Help me to learn English Like a native

[N7.]

Hi, I would like to learn English but in our country and in our schools they really don't teach us English! just a little about grammatical rules :( I learned a little by myself ! but still I have some problems

I just need you guys come here some times and help me to find out some of my questions about this language

thanks

[N7.]

For example! what is the meaning of these sentences ?

we had a run-in
pull through

[DreadMagus]

We had a run-in.

"we" encountered "something"

A run-in is an encounter.

As for pull through, it depends on context. It could mean "to get well"

[N7.]

Thanks a lot. It was useful, I'll back with more questions:D

[DreadMagus]

Glad to help.

[Friar]

Other meanings for "Pull-through": To Persevere, to Overcome.

Be sure to ask more questions when you have them! Good luck! Your English is pretty good for someone who's self taught.

[JedExodus]

The >$$ Thread Title $$<< made me think this was spam/a lucrative venture at first

[Friar]

The >$$ Thread Title $$<< made me think this was spam/a lucrative venture at first

I was hoping for an opportunity to get rich quick, and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.

[N7.]

Thanks again, my main problem is that I just know 3500 Words in English
My vocabulary holds around 4000 words, I tried to learn more but it's so hard

I want to know which words are more important in this language

Could you refer some of them ?

[Darth Marsden]

3,500 words is pretty good! Stick with it. Learning a new language is hard when you're older, but it's worth it.

[N7.]

3,500 words is pretty good! Stick with it. Learning a new language is hard when you're older, but it's worth it.

Thanks but I just need English
I'm still a beginner

15000 Words would be good for me

[WarpSpeed]

English is a very complicated language, but native speakers can often understand you even if you do not say something exactly right. Keep practicing!

You may want to spend some time looking over the Simple English version of Wikipedia (http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page), where people try to write in simple, common words. See if you can understand the articles there.

There is also Ogden's List (http://ogden.basic-english.org/words.html) of 850 basic English words, that he thought were most important, but that was back in 1930, so it is a bit out of date. You can still see if you understand them all.

[Johro]

Yeah, don't worry about grammar, native speakers don't. :p

However, seriously, please do. You'll end up sounding better than most.

[Alcoremortis]

Thanks again, my main problem is that I just know 3500 Words in English

I tried to learn more but it's so hard

I want to know which words are more important in this language

Could you refer some of them ?

I'd actually suggest reading children's books (not necessarily the illustrated kind. Could be short novels). If you've got gaps in words that you should know then it's a good way to correct that because you've got all the time you need to look up that word. And since it's fiction, it's likely that those same words will show up multiple times within the story so you'll get a bit of practice in.

If you're not a reader, picking an interesting show to watch in English would be a good second option.

[Friar]

I'd actually suggest reading children's books (not necessarily the illustrated kind. Could be short novels). If you've got gaps in words that you should know then it's a good way to correct that because you've got all the time you need to look up that word. And since it's fiction, it's likely that those same words will show up multiple times within the story so you'll get a bit of practice in.

If you're not a reader, picking an interesting show to watch in English would be a good second option.

I second the idea of trying children's books.

Perhaps try books you've already read in your native tongue, so that you can get the general gist of the story. That'll help you puzzle out the meaning of words on your own. I'd say the Harry Potter books might be worth a try, seeing as each book becomes more complex than the previous one, which may help you build up your language skills.

[N7.]

Edited

[Farlander]

English is a very complicated language.

No it isn't.

I'm not saying that learning English should be a piece of cake, but Russian is far-far more complicated, and English is incredibly simple in comparison :p (And I'm sure there are several languages more complicated than Russian)

[Johro]

English is the hardest language to master(it's all because of our rule exceptions and plurals), but it's not like any one uses proper grammar any more.

[Vainamoinen]

English is the hardest language to master(it's all because of our rule exceptions and plurals), but it's not like any one uses proper grammar any more.

http://www.comicforum.de/images/smilies/lachen.gif

English doesn't even have a grammatical gender. And that's what kicks a language's arbitrariness way up! In English, rule exceptions in spoken language are relatively seldom; analogy is the right path 90% of the time. The hard part is the arbitrary spelling, particularly the defunct spoken/written vowel sound/letter connection. But that's about it.

http://mylanguages.org/difficult_languages.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Difficulty_of_learning_languages
http://www.lexiophiles.com/featured-articles/top-list-of-the-hardest-languages-to-learn
http://www.fluentin3months.com/most-difficult-language/

[nima222]

we lean in english in iran.. who said we dont learn
english here
n7 iknow that we dont have a good books but we have english class and you know it too.
but if you want you can خواستن توانستن هست
im happy that i can found one of my compatriot
im going to say something about a people who think iran is Arab
ok forget that. we are not arab we are persian

[Johro]

English doesn't even have a grammatical gender.

True, but I never really had problems with genders. I guess it's something else to learn, but once you get the hang of them, words just look "right". Maybe that's just me, I have a pretty good memory. It's really the fluidity of the spoken sentences that is the hardest in English I suppose. You could have two synonyms, but one is never used in a particular sentence and there is no way to know that but practise(a lot of languages are similar, but boy do we love our synonyms). I work with a dude who's native French, but has spoken fluent English for 15 years.... and every now and then there's still a slip.

[cursosenvalladolid]

You can learn English online, I think http://www.idiomaswatson.com/ this will help you to learn English.

[Andorxor]

You can play Hidden-Object games,to learn lots of nouns

[flesk]

You can play Hidden-Object games,to learn lots of nouns

And they'll make you want to learn lots of profanities.

[N7.]

When should we use of this sentence ? "We have been down this road before"
I know what is mean of this sentence, I just would to know when should we use such a sentence like this ?

[WarpSpeed]

It means someone is suggesting to do something that has already been tried, and has not been successful in the past. It could be in business or in a relationship. (Sometimes sports announcers use it, too.)

A business example: In the past year, two social media companies, Zynga and Facebook, have "gone public" (meaning they issued stock for public trading for the first time). In both cases, the value of the stock has gone way down since it was issued. Say some third social media company has an idea to go public now. We've been down that road before.

Relationship example: A man and a woman have two children, but the man and the woman fight a lot. The woman wants to stop fighting and suggests to the man that having another child might bring them closer together. The man could say, "We've been down that road before," meaning it didn't work the last two times. Everyone else would just scream "NO!" at them.

[N7.]

It means someone is suggesting to do something that has already been tried, and has not been successful in the past. It could be in business or in a relationship. (Sometimes sports announcers use it, too.)

A business example: In the past year, two social media companies, Zynga and Facebook, have "gone public" (meaning they issued stock for public trading for the first time). In both cases, the value of the stock has gone way down since it was issued. Say some third social media company has an idea to go public now. We've been down that road before.

Relationship example: A man and a woman have two children, but the man and the woman fight a lot. The woman wants to stop fighting and suggests to the man that having another child might bring them closer together. The man could say, "We've been down that road before," meaning it didn't work the last two times. Everyone else would just scream "NO!" at them.


