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English Language Learners

Beta Q&A site for speakers of other languages learning English.

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<comments removed> If you have questions or comments about this proposal, please use 'create new discussion' below. Thanks. – Robert Cartaino♦ Jun 26 '12 at 13:16

This proposal is now in the Beta phase — example questions are locked!

66 Example Questions (4 closed)

active oldest votes
up vote 10 down vote
Why is it sometimes called "Football" and sometimes called "Soccer"?
added by Zetta Suro Sep 22 '12 at 23:57
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up vote 5 down vote
Does "girlfriend" mean girl who is a friend, or someone you're dating?
added by Zetta Suro Sep 21 '12 at 21:29
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up vote 4 down vote
How is a sentence with “had had” to be understood correctly? [closed]
added by vivek_jonam, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Aug 24 '12 at 19:45
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closed as duplicate of What does “had had” mean? How does this differ from “had”? by Robert Cartaino♦ Sep 24 '12 at 13:16

This question covers exactly the same ground as another question in this proposal.

I must be thick, but I don't understand what is being asked here. Do you mean "how do you use 'had had' correctly?" or something else? – Paola Sep 16 '12 at 8:58
up vote 2 down vote
I was told "Hope it helps :)" . Does the person mean I should hope it will help?
added by Teno Oct 4 '12 at 2:28
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The person that wrote "Hop it helps" meant "I hope my instructions will help you out", that is, "I hope was able to help you" – KajMagnus Oct 10 '12 at 7:47
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@Anonymous This section is not for answering questions. They are prototypes. Please do not answer to the question but vote. – Teno Oct 10 '12 at 9:16
up vote 1 down vote
Is the article "a" followed by a word starting with "i" always a mistake or could this point to a dialect (if in direct speech in a book)?
added by Phira Aug 11 '12 at 10:31
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Usually a mistake. – Robin Michael Sep 17 '12 at 21:51
Hi @Robin Michael. I'm glad you decided to support this attempt at creating a learners' EL&U. Any contribution is welcome, but the questions are just examples and do not need to be answered. On the other hand, we need good questions which may get 10 or more upvotes, so please try and provide a few. And don't forget to upvote the questions that you like! Thank you. – Paola Sep 17 '12 at 22:06
up vote 1 down vote
Are there differences in nuance between "I saw a white lion." and "I saw a lion, which was white."?
added by Teno Oct 4 '12 at 2:08
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up vote 1 down vote
Are there differences in nuance between "He has lots of work to do." and "He has lots of work he should do."?
added by Teno Oct 4 '12 at 2:12
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up vote 1 down vote
Is there a simple rule I can remember when I don't know which preposition to use, for example, "Word origin for/of interest"?
added by Teno Oct 4 '12 at 2:16
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up vote 1 down vote
Is it followed by a singular or plural form when you say "Metal fittings is/are translated to ka-na-gu in Japanese"? (fittings is plural)
added by Teno Oct 4 '12 at 2:22
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up vote 1 down vote
In which kind of situation the verb "to see" cannot replace the verb "to watch"?
added by yms Oct 11 '12 at 20:24
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up vote 0 down vote
When talking about things that continue until now, what's the difference between using Have P.P. and using Have Been V+ing?
added by Cool Elf Jun 27 '12 at 3:28
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As this would be an ESL site, I think this question would be better if written in simple language. (I'm assuming P.P. and V+ing are informal dictionary-ese.) – Travis Sep 19 '12 at 4:28
up vote 0 down vote
Usage of the phrase "couldn't help myself" [closed]
added by Kartik Anand Jul 1 '12 at 15:10
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closed as duplicate of What does “waiting for a ride” mean? by Robert Cartaino♦ Sep 11 '12 at 17:59

This question covers exactly the same ground as another question in this proposal.

3  
how do these cover the same ground? – Matt Ellen Oct 5 '12 at 17:53
up vote 0 down vote
Is “high-heeled slipper” the right word for a women's shoe?
added by jwpat7, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Aug 24 '12 at 19:45
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up vote 0 down vote
What does the word 'rap' mean? "Ervin McKinness, a 21-year-old aspiring rapper, tweeted about driving drunk at 120 mph minutes before dying ..."
added by Robin Michael Sep 17 '12 at 22:00
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up vote 0 down vote
What is the definition of idioms, and why do we need to learn about them?
added by user824294 Sep 19 '12 at 8:44
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up vote 0 down vote
"Tom, Dick, and Harry" is the comma necessary before "and"?
added by Zetta Suro Sep 21 '12 at 22:30
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up vote 0 down vote
Both the articles 'a' and 'an' are found for nouns beginning with 'h' (eg. hotel) - which is correct?
added by ronalchn Oct 1 '12 at 3:39
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up vote 0 down vote
What is the origin of the idiom "a <noun> is a <noun> is a <noun>" (for instance, "a fish is a fish is a fish")
added by gpoo Oct 1 '12 at 3:55
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up vote 0 down vote
Why is it "a user" and not "an user"?
added by Zetta Suro Oct 2 '12 at 15:56
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up vote 0 down vote
What does this mean: "approached Haynes whore mained sitting in his truck" (From here: http://murderpedia.org/male.H/h/haynes-anthony-cardell.htm)
added by KajMagnus Oct 10 '12 at 7:45
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"mained sitting"? I cannot find any verb "mained" or "main" or "maine" in my dictionary. – KajMagnus Oct 10 '12 at 7:46
up vote -1 down vote
My teacher is English, but I need to know American. Is there anything I can do to fix my accent?
added by jwpat7, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Aug 24 '12 at 19:45
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This is more of a "how to learn English" question than an English question. Moreover, accent is purely acoustic and has nothing to do with the language itself. – Zetta Suro Sep 21 '12 at 21:36
up vote -1 down vote
What is an 'Act of God'?
added by Robin Michael Sep 17 '12 at 21:53
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up vote -2 down vote
When I buy some goods, do I receive a factor or an Invoice? Or any other suggestion? What is the difference between a factor and an invoice?
added by Saeid, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Aug 16 '12 at 17:43
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I think the answer to this question can easily be found in a dictionary. Although in some languages a word which sounds more or less like "factor" may be used to indicate an invoice, there is no such meaning in English dictionaries for the term "factor". – Paola Sep 16 '12 at 9:05
up vote -3 down vote
What is the appropriate response to compliments such as 'your voice is so lovely'?
added by Anoop K P, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Aug 16 '12 at 17:44
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2  
This seems more like a subjective etiquette question than English – simchona Jul 29 '12 at 18:47
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@simchona Except that there are common answer phrases in most languages to compliments. The subjectivity lies in the choice of phrase, not in knowing appropriate phrases. – Phira Aug 11 '12 at 10:17
up vote -3 down vote
Barclay or Berkeley?
added by Robin Michael Sep 17 '12 at 22:13
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-1, as it is NARQ – Alexander Kosubek Sep 19 '12 at 6:46
up vote -5 down vote
META: I don't really understand Area 51. If I want to access 'Stack English' I can find it quite easily. "Area 51 English" INTUITIVE?????????????? [closed]
added by Robin Michael Sep 18 '12 at 10:47
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closed as not a real question by Zetta Suro, Robert Cartaino♦ Oct 2 '12 at 21:31

It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form.

If you have questions or comments about this proposal, please use 'create new discussion' above. Thanks. – Robert Cartaino♦ Oct 2 '12 at 21:31
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