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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

66 Example Questions (4 closed)

active newest votes

up vote 9 down vote

added by lynn, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Jul 16 '12 at 16:28

closed as not a real question by Robert Cartaino Aug 14 '12 at 16:08

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.

Yes but the question on ELU is old, and I felt that if it were asked today it would be closed as general reference. In fact, the accepted answer is just a copy/paste from the dictionary :) – lynn Jul 24 '12 at 14:00

How is this not a real question? I've had to re-lookup the answer from time to time. Oftentimes a dictionary answer can be hard to understand (esp. for a non-native speaker) and the question would benefit from a more thorough, "common language" explanation. i.e. mean "in other words" implying an explanation will follow. e.g. mean "for example" indicating that an example will follow. – Travis Bemrose Aug 24 '12 at 6:44

@Travis - Yeah, I can see how it might be considered too basic, but "not a real question" seems a bit strange... especially since it was an actual question asked - and answered - on ELU. – lynn Aug 25 '12 at 1:24

@Lynn: Also, it seems that whoever would say this question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, rhetorical, or cannot be reasonably answered hasn't spent much time reading English text. This is a clear, specific, complete, and actual question with a specific and defensible answer. (I can concede that it is a broad question, but so? The scope of the question and applicability of the answer are broad. It's rare that one can give such a concrete, yet widely applicable answer to a question on language.) – Travis Bemrose Aug 25 '12 at 2:19

The 'not a real question' is the closest I have to the "general reference" close reason where the best answer would be simply looking it up in a dictionary or other source. – Robert Cartaino Sep 11 '12 at 18:43

up vote 5 down vote

added by Ataraxia Sep 21 '12 at 21:29

up vote 4 down vote

added by vivek_jonam, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Aug 24 '12 at 19:45

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

added by Teno Oct 4 '12 at 2:28

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

@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

added by Phira Aug 11 '12 at 10:31

	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

added by Teno Oct 4 '12 at 2:08

up vote 1 down vote

added by Teno Oct 4 '12 at 2:12

up vote 1 down vote

added by Teno Oct 4 '12 at 2:16

up vote 1 down vote

added by Teno Oct 4 '12 at 2:22

up vote 1 down vote

added by yms Oct 11 '12 at 20:24

up vote 0 down vote

added by Cool Elf Jun 27 '12 at 3:28

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 Bemrose Sep 19 '12 at 4:28

up vote 0 down vote

added by Kartik Anand Jul 1 '12 at 15:10

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.

how do these cover the same ground? – Matt Ellen Oct 5 '12 at 17:53

up vote 0 down vote

added by jwpat7, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Aug 24 '12 at 19:45

up vote 0 down vote

added by Robin Michael Sep 17 '12 at 22:00

up vote 0 down vote

added by user824294 Sep 19 '12 at 8:44

up vote 0 down vote

added by Ataraxia Sep 21 '12 at 22:30

up vote 0 down vote

added by ronalchn Oct 1 '12 at 3:39

up vote 0 down vote

added by gpoo Oct 1 '12 at 3:55

up vote 0 down vote

added by Ataraxia Oct 2 '12 at 15:56

up vote 0 down vote

added by KajMagnus Oct 10 '12 at 7:45

"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

added by jwpat7, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Aug 24 '12 at 19:45

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. – Ataraxia Sep 21 '12 at 21:36

up vote -1 down vote

added by Robin Michael Sep 17 '12 at 21:53

up vote -2 down vote

added by Saeid, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Aug 16 '12 at 17:43

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

added by Anoop K P, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Aug 16 '12 at 17:44

This seems more like a subjective etiquette question than English – simchona Jul 29 '12 at 18:47

@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

added by Robin Michael Sep 17 '12 at 22:13

-1, as it is NARQ – Alexander Kosubek Sep 19 '12 at 6:46

up vote -5 down vote

added by Robin Michael Sep 18 '12 at 10:47

closed as not a real question by Ataraxia, 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