sẻ tri thức, kết nối cộng đồng và giải đáp mọi thắc mắc từ A–

Monday, 11/05/2026

Ell.stackexchange.com

Q&A for speakers of other languages learning English.

How to understand "Here you are." "You are here" or "Here ...

How to understand

"Here you are" / "There you are" is commonly used when you're looking for someone (or something) and you found them.Read more

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What's the difference between "belong TO me" and " ...

What's the difference between

11 Feb 2019 — “Belong to me” suggests possession. When something belongs to you, you own it. But when speaking about people the possession is of course not ...Read more

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What is the difference between "how long ago" and "when"?

What is the difference between

22 Apr 2016 — If you ask how long ago, you would get the answers with a number and a time unit, like one year, 3 weeks, etc. If you ask when, you would get a specific time / ...Read more

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Which I'm interested in vs. in which I'm interested

"Saving the planet is the topic in which I am interested the most" is perfectly grammatical, and most people use "in which" in that way in a formal context.Read more

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Wordchoice: to barbecue something or to have a barbecue

7 Sept 2019 — to barbecue something is the act of barbecuing (grilling) food. and having a barbecue means more the situation of barbecuing, eating, talking.Read more

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Is it correct to say "I finally cracked the question" or " ...

Is it correct to say

"Cracking the question" is correct. "Cracking the answer" is not correct, though. The usual natural use is: I cracked this riddle! Which is kind of the same as ...Read more

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subject verb agreement - "Uses" vs "are using"

subject verb agreement -

"Computers use RAM" is correct and indicates that computers use RAM habitually, all the time, everyday. "Computers are using RAM" indicates something that is ...Read more

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sentence construction - He asked me or told me to

Both of your sentences are grammatically correct, but the meaning may be different depending on the context. Ask is definitely a polite request.Read more

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Should I say "they're my brother and sister" or "that's ...

Should I say

Both sentences are fine—but context will determine which is more appropriate ... For instance ... Who are those two people?" "They're my brother and ...Read more

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Meeting with me when I arrive/arrived?

The phrase "when I arrived" refers to something that happened in the past, so it doesn't match the tense of the beginning of the sentence.Read more

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"Might/must be +verb+ing" He might/must be watching "TV"

It should be mentioned that he must be [verb]ing can also mean that there is a strong probability that he is doing so.Read more

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grammar - Difficult for him VS Difficult on him

If we say "difficult for him" it means that he found a task challenging, that it required more than the usual effort. If we say that ...Read more

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adverbs - I came here vs. I went there

The basic principle is that: you come here (to where the writer/speaker is located) and you go there (to where-ever the writer speaker refers you).Read more

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I will ring you in the evening

22 Jun 2018 — Yes, it is still acceptable to say you will 'ring' or you will 'call', even if both you and the person you are phoning have mobile phones.Read more

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The difference between "would buy" and "would have ...

The difference between

The second is used when you had some past opportunity to buy apples, but didn't. The first and third are used when discussing a future opportunity to buy ...Read more

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grammar - 'where is there a' vs 'where is the'

These are both correct. When you use "there" it is more indirect than using the. Where is there a restroom? Where is there a parking lot?Read more

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"since two years ago" — Is this correct?

This first example uses the speaker's current moment in time as the point of reference to express how long he or she have been doing something.Read more

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word order - Which is more natural? "Whose is that car?" or ...

word order - Which is more natural?

Both are technically grammatical; I interpret them as different elisions of "Whose car is that car?" (which is so redundant as to be unnatural itself).Read more

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singular vs plural - There 'is' people or There 'are' people?

Sep 30, 2558 BE — "People" is the plural form of person (see irregular words), therefore, it has to be referred as plural. People are always minimum two.Read more

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My family has 4 members. vs There are 4 ...

"There are four people in my family." is a simple and correct expression. It is probably more common, if you are asked to talk about your family, to describe ...Read more

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sentence construction - Difference between A and Some?

There is little difference between a and some when used in a/some guy. A is the indefinite article, so you are giving an indefinite reference.Read more

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Upon their visit or on their visit

"Upon" denotes moment in time whereas on denotes both moment in time and during. We can use "on" to mean "at a moment in time".

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on television vs. on the television

31 Mar 2015 — Better would be on the television (it indirectly refers to the TV set, so an article is OK) or on T.V. (the medium in general, so no article).Read more

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"Where were you yesterday?" vs. "Where have you been ...

"Where have you been yesterday" doesn't make sense, because have is in the present tense, but yesterday means that you're asking about the past, so they don't ...Read more

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Have Already Been Learning or Have Been Already Learning

Both are correct, but since you want to emphasize seven years of studying English, it is more correct in this case to say I will already have been.Read more

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Why we say "I am doing the shopping"?

Why we say

The phrase: I am out doing the shopping right now. Tends to imply more specifically that you are completing a regular grocery shopping.Read more

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phrase meaning - Can I replace "it is common to be sleepy ...

phrase meaning - Can I replace

Yes, "it is common to be sleepy" and "it is common that one is sleepy" have essentially the same meaning. In this usage, "one" is an impersonal ...Read more

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Is 'on arrival of something' idiomatic?

The phrase on arrival of is indeed acceptable, but so is upon arrival of. J.R. · On arrival is fine. On arrival of a luggage is not. · To rephrase ...Read more

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Why is the correct spelling "eating" and not "eatting"?

Why is the correct spelling

The word eating "eat" is "vowel + vowel + consonant". It is not "consonant + vowel + consonant", therefore rule 2 does not apply. Only the ...Read more

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She is not working now, because she can't find an ...

18 Jul 2018 — So, in your example, "is not working" is taken to mean "she is not currently part of the workforce", with the nuance that this could change any ...Read more

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