AAE Q161: 'would' and 'used to'

Hi

What is the difference between would and used to?

Sanjay


Hi Sanjay

The difference between 'would' and 'used to'

• 'would' is used to describe actions or situations that were repeated again and again.
• 'used to' is used for any extended action or situation in the past including repeated actions or situations.

Here are some examples

1 - "I used to live in Birmingham, but I moved to Prague last year."

Can we use 'would' instead of 'used to' here? No, because 'living in Birmingham' wasn't repeated again and again. It's simply a situation in the past. Therefore, only 'used to' is good in this sentence.

2 - " When he was at school, he used to play tennis every Saturday."

Here, we're talking about 'playing football every Saturday'. This is an action that was repeated many times, so we can also say: "When he was at school, he would play tennis every Saturday".'Used to' and 'would' are both good here, and the meaning is the same.

Hope this helps

M

AAE Q160: Negative prefixes

Hello,

My question was that,why people use untouchable not intouchable, why non-terminating not interminating?

Supriya

Hi Supriya,

The reason that these prefixes are different is because of the influence of other languages on the English Language. Take a look at the table and text below.

Thanks

	Origin	Meaning	Productivity
a- (an-)	Greek	not, without	medium
anti-	Greek	against	high
dis-	Latin	not, opposite of	low
in- (il-, im-, ir-)	Latin	not, opposite of	medium
non-	Latin	not	high
un-	Germanic	not, opposite of	high

The prefixes a- and anti- are both of Greek origin. This explains why the very majority of the words that can use these prefixes also have their origin from Greek (e.g. chromatic, morphous, symmetric, typical, aerobic, hydrous, oxic).

The prefixes dis-, in-, and non- are Latinate in origin. Similarly, words that go along with dis- and in- are mostly from Latin/French. They include words like dishonest, discourteous, dissimiliar, inaccessible, inaccurate, insignificant, to name a few. On the other hand, while non- is also commonly associated with Latinate/French words such as non-negotiable, non-judgmental and non-specific, it has become more productive than the other Latinate prefixes. This prefix can form negative adjectives with many present participles and past participles regardless of the origin of the stem word, such as non-smoking, non-aligned, non-caffeinated, and even with participle phrases, such as non-profit making, non-man made. Another interesting fact about non- is that it can often form neagtive adjectives by joining verbs, to express the meaning that the thing described does not perform the action described by the verb. Examples include non-stop, non-shrink, non-slip

Un- is a prefix native to English. It is mostly attached to native words to form negative adjectives, such as unfriendly, unhappy, unfair, and so on. But it can also be attached to certain Latinate words, giving unable, unsympathetic, unconscious, unreasonable, etc. Like non-, it is a productive prefix and is ready to form adjectives with present and past participles, giving words like unfeeling, undecided, unjustified, etc.

http://www.linglish.net/2008/09/15/so-many-negative-prefixes/

AAE Q159 'nice seeing you'

Hi

When must i use "nice seeing you"?   just for the first meeting?
Nima


Hi Nima

This expression is used when you meet/see someone you haven't seen in a long time, in the following ways.

'It is nice to see you' - This would be used at the start of the conversation when you meet each other

'It is nice seeing you' - This would be used during the conversation

'It was nice seeing you'/ 
'It was nice to see you' - These would be used at the end of the conversation as you say goodbye.

Matt

AAE Q158: "You'd better be sorry!!."

Hi

If sorry is replied by "you better be sorry" than what does it mean?

Thanks

Dipak

Hello,

The correct response in English is "You had better be sorry." or "You'd better be sorry.". This is an angry response which is sometimes aggressive and threatening.

For example, my friend spilled his drink on me and said "Sorry". I angrily responded, "You'd better be sorry, this shirt cost me 100 euros!"

However it is possible to use this expression as a joke between friends.

Thanks

M

AAE Q157: 'so have I, 'so do I'

Hi,

I came across this problem when studying grammar of 'So do I', 'Neither do I'.

If there is a verb 'have got' in a asentence, e.g. "I have got lots of sweets.", what is the auxiliary that I have to repeat when I want to agree.

Is it: 'So have I', or 'so do I'? And what happens in the negative, e.g. I haven't got many friends. Is it: 'Neither have I' or 'neither do I'?

Thank you for answering me.

Eva

Hi Eva,

• "I have got lots of sweets."
• "So have I"
• "I haven't got many friends"
• "Neither have I"

In both sentences the auxiliary verb is 'have'.

M

AAE Q156: 'as per'

Hi

What is the origin of "as per" and is it outdated to use it ?

Lim


Hi,

'as per'

definition: according to

example: 'as per your instructions'

origin: 'per' originates from Latin, 'as per' dates back to 1782

I don't think it is old fashioned although it is used in academic writing and journalism more than in spoken language.

M

AAE Q155: relative adverb/pronoun

Hi,

What is the difference between a relative adverb and a relative pronoun?

Haidery


Hi,

Relative Pronouns

relative pronoun	use	example
who	subject or object pronoun for people	I told you about the woman who lives next door.
which	subject or object pronoun for animals and things	Do you see the cat which is lying on the roof?
which	referring to a whole sentence	He couldn’t read which surprised me.
whose	possession for people animals and things	Do you know the boy whose mother is a nurse?
whom	object pronoun for people, especially in non-defining relative clauses (in defining relative clauses we colloquially prefer who)	I was invited by the professor whom I met at the conference.
that	subject or object pronoun for people, animals and things in defining relative clauses (who or which are also possible)	I don’t like the table that stands in the kitchen.

Relative Adverbs

A relative adverb can be used instead of a relative pronoun plus preposition. This often makes the