Thanks a lot, it was a complete description
I have two more questions :D

first:
What is mean of sidelines ? for example she's staying on the sidelines

second:
When should we use "pieced together" ?
for example "Have you pieced together how should we do that ?"
I mean when people use this:confused:
is it general ?

[WarpSpeed]

Sidelines comes from sports. Some sports are played on a field, where the lines at the top and bottom are goal lines, and the lines on the side are sidelines. They are called different things in different sports, but you get the idea. The people playing the game are in the field. Someone standing on the sidelines is watching the game but not playing it. That can be made more general, so for example, someone who is reading this message but never posts on this forum could be said to be reading from the sidelines.

Pieced together is like a puzzle, where you have to put pieces together to finish the puzzle. It just means you need to work to figure out the solution.

[Chyron8472]

Thanks a lot, it was a complete description
I have two more questions :D

first:
What is mean of sidelines ? for example she's staying on the sidelinesIt's a reference to sporting events.

Many sports use a field, and the edges of the field are usually marked by lines. The sidelines refer to the lines which run from one goal to the other; while goal lines are the lines on either edge of the field which is nearest to either goal. "Staying (or sitting) on the sidelines" refers to watching the game without actually being a part of playing it.

http://i.imgur.com/4fU4t.png

This, in common (non-sports-related) usage, means to deliberately not get involved in a situation more than to just watch what is happening.



second:
When should we use "pieced together" ?
for example "Have you pieced together how should we do that ?"When you think "pieced together", think of something you have to fix, like a jigsaw puzzle:
http://i.imgur.com/ehMHK.png
So, "piecing (something) together" basically means solving a problem by looking at the different things involved in the problem and figuring out how they fit together.

[N7.]

I really appreciate both of you, I think I'll never forget mean of this word "Sidelines"
thanks

I'll come back with more questions :o

[N7.]

Hi again, I have some more questions

1: What is mean of "surged" ?
for example "they surged through the relays and hit Arcturus station"
this sentence is from Mass Effect3

2: What is mean of "I'm flattered" ?

3: In this sentence what's mean of "principle"?(it's the larger principle that matters
)

4: what's mean of "I'll hammer them " ?
for example "I'll hammer them with every soldier, ship, and bullet we've got"
it's from ME3 too

5: What does mean bold section in the bottom sentence ?
How long can we keep that up ?

6: What does mean blod section in the bottom sentence ?
I'm buying us time, keeping us in the game while you gather what we need for this Prothean device
this sentence is from ME3 too

7: and finally what is mean of "So keep at it" ?

thanks a lot

[Darth Marsden]

1) Surged. There's several meanings to the word, but in this case, it would mean that a very large group of 'them' passed through the relays very quickly.

2) I'm Flattered. If you flatter someone, you compliment them - for example, I could say that you wanting to learn more about English shows you are eager and willing to learn. That would be praise / flattery. Saying "I'm flattered" means that you accept the praise and appreciate it.

3) Principle. "It's the larger principle that matters." Hmm. Not sure.
I'd need more context to explain this one. Can someone else help?

4) I'll Hammer Them. In this case, it would mean that they will attack with every soldier, ship and bullet they've got. When you use a hammer, you smash it against something (usually a nail) with great force. 'Hammer Them' is another way of saying Smash Them, or Attack Them.

5) Keep That Up. 'How long can we keep that up' is another way of saying 'how long can we keep doing this'.

6) Keeping Us In The Game. It's another way of saying 'buying us time'. To keep yourself in the game, you need to do things to extend the amount of time you remain in the competition, even if they aren't positive things. You simply do them to prolong the experience.

Say we have a conversation that is supposed to last 5 minutes. But you want to keep it going, so you start talking about, say, Doctor Who. Because I like Doctor Who, I will keep talking for much longer than I intended to. By bringing up Doctor Who, you 'kept yourself in the game', with the game being the current situation - in this case, the conversation.

7) Keep At It. 'Keep doing what you are currently doing'.

Mass Effect 3 is a very wordy game. You're going to be asking us for a help a lot if you're playing it!
(Not that we mind helping you, of course. Just warning you!)

[N7.]

Thanks alot it was really helpful

[Darth Marsden]

Happy to help. :)

[Alcoremortis]

A principle is generally some truth or founding thought that is the basis for other actions. An example would be some sort of rule that you use to govern your behavior, like never telling a lie.

So in the case of "larger principle that matters" you'd be referring to a commonly held founding idea that is more important than the other ideas that have been presented in the conversation.

[Iryon]

Note on grammar:
What is mean of ...
is incorrect.

More correct would be "What does ... mean" or "What is the meaning of ..."

The word 'mean' can be a verb (to mean), a noun (the mean) or an adjective (mean) which are used very differently and have largely varying meanings.

The word 'meaning' is the correct noun to the verb 'to mean' when referring to what a word means.

(Could any of you native speakers please be so kind and make this a bit more understandable? Because reading my post I just realised that I don't understand what I mean here ...)

[Alcoremortis]

Honestly, Iryon, you did a better job that I could have. Maybe even the majority of English speakers here (not counting those who have studied the language in detail). It's often hard for native speakers to talk about grammar because we often don't think about why we use certain words or why we order them a certain way.

For N7's benefit, saying "What is the mean of..." actually means something quite different than "What is the meaning of..." We automatically assumed you meant the latter because of context. Asking the "mean of something" generally means that you wish to know the average value of that thing.

[N7.]

Thanks
Honestly I'm embarrassed to ask more questions, because some of you answering my questions very carefully and because of that It's hard for me to ask more questions

The only thing that I have is just questions and more questions
if it's Ok I would like to ask more questions :o

[Darth Marsden]

Don't be embarrassed! You won't learn if you don't ask, and we're happy to help. Ask away!

[N7.]

Now what I want know is that what's the difference between this three words ?

abhor
abhorrence
abhorrent

[Alcoremortis]

Now what I want know is that what's the difference between this three words ?

abhor
abhorrence
abhorrent

Abhor is a verb. You can abhor something. (I abhor potatoes.)

Abhorrence is a noun. You can call something an abhorrence. (Potatoes are an abhorrence.)

Abhorrent is an adjective. You can only describe an object with the modifier as abhorrent. (That is an abhorrent potato.)

No idea why I chose those.

If anyone has anything else to add, I'd appreciate it. I feel I'm lacking something.

[N7.]

Thanks a lot
but how much of these words we have in English ?
I mean with the same meaning but different Spelling in place of verb,noun and adjective

[Alcoremortis]

Thanks a lot
but how much of these words we have in English ?
I mean with the same meaning but different Spelling in place of verb,noun and adjective

There are many of them. Sadly, a lot of them just require repetition to learn since there aren't definite rules to how they work. It's daunting, I know, but if you spend time with movies, TV shows, and books, it should start sounding natural after awhile. If you go the book route, you can look up any word you aren't familiar with and maybe write down the word and the part of speech it belongs to in a notebook or something for reference.

