Questions tagged [phrase-choice]
Is it Either? Is it Or? Is it Neither? Use the Phrase-Choice tag to help you complete the perfect sentence, say what you really mean, and learn new words and phrases.
1,079 questions
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you almost got us killed vs you almost killed us
I have the text in book Dogwood by Chris Fabry:
I whirled in the seat and grabbed his right arm in a death grip.
Carson overcompensated and jerked the wheel left, weaving into the next lane. A horn ...
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Can "I filed my nail off" be explained like the structure "I wiped the table off"?
We can say:
I wiped the dirt off my face ("off" here is a preposition)
Instead of saying that, we can just say
I wiped my face off ("off" here is an adverb)
My question is that,
We ...
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There's been a situation where I "have not known" vs "didn't know" my lines
Source: Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC, September 29, 2015)
Jimmy: That's funny. Has there ever been a situation where you
didn't know your lines before?
Viola: There's been a situation
where I have not ...
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The cooling system on my PC "gave in" VS "gave out" yesterday [closed]
I wrote this example.
The cooling system on my PC gave in/gave out yesterday. One of the
hoses burst and leaked the coolant onto my new graphics card.
Do both "give in" and "give out&...
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Can we say "the ladder is leaning against the wall" to express a dynamic action?
1- "lean" is intransitive.
Normally, "the ladder is leaning against the wall" expresses a state is static. It already in its final position, touching the wall at an angle.
But say, ...
- 26.8k
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What is the natural way to refer to the amount of all outcomes that are planned for a day?
What would you call something that is a clearly defined, measurable result you intend to achieve by a specific date, expressed in concrete terms (numbers, facts, scales, or expert assessments - see ...
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Can I say "he fell short of something" when he tried very little or not a lot?
The dictionary says:
fall short
fail to meet an expectation or standard.
Say a company set a sale target of 1 million dollar in revenue per year.
There are 2 situations:
Situation 1: the company ...
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Can we say "I'll be in and out" instead of "I'll be right back"?
I have been watching a lot of American movies and recently I hear people (in the movies) say "I'll be in and out" a couple of times in action movies or movies about gangsters.
The dictionary ...
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The figure jumped from X in 2000 to Y six years later/after six years. => Are "six years later" and "after six years" bad here?
In an essay, I wrote:
The figure jumped dramatically from 0 in 2000 to 9 billion dollars six years later/after six years.
Here's his comment:
"The change did not take place six years later =&...
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Does "he took first place" mean "he took the lead" or he did it temporarily because he was still running?
I am sure these sentences imply the race is finished:
-he came first in the race
-he finished first in the race
-he won first place in the race
I am also sure these sentences imply the race is not ...
- 26.8k
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Is it correct to say "I woke up my tablet" or "I unlocked my tablet"?
I remembered an English speaker (not sure if he is a native English speaker) rejected the phrase "I woke up my tablet". He said I should use "I unlocked my tablet".
But I didn't ...
- 26.8k
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Does "X amounts to Y" always equal "The amount of X is Y"?
The amount of water consumed in agriculture was 400 billion cubic meters in India in 2010.
In 2010, water consumption for agricultural use in India amounted to 400 billion cubic meters.
I think ...
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This is a good time to get IT over to set you up with a printer, to give "the illusion of you having" vs "the illusiion that you have"
How to Deal with Your First Week in a New Job, By Joel Golby, Vice.
This is a good time to get IT over to set you up with a printer, to
give the illusion of you having work to do but not being able ...
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unnatural to say [think he didn't notice] and [don't guess he noticed]
I have made up the sentences below.
(1a) I say to Jack, "The man ten feet ahead of us dropped a bottle of water. I think he didn't notice that he dropped it."
(2a) I say to Jack, "The ...
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The LC-500 is a pedal-assisted bike that can "run under your power?" as well as its battery [closed]
The example is mine.
The LC-500 is a pedal-assisted bike that can run under your power as
well as its battery. When you get tired of pedaling, just switch over
to the electric motor and enjoy the ...
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