[WarpSpeed]

Quite a lot. In fact, the joke is that in English, any noun can be verbed. Some people abhor that, though, so try to use proper nouns/verbs/adjectives when you know them.

By the way, "abhor" is a strong word, so it is not used very often. People are more likely to use the word "hate" instead. Hate is normally a verb but is sometimes used as a noun, too ("His eyes were full of hate when he saw the potato."), though the correct noun for it is hatred.

[Chyron8472]

From what I've been told, the best way to learn the language is to read books. Sometimes, even if you don't know the exact definition of a word, you can often discern (or recognize) what a general idea of the definition might be from the context of the word (or the sentence/paragraph around the word).

So, if you didn't know what "abhor" meant, but you saw or read about someone giving a potato to Alcoremortis, and she got angry or disgusted and said "Eww! I abhor potatoes!" You would be able to discern from the context that "abhor" indicates a negative opinion of some kind even if you're a bit fuzzy on the details.

So I would recommend reading a lot. It will help you.

[EDIT:] Oh, and when I recommended reading books, rather than just reading in general, it's because if you try to learn proper English from reading forum conversations, facebook posts or twitter feeds on the net, then you'd probably get a number of things wrong because there are a lot of people on the net who couldn't spell, punctuate or have proper grammar skills even if their lives depended on it. So long as your primary teaching tool isn't from people who are themselves ignorant, you should be okay.

[Chyron8472]

sorry for the double post.

Note on grammar:
What is mean of
is incorrect.

More correct would be "What does ... mean" or "What is the meaning of ..."

The word 'mean' can be a verb (to mean), a noun (the mean) or an adjective (mean) which are used very differently and have largely varying meanings.

The word 'meaning' is the correct noun to the verb 'to mean' when referring to what a word means.

(Could any of you native speakers please be so kind and make this a bit more understandable? Because reading my post I just realised that I don't understand what I mean here ...)Mean does have several different definitions, depending on the context.

The word "mean" can refer to the "definition" of something; it can also refer to someone who makes other people feel bad; and again it can refer to a middle number value (count to five: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. The middle number is 3 and is therefore the mean number.) Someone might now argue with me about the difference between the word "mean" and the word "median," but in this case, you get the idea.


In the context of this conversation, the word "mean" refers to the "definition."
You could say "what does 'surged' mean?", "what is the meaning of the word 'surged?'", "what is the definition of the word 'surged?'", or "how do you define 'surged?'"

There's that noun-becomes-a-verb situation again. When you're looking at a word, it may containt a prefix and/or a suffix in addition to the root word. The root word of "definition" is the word "define." the -tion part of the word is called a suffix and changes how the root word is used.

Try "abhor." "Abhorrent" and "Abhorrence" both have the same root word "abhor," but use different suffixes (-ent and -ence) which change the way the root word is used. The meaning of the root word is the same, but the way it is used in a sentence is slightly different.

[N7.]

Thanks again, Now I'm using a dictionary that called WordPower, it's a cool dictionary. very useful
I've start to learn worlds that starts with the letters of A
then B,C,D and...
I should learn atleast 20000 new worlds
I'll back with more questions
thanks

[Chyron8472]

Thanks again, Now I'm using a dictionary that called WordPower, it's a cool dictionary. very useful
I've start to learn worlds that starts with the letters of A
then B,C,D and...
I should learn atleast 20000 new worlds
I'll back with more questions
thanksSome people think it's not polite to nitpick at someone's grammar and spelling, but in this case, since the whole point of this thread is that you're actually trying to learn (which is cool, by the way), please don't take offense if I fix your posts sometimes.


Thanks again, Now I'm using a dictionary that's called WordPower, it's a cool dictionary. Very useful. (this is not a complete sentence, but this is only a conversation on a forum, so it will suffice.)
I've started to learn worlds that start with the letters of A then B, C, D and...
I should learn at least 20000 new words.
I'll back with more questions.
Thanks.Again, this was overly nitpicky. I was just wanting to point out that the root word "start" required the suffix "-ed" for the manner you used it in.

"Start" is present tense, meaning something that that happens now (I start to learn words).
"Started" is past tense, meaning that it has already happened. (I've started to learn words).
The "-ed" suffix makes it past tense.

http://www.helpingwithverbs.com/lessons/VerbTense.htm

[N7.]

Thanks Chyron8472, why should some people think it's not polite ? I've asked help and you helped me to find out my wrongs. thanks

I want to continue this thread after a long time

My first question is when should we use of "holdup" ?
for example I heard that Shepard told to Wrex "What's the holdup?" and he answered "Road's out"

[Darth Marsden]

The phrase "What's the hold up?" is another way of saying "What's taking so long?" or "Why aren't we moving?".

If something is holding you up, it is preventing you from doing things, making you put what you were doing on 'hold'.

[N7.]

Thanks it's clear enogh now
What does "we have to abort" mean ? a pilot said that

[Darth Marsden]

Aborting something means that you're being forced to stop doing it for some reason. "We have to abort" is another way of saying "We have to stop".

[N7.]

You help me again, thanks again :o
The English language is really sweet

[WarpSpeed]

Abort means more than just stop, though. It usually means you had plans, but something changed, and now you can't do them anymore. When a pilot aborts, it means something has happened so that the pilot cannot continue as planned. (Maybe one of the plane's engines failed, and the pilot now has to land as soon as possible.)

Abort usually means stop, but you can stop without aborting. If the pilot arrives as planned and stops the airplane, we don't say he aborted.

[N7.]

Thanks then abort is something that doesn't going as planned and should be stop

I have four more questions

1- What is the meaning of "call off" in bottom sentence ?
"They had to call off the airstrike"

2- What does "You're a trailblazer" mean ?

3- What is the meaning of this sentence ? ""Had" being the operative word "

4- And last question is that What does "Step on it" mean ?

[Alcoremortis]

Thanks then abort is something that doesn't going as planned and should be stop

I have four more questions

1- What is the meaning of "call off" in bottom sentence ?
"They had to call off the airstrike"

2- What does "You're a trailblazer" mean ?

3- What is the meaning of this sentence ? ""Had" being the operative word "

4- And last question is that What does "Step on it" mean ?

1. "Call off" is used in a very similar way as "abort". It means we were going to do something but can't do it any more so have to cancel. In the airstrike context, it implies that a higher ranking person is doing the canceling.

2. A trailblazer is another word for a pioneer, an explorer. So when we say someone's a trailblazer, it's like saying that they're adventurous and trying something brand new.

3. This one's a bit tricky. It usually would be associated with another sentence. Then "'Had' being the operative word." would be an emphasis on the fact that something in the previous sentence only was a thing of the past and not necessarily true now.

4. "Step on it" refers to stepping on the gas pedal of a vehicle. So it basically means "drive faster" or in broader usage "do anything faster".

[KuroShiro]

From what I've been told, the best way to learn the language is to read books. Sometimes, even if you don't know the exact definition of a word, you can often discern (or recognize) what a general idea of the definition might be from the context of the word (or the sentence/paragraph around the word).

The best way to learn vocabulary after you've gained a certain level of proficiency in the language is certainly to read books. It is not a good way to learn to speak a language though -- it is a separate skill.

From my personal experience as a second language teacher and learner, I would say that the best way to start learning a language is to listen to it a lot, even if you don't really understand. Getting used to the phonetic patterns of a language will make things a lot easier to understand as you go along. Sadly, there's really no substitute for experience, although you could probably gain a decent level of proficiency at reading/writing just from being on the internet a lot, actually speaking is a slightly different matter.

[N7.]

1. "Call off" is used in a very similar way as "abort". It means we were going to do something but can't do it any more so have to cancel. In the airstrike context, it implies that a higher ranking person is doing the canceling.

2. A trailblazer is another word for a pioneer, an explorer. So when we say someone's a trailblazer, it's like saying that they're adventurous and trying something brand new.

3. This one's a bit tricky. It usually would be associated with another sentence. Then "'Had' being the operative word." would be an emphasis on the fact that something in the previous sentence only was a thing of the past and not necessarily true now.

4. "Step on it" refers to stepping on the gas pedal of a vehicle. So it basically means "drive faster" or in broader usage "do anything faster".

Thanks, Clear and useful :)

[Chyron8472]

The best way to learn vocabulary after you've gained a certain level of proficiency in the language is certainly to read books. It is not a good way to learn to speak a language though -- it is a separate skill.

One thing to keep in mind, N7, is that speaking and writing are different in how sentence structure is normally accepted.

Again, this is a public forum, so we often will write how we would speak--and also there are quite a lot of people here for whom English is their primary language, yet they have no idea how to use proper spelling and grammar.

My point is that learning proper sentence structure is important. It's much more important in writing than in speaking. When speaking, we may often use phrases and half-sentences instead of complete sentences. The reasons why I say this are because using proper sentence structure, grammar and spelling when writing will greatly help you to sound more competent, and will almost certainly help you to get a better job.

[N7.]

thanks, I'm back again with more questions, sorry if it's much

1- What does "Shroud" mean in following sentence ?
Getting to that Shroud is all that matters
(that's what Wrex told Shepard about the building that was genophage cause!)

2- What does "We made it back outside" mean ?

3- What is the meaning of "You're looking at hope"

4- What does "Given a chance" mean in following sentence ?
This was once a world full of beauty. Given a chance, it can be again

5- What is the difference between "tremor" and "quake" ?

6- When should we use "preoccupied" and what is the difference with "busy" ?

7- What does "Break off" mean in following sentence ?
Break off! We're getting out of here

8- What does "Shake" mean in following sentence ?
We'll try to shake this thing and find you!

Sorry if it's a bit much

[Darth Marsden]

1) "Getting to that shroud is all that matters". A shroud is an actual item, used to cover or protect something.

2) "We've made it back outside" means that the group has managed to safely exit the building (or wherever they were).

3) "You're looking at hope" - I don't know.

4) "The was once a world full of beauty. Given a chance, it can be again". The world used to be beautiful, but for whatever reason it no longer is. When a character says 'given a chance', he means that, if people were to try, then the world could be beautiful again.

5) The difference between "tremor" and "quake" is that a tremor is a fairly small event - usually not causing any damage - while a quake, which is sort for earthquake, is a massive event, causing a huge amount of destruction.

6) If someone is "Preoccupied", then it means that someone is busy with something. There's not a lot of difference between the two words.

7) "Break off!" in this case means 'stop what you're doing!'.

8) To "shake" someone to to try and stop them from following you.

[N7.]

1) "Getting to that shroud is all that matters". A shroud is an actual item, used to cover or protect something.

2) "We've made it back outside" means that the group has managed to safely exit the building (or wherever they were).

3) "You're looking at hope" - I don't know.

4) "The was once a world full of beauty. Given a chance, it can be again". The world used to be beautiful, but for whatever reason it no longer is. When a character says 'given a chance', he means that, if people were to try, then the world could be beautiful again.

5) The difference between "tremor" and "quake" is that a tremor is a fairly small event - usually not causing any damage - while a quake, which is sort for earthquake, is a massive event, causing a huge amount of destruction.

6) If someone is "Preoccupied", then it means that someone is busy with something. There's not a lot of difference between the two words.

7) "Break off!" in this case means 'stop what you're doing!'.

8) To "shake" someone to to try and stop them from following you.

Thanks, about "We've made it back outside" It was a simple sentence! I don't know why I asked this question :D

[Chyron8472]

Something that occurs to me that is crucial in sounding not only like a native but also competent, is that you seriously need to know the difference between different words that are homonyms (words that sound the same but are spelled differently).

Specifically, I'm talking about the differences between: your and you're; their, there, and they're; two, to and too ...and other such homonyms.


Please, PLEASE understand and acknowledge the differences between these words. There are people, even people on these forums, who use "there" instead of "they're" or "their" and it just drives me crazy sometimes.

I don't see how someone could ever think they'd be taken seriously by anyone ever in the corporate world when they can't even use something as basic as "they're" or "their" properly in a sentence. An 8-year-old child should understand the difference, so if someone is a teenager or an adult, English is their primary language, and they can't use these words properly... then they have no excuse.

I'm not complaining at you, N7. Not at all. I'm just stressing how important it is to not sound illiterate.

[KuroShiro]

Something that occurs to me that is crucial in sounding not only like a native but also competent, is that you seriously need to know the difference between different words that are homonyms (words that sound the same but are spelled differently).

Specifically, I'm talking about the differences between: your and you're; their, there, and they're; two, to and too ...and other such homonyms.

Those are homophones, actually. Homonyms are words that are both spelled and sound the same, but have different meanings. Words like "stalk" (of a plant) and "stalk" (follow a person).

Of course your overall point remains valid.

[Chyron8472]

Those are homophones, actually. Homonyms are words that are both spelled and sound the same, but have different meanings. Words like "stalk" (of a plant) and "stalk" (follow a person).


It seems that I'm both wrong and right.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/homonym

"The word HOMONYMS (“same” + “names”) is, strictly speaking, either a synonym for homophones or a name for words that are at once homophones and homographs —alike in both spelling and pronunciation—such as the two words spelled b-e-a-r and the three spelled s-o-u-n-d. As a practical matter, however, the terms homophone, homograph, and homonym are often distinguished from one another by the contexts in which they are found. Homophone and homograph —the first focused on sound and the second on spelling—appear primarily in technical or academic writing, where fine distinctions are important. The more familiar word HOMONYM, heard in classrooms from early grades on, has become an all-inclusive term that describes not only words that are both homophonic and homographic, but words that are either one or the other. In common parlance, then, words that sound alike, look alike, or both, can be called homonyms."

[N7.]

Thanks, here I have some more questions

1-What does "we're exposed" mean ?
2- What is the meaning of we've beaten the odds before ?
3-What does mean this sentence ? " She has a temper "
4- And what's the difference between champion and hero ?

[Darth Marsden]

1) "We're exposed" is another way of saying "There's nothing protecting us" or "We've been discovered". I suspect it's probably the first one, given you're playing Mass Effect.

2) "We've beaten the odds before". This one requires some explaining. If you beat the odds, then you are succeeding at doing something that, statistically, you should fail at. For example, if there's only a 10% chance of me jumping off a building without injuring myself, and I do it, then I have beaten the odds, because it was far more likely that I would break my legs. In this instance, the team has accomplished something unlikely before, and they're using that as a reason to try and do so again.

3) "She has a temper". If someone 'has a temper', then they are quick to anger and are likely to yell and be violent.

4) Champion and Hero... it depends upon the context, really. A hero is usually someone who does good deeds, defeats evil and is considered a saviour, while a champion is just someone who's proven themselves victorious at something - say, combat. Some people use the word champion when they mean hero though, so bear that in mind.

[Chyron8472]

Thanks, here I have some more questions

1-What does "we're exposed" mean ?
2- What is the meaning of we've beaten the odds before ?
3-What does mean this sentence ? " She has a temper "
4- And what's the difference between champion and hero ?

1) In this case, "exposed" means to be without shelter or protection.

2) "Odds" in this case refers to are the chance that something will happen--such as the whether or not you will win when gambling. "We've beaten the odds before" means that we've succeeded before when it was very likely at the time that we would fail.

3) A "temper" refers to a person's ability to become angry quickly. Another thing some people might say when talking about someone who gets angry quickly is to say they have a "short fuse" which, of course, refers to a fuse for a bomb (in this case the person is the bomb and when they "blow up" they get angry.)

4) A champion can be a couple of things. First, a champion can be a person who is chosen to protect or represent someone else in combat. Second, a champion can be someone who participates in a competition and then becomes the winner.

A hero is someone whom other people look up to and admire. This person can also be a champion, as someone might look to them as a hero because of their success as a champion. Usually someone is a hero (or is "heroic") when they do something that is very good, noble or courageous; something that they have done which other people admire them for.

Being a hero is different from being famous. Fame is merely when someone is popular, and doesn't account for whether what they're popular for is admirable.

[N7.]

Very helpful, thanks
Clear and useful

I suspect it's probably the first one, given you're playing Mass Effect.


Yes, Shepard never hide:D

[N7.]

Hi again, I'm back with more questions

First of all where should we use "stabilize" ?

What does "bypass" mean ?

And what is the meaning of following sentence?
"someone else might have gotten it wrong"

Thanks

[Darth Marsden]

1) Stabilize. There's two uses for this, and they're both very similar.
- One use is medical. If someone is ill or in surgery, then their vital signs (heartbeat, brain readings, etc.) can be all over the place. To stabilize someone is to make sure those readings are normal, thus meaning the patient isn't likely to die and further medical treatment can take place.
- The other use is more basic. If you knock something and it's wobbling, then making sure that it's safe and not going to fall over is to stabilize it.

2) Bypass. If there's a blockage of some sort, then to bypass it is to find another way around it.

3) "Someone else might have gotten it wrong". I'm going to use an example with this one.

Let's say there's a question. 'How long until I get to ban a spambot?' The first person to answer that question says 3 days. The second person to answer says 1 day. When told that the first person said three days, the second person says that the first person 'might have gotten it wrong', meaning that the answer the first person gave isn't necessarily right, because it has yet to be proven.

[N7.]

Thank you, good as ever

What's the difference between Commence and Start ?

What is the meaning of this sentence ? "he's putting in a good word for us"

And what's the meaning of "Hell of thing you just pulled off"
That's what Hackett told Shepard about curing the genophage

[Chyron8472]

What's the difference between Commence and Start?In this case, nothing.

"Commence" I suppose is a bit more formal sounding than "start" but other than that, they mean the same thing. There is a different definition for "start" which means to suddenly jump or twitch, usually from being surprised (or startled), but that definition is not the case here, I'm sure.

What is the meaning of this sentence ? "he's putting in a good word for us""putting in a good word" is to give a good recommendation.

Basically, he is going to talk to someone and say good things about us.

And what's the meaning of "Hell of a thing you just pulled off"You left out the word "a" so I put it there.

To "pull off" can mean to accomplish or to succeed at doing something.

"Hell of a" means something is either very good or very bad. The "thing" referred to can be a good or a bad thing, as expressed by your tone of voice. You can also use other words instead of "thing," depending on what you're talking about. Keep in mind, some people squish the words together to spell "Helluva" but it sounds the same and means the same thing.

[Debbie82]

"Hell of a" means something is either very good or very bad. The "thing" referred to can be a good or a bad thing, as expressed by your tone of voice. You can also use other words instead of "thing," depending on what you're talking about. Keep in mind, some people squish the words together to spell "Helluva" but it sounds the same and means the same thing.

You can also say, "hella", since "hella" is a short term for "hell of a", if that helps. :)

[Alcoremortis]

You can also say, "hella", since "hella" is a short term for "hell of a", if that helps. :)

That's a Bay Area thing, though.

[Darth Marsden]

Or a Cartman thing, IIRC.

[N7.]

Thank you guys, Good as ever. I'll back with more questions
thanks

[KuroShiro]

You can also say, "hella", since "hella" is a short term for "hell of a", if that helps. :)

"Hella" as it's actually used (mainly in northern CA and sometimes in NY) is in no way short for 'hell of a'. It means 'very'.

[N7.]

Hi, What does "I used to" mean? for example someone says "Do you know her?"
and other one saying "I used to"

[coolsome]

Hi, What does "I used to" mean? for example someone says "Do you know her?"
and other one saying "I used to"

It means it is something you did in the past. Like your example would mean at one point you knew this person in the past but now you don't IE you knew a friend in school but after you lost touch so you used to know them but now don't.

[N7.]

Thanks coolsome.

Coolsome's not a spammer. He's just being difficult. And if he wants to keep his digital backside intact and out of trouble, he'll refrain from doing so in the future.

What does "He's just being difficult" mean in the above post?

[Giant Tope]

Being difficult is a phrase meaning that a person is being disruptive, usually for unimportant reasons.

[N7.]

Being difficult is a phrase meaning that a person is being disruptive, usually for unimportant reasons.

Thanks but what does "being disruptive" mean ? :confused:

[Giant Tope]

unplanned, negative deviation from the expected outcome

[WarpSpeed]

"Being difficult" means the person knows what you are looking for but gives you something different just to be annoying or mildly funny.

Example: One man asks, "Do you know what time it is?" Second man answers, "Yes," and walks off. Second man knew that the first man wanted to know what the time was, but second man just decided to be difficult instead of telling the first man what time it was.

[N7.]

Your help was useless, I don't know what are you talking about http://img4up.com/up2/31170210730292158055.png





I was just kiding, thanks a lot

Am I now kind of "Being difficult" ?

So then "Being difficult" means that I know what is your mean but just saying you What the hell are you talking about ?

[Darth Marsden]

Not quite. If you're being difficult to someone, then you are deliberately preventing them from getting the information they need.

Example - I ask what day it is. If you know it's, say, Tuesday, but tell me the wrong answer on purpose, or you just don't tell me at all, then you're being difficult because you're getting in the way of the answer.

[ty1love]

If you dont mind me asking n7 what is your native language?

[coolsome]

Example: One man asks, "Do you know what time it is?" Second man answers, "Yes," and walks off.

I like saying time you got a watch.

[N7.]

If you dont mind me asking n7 what is your native language?

Sorry but I'll do mind http://img4up.com/up2/31170210730292158055.png



Thanks guys, Now I know what "being difficult" means

[N7.]

Hi, I have a new question
What does "reckon" mean in following sentence ?
"I reckon you didn't do it,then."

[coolsome]

Same as think like If you reckon someone wouldn't finish a hard game then you wouldn't think they would be able to.

[Darth Marsden]

In this instance, it would mean the same thing as 'believe'.

So "I reckon you didn't do it" is the same as "I believe you didn't do it".

[N7.]

For example

I reckon It was a good idea to asking my questions in a place like this!
I reckon Telltale should just work on The walking dead
I reckon America is the best country

Correct?

[Darth Marsden]

So, you think asking these questions was a good idea, Telltale should be making more Walking Dead games and America is awesome? ...eh, one out of three isn't too bad, I guess...

But yeah, you got it.

[N7.]

exactly,.. thanks
What does "fellas" mean?

does "I've driven a buncha'"... mean "I've driven a bunch of " ?

[Darth Marsden]

Fellas is slang for a group of people. For example, you could greet a bunch of friends by saying "Hey fellas!".

And yes, buncha is another way of saying bunch of. You're catching on.

[WarpSpeed]

Fellas is just a way of spelling fellows the way some people say it. That and reckon (and probably buncha) are using a Southern U.S. accent. Reckon is a real word, but the rest are just attempts at spelling the way someone is talking.

[N7.]

Hi again, it's been a while after my last visit, I've been working on a game but I've had some problem for establishing a game studio, For now I'm just trying to establish a game studio to continue my way.

Anyway, I have some more questions here
My problem is the usage of the word "Fancy"
I want you correct me if I'm wrong!
A fancy chair means an expensive and pretty chair
But in the following sentence
If you're fancy means If you like! correct ?
Or it's mean If you are a person with tend to expensive and pretty things?

Please help thanks.

[Darth Marsden]

OK, the word fancy has several different meanings, but we'll look at the examples you use.

"A fancy chair" means impressive or extravagant.

The phrase "If you fancy" (not "if you're fancy") is the same as saying 'if you want to' or, as you say, 'if you like'.

[N7.]

OK, the word fancy has several different meanings, but we'll look at the examples you use.

"A fancy chair" means impressive or extravagant.

The phrase "If you fancy" (not "if you're fancy") is the same as saying 'if you want to' or, as you say, 'if you like'.

Thanks, about "if you're fancy" I've seen this in the Walking Dead!
Chuck told lee, Name's Chuck. Charles if you're fancy!

My next question is about "pants off" in the following sentence.
"scaring the pants off of you"

Does it mean to frighten someone to death?

[Darth Marsden]

In that context, "Charles if you're fancy" would mean that he you can refer to him as Charles if you want to be formal or polite like a posh person, but he prefers to be called Chuck.

Scaring the pants off you doesn't mean scaring someone to death. It basically means scaring you a LOT.

[N7.]

did anyone seen those trailers that Rock Star released newly? I have few question about them, I mean about pronunciation uses on them.

I would to know what exactly said that fat boy with a red hat in the Michael trailer!?
Does he said "Why do I have to hold your hands to this Omid's life crisis bullshit!"

I'll shot other questions after this one were answered :D

[Darth Marsden]

If you don't mind, I'm going to merge this with your other 'what does this mean' thread, since this one's very similar.

[N7.]

If you don't mind, I'm going to merge this with your other 'what does this mean' thread, since this one's very similar.

Thanks but I think those people that seen those trailers aren't so many and those that seen GTA_V Michael trailer may not coming to this thread to see who needs help about that

[N7.]

In the Walking Dead after Kat asked Lee to go and talk with Kenny about Duck, Lee told Kenny "I don't know what the hell is wrong with you but you need to lock it up. be a man here"

What does that "Lock it up" mean?

[Chyron8472]

Does he said "Why do I have to hold your hands to this Omid's life crisis bullshit!"

trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E0iD9twjDc&t=24

You're close. He says "Why do I have to hold your hand through this whole mid-life crisis bullshit?!"

In this case, when he says "hold your hand", he's saying that he feels like an adult holding a child's hand in order to keep the child safe.

A mid-life crisis is a time of emotional stress that many people have in their 30's or 40's.

In the Walking Dead after Kat asked Lee to go and talk with Kenny about Duck, Lee told Kenny "I don't know what the hell is wrong with you but you need to lock it up. be a man here"

What does that "Lock it up" mean?He means to keep it secret. He's saying that because the children need to be able to look to the adults for emotional support, and so Kenny needs to be emotionally strong for the sake of the children feeling better. "Be a man" refers to having emotional strength and stability.

If someone says "lock it up and throw away the key", they are stressing the need to keep it secret forever.

[N7.]

trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E0iD9twjDc&t=24

You're close. He says "Why do I have to hold your hand through this whole mid-life crisis bullshit?!"

In this case, when he says "hold your hand", he's saying that he feels like an adult holding a child's hand in order to keep the child safe.

A mid-life crisis is a time of emotional stress that many people have in their 30's or 40's.

He means to keep it secret. He's saying that because the children need to be able to look to the adults for emotional support, and so Kenny needs to be emotionally strong for the sake of the children feeling better. "Be a man" refers to having emotional strength and stability.

If someone says "lock it up and throw away the key", they are stressing the need to keep it secret forever.

Thanks, that was really helpful, my next ask is about the meaning of "don't pop a gasket" and "cracked up to be"

[Darth Marsden]

"Don't Pop a Gasket" is another way of saying "don't lose your temper".

Not entirely sure about the other one. I'd have to hear the whole sentence.

[flesk]

Doesn't it mean that you had big expectations for something, but it didn't turn out to be as good as you thought?

Like if a friend of N7 said he should watch Brokeback Mountain because it was the movie of the year. Then when he watched it he nearly choked on his popcorn and stormed out of the theater. The next day when his friend asks him what he thought of the movie he goes: "Meh, it's not what it's cracked up to be. King Kong was much better with its awesomely lengthy dinosaur fighting scenes."

EDIT: Note, I'm not a native English speaker myself.

[Darth Marsden]

Yes, you're pretty much right.

[Chyron8472]

"It's not all that it's cracked to be" means it's not as good as people say it is.

Usually, when someone says this, they're saying that they'd heard something was good, and it actually turns out to be "meh." If it turned out to be terrible, they'd probably say something more harsh than this.

[N7.]

Thanks a lot again, just about "don't pop a gasket" does It mean as a friendly advice?
Like: don't pop a gasket I'll deal with them later
Or like: don't pop a gasket" as*hole!

Aside that I have more questions.
First I want to know does "he run its course" means "he's breathing his last breaths"?
Or he's close to get off or death

Second I want to know what does "She's dug in" mean
Thanks

[Scnew]

Thanks a lot again, just about "don't pop a gasket" does It mean as a friendly advice?
Like: don't pop a gasket I'll deal with them later
Or like: don't pop a gasket" as*hole!

Aside that I have more questions.
First I want to know does "he run its course" means "he's breathing his last breaths"?
Or he's close to get off or death

Second I want to know what does "She's dug in" mean
Thanks

"Don't pop a gasket" means "don't lose your temper" as was said before. It could be said in either a friendly, joking way or it could be said angrily. It's hard to know without context.

When something has run it's course, it means that's finished or almost finished. Something is about to end, probably permanently.

To be "dug in" means to have taken a defensive position that you're not going to give up on. I assume the term originates with armies digging trenches in the past or something--once they're "dug in" they're hard to remove. One could be dug in literally, like defending themselves against an attack, or one could be "dug in" in that they've taken a moral stance that they're not going to give up on.

[Chyron8472]

Actually, the proper use is "don't blow a gasket", not "pop".

A gasket is a mechanical part that helps to create a seal between other connecting parts (such as pipes) and keep them from leaking where they connect to each other. That being said, blowing a gasket refers to an engine that gets overheated and causes one of the gaskets to break (ie. "blow") and causes the engine to leak fluids.

So when someone says "don't blow a gasket", they're telling you not to overheat emotionally, so to speak, or rather to not lose your temper.

[N7.]

I've searched for them in the net and dictionaries but I couldn't find the meaning of those phrase, but you're help was really good and helped me to figure out what does them exactly mean

Did I make any wrong in my above writing?

Three more ask
First: What is the meaning of "drawing a conclusion"
Second: What does "freaking out" means in you're freaking me out
Third: What is the meaning of "don't let them get a hold of you"
Thanks

[Chyron8472]

I've searched for them on the net and in dictionaries but I couldn't find the meaning of those phrases. However, your help was really good and helped me to figure out what they exactly do mean.

Did I make anything wrong in my above writing?
I fixed it for you.

I've searched for them in the net and dictionaries but I couldn't find the meaning of those phrase, but you're help was really good and helped me to figure out what does them exactly mean

First: it's "on" the net, not "in" it.

Second: "Those phrases." The word "those" is plural (meaning more than one.) You could say "that phrase" or "those phrases."

Third: The reason why I put a period after "phrases" is because the sentence was run-on. (A "run-on sentence" is a sentence that is too long and is incorrect usage of grammar.) Think of it this way: try saying it out loud. "I've searched for them in the net and dictionaries but I couldn't find the meaning of those phrase, but you're help was really good and helped me to figure out what does them exactly mean." It's too long. You would need to breathe somewhere in there.

"I've searched for them in the net and dictionaries but I couldn't find the meaning of those phrase. But you're help was really good and helped me to figure out what does them exactly mean."

This is better, but there are still the other problems that also needed to be fixed.


Fourth: I replaced "but" with "however" because it sounded better at the start of a new sentence, especially when the last sentence already used the word "but".





Also, you used "you're" when you should have used "your." Here's a tip: "your" is the possessive form of you. "You're" is a contraction (shortened) form of "you are."

-- "Help" here is a noun which is used after "your" so it would mean "help that belongs to you".
-- "You are" - a + ' = "you're".

Also, "their" is the possessive form of "they". "They're" is a contraction (shortened) form of "they are." "There" refers to a physical place.

-- "Help" which is used after "their" would mean "help that belongs to them".
-- "They are" - a + ' = "they're".
-- "There" is a specific place, (such as "I am going there.")


An example of all of these could be "They're going there to get their help."

The mistake between "your" and "you're" as well as "they're", "their" and "there" are common mistakes among many on the internet. Making these mistakes shows these people to be woefully uneducated (meaning it's obvious that they didn't learn very much in school). Please don't make these mistakes.

Many would call me a "Grammar Nazi" for being nitpicky about these mistakes, but it's important to not make them if you ever intend to get a job where writing anything is important, and it really helps for people to take you seriously as an adult (as mistakes like these are those that a small child would make.) English is not your primary language, so people should understand if you make these mistakes at first. However, adults and teenagers, whose primary language is English, have no excuse to make mistakes like this.





Three more questions:
First: What is the meaning of "drawing a conclusion"?
Second: What does "freaking out" mean in "you're freaking me out"?
Third: What is the meaning of "don't let them get a hold of you"?
Thanksfixed that for you.

"Drawing a conclusion" is when you have information about something, and you use that information to decide what that information means. For example: If I turn a stove on and I know that it heats up, after it gets hot I can draw the conclusion that the stove will burn me if I touch it.

The difference between a "drawing a conclusion" and "making an assumption" has to do with how much fact is used compared to how much opinion or feeling is used. When you "assume" something, you are using feelings, opinions or instinct to decide something. When you "conclude" something, you are deciding something based more on fact.


"Freaking out" means "scaring". "You're freaking me out" means "you're scaring me." If someone "freaks", "freaks out" or "is freaking out" that means they are scared. If someone "is a freak", or is "freaky", it means they're scary. Although to call someone "a freak" is really just more of an insult.



"Don't let them get a hold of you" means exactly what it says. Don't let them use something (probably their hands) to get a hold of you. When you hold something, you have it in your hands. In other words: "Don't let them grab you."

[N7.]

Thanks man, That was an awesome help, about using You're instead of Your I should say that was a typing mistake, I don't know why I did make ( or I made!) that foolish mistake
As I said I've searched for them on the internet and in dictionaries but I couldn't find any useful tips, I hope It will help others people too

My vocabulary holds around 4000 words and I know that's really sucks, But I'm trying to reach my vocabulary around 10,000. I'm a self taught and I've learned by myself everything that I know, In our country and in our schools they really don't teach us English! just a little about grammatical rules.

[Darth Marsden]

Thanks man, That was an awesome help, about using You're instead of Your I should say that was a typing mistake, I don't know why I did make ( or I made!) that foolish mistake Emphasis on the correct phrase you needed to use, given the context.

To make something is to do it at the present moment (Excuse me while I make a sandwich).

To have made something is to have done it at some point in the past (Oh wait - I made a sandwich earlier).

[Chyron8472]

I think either "did make" or "made" would be correct.

"Made" is past tense.

"Make" is present tense, but "did" is still past tense (past form of "do").

-- "I did make a sandwich, but I can't find any chips."

I suppose the reason why you'd use one or the other depends on the context.
If someone asked me: "Did you make a sandwich?", I would say "I did make one."

It really just depends on how you want to say what you mean, or what emphasis you want to use one which word. ("I did make a sandwich" versus "I did make a sandwich.")

[GameMasterGuy]

You seem to speak it fairly well considering the fact that your country doesn't natively speak it. Are there any nearby English speaking ones you could take a vacation to sometime? Immersion is the best way to learn a language once you hit a certain point, and assuming your spoken English is as good as your written English, you might be ready to try it.

[WarpSpeed]

Iran does not usually encourage vacations to English-speaking countries.

Anyway, the usual usage would be "I made" over "I did make", but "I did make" is OK if there is a special emphasis on it. For example:

Mother: Why are you eating those cookies? I told you to make a sandwich!

Child: I did make a sandwich! And I'm still hungry!

[N7.]

Thanks guys, all of you
I have Some more questions.

1- What is the meaning of "you're not above murder"! Does it mean that you're not worse than death or murder?
2- What does "She's gonna snap" mean
3- What does "on edge" mean? for example we're all on edge
4- And what's the meaning of "come to a head" for example Things are coming to a head

[WarpSpeed]

"You're not above...." followed by anything just means the person does not have the morals to avoid doing it. So "You're not above murder" means that "You" would consider murdering someone.

"She's gonna snap" means there is a lot of pressure on her, and she is trying to remain calm, but when she "snaps," she'll do something crazy or violent.

"On edge" just means nervous, like if you were on the edge of a cliff, you might be nervous that you might lose your balance and fall off. It's that sort of metaphor.

"Come to a head" means various actions are about to reach their conclusions, usually according to someone's plans. You can see that something big is about to happen as a result.

[N7.]

"You're not above...." followed by anything just means the person does not have the morals to avoid doing it. So "You're not above murder" means that "You" would consider murdering someone.

"She's gonna snap" means there is a lot of pressure on her, and she is trying to remain calm, but when she "snaps," she'll do something crazy or violent.

"On edge" just means nervous, like if you were on the edge of a cliff, you might be nervous that you might lose your balance and fall off. It's that sort of metaphor.

"Come to a head" means various actions are about to reach their conclusions, usually according to someone's plans. You can see that something big is about to happen as a result.

Thanks, then "Come to a head" means that I'm working hard on a game and after 2 years when my game is almost complete I can say things come to a head and I'll can release my game soon. correct?
Does it just mean reaching to a conclusion? or reaching to an end?

And about "you're not above murder" even with your guidance I couldn't find out what this exactly means

[Hudomonkey]

You're not above means you are likely to do it and or have done it in the past
It is a way of accusing someone in a way by saying someone is not above... you are basically saying you have done it in the past and are likely to do it again Lilly in TWD was basically saying that Kenny was a murderer and is not the kind of person who won't repeat it

[WarpSpeed]

Thanks, then "Come to a head" means that I'm working hard on a game and after 2 years when my game is almost complete I can say things come to a head and I'll can release my game soon. correct?
Does it just mean reaching to a conclusion? or reaching to an end?

Or "things are coming to a head," which is the usual way to say it. It also tends to be used for big things, so your 2-year project would be good, but you would not use that phrase on a 2-hour project. It only works for reaching an end if it is according to plan.

And about "you're not above murder" even with your guidance I couldn't find out what this exactly means

Normally, "not above" is used when talking about someone else, like: "Stay away from Bruno. He's not above shooting you if you get in the way." That is, most people would not shoot you for getting in the way, but Bruno might.

[N7.]

What's the difference between ledge and edge?
What is the meaning of go sideways
And what does coupling mean
thanks

[Darth Marsden]

if you're after the meanings of individual words, a dictionary would probably be more useful than us!

I'll give it a go though:

The difference between an edge and a ledge is that, while the edge of something is where it stops existing (the edge of a table, for example, is the point where the table stops), a ledge is something like a shelf that's sticking out of a horizontal surface. A window ledge, for example, is that little bit of wood (or whatever) that sticks out beneath the actual window.

"Go sideways"... in the more literal sense it means to move to the side, as in the left or right. If someone goes sideways then they're going to the left or the right instead of straight ahead. If this is being used in conversation, I'd probably need to hear the context it's used before I can give a better definition.

As for coupling, there's a couple of different meanings.
- When two objects join together (for example, when the things that connect train carriages are actually connected together, that would be a coupling).
- When two people form a relationship (for example, if I got a girlfriend, we would be a couple, and the act of us becoming a couple is a coupling)

[N7.]

if you're after the meanings of individual words, a dictionary would probably be more useful than us!

I'm using three dictionaries for this purpose, But it's hard sometimes to understand what's the exact meaning of a word like "flirting"
My language is a lot different from your language

For example I've read description on dictionaries about word "flirting" but still I have doubt
Does it mean having s*x with someone or it means talking or acting with or around someone only because they have s*xy attraction?

[Darth Marsden]

If you're acting flirty with someone, then you're teasing them with sexual advances. It's not always a straight-up declaration of wanting to have sex, but it's a good start.

For example, if I approached puzzlebox and said "You have the most beautiful lips. Do you mind if I kiss them?", then I'd be flirting with her (and she'd no doubt slap me in return, given my past history at this sort of thing).

[N7.]

In the past three weeks I added 500 new words to my vocabulary
I consider it's a good result, thanks all for helping.

For now I'm going to work on the next new 500 words and idioms and........

[Chyron8472]

If someone is "not above (something)" it means they are not exempt from it, or that it's not out of character for something they would do.

In Star Trek 6, the president says "This president is not above the law." This means that he has to follow the law and isn't allowed to do something which is illegal.

If someone says "you're not above murder" it means that either your personality or your past actions suggests that you are capable of killing someone.

[N7.]

Hi guys.

Today I saw a part of TWD again and chuck told Lee " These people look up to you. Rightly so"
Now I want to know what does exactly "Rightly so" could mean?
I think "Rightly so" in here means "Really"
Is it correct?

[Friar]

Hi guys.

Today I saw a part of TWD again and chuck told Lee " These people look up to you. Rightly so"
Now I want to know what does exactly "Rightly so" could mean?
I think "Rightly so" in here means "Really"
Is it correct?

Not quite. In this context, it means "As they should". Basically it's saying the look up to him, because he's worth looking up to (as a role model).

[N7.]

Not quite. In this context, it means "As they should". Basically it's saying the look up to him, because he's worth looking up to (as a role model).

Thanks then It means "The right is with them"?
For example:
First person: I hate him because he stolen my book when I was a child.
Second person: rightly so = (You have right to hate him because of what he did to you)
Am I correct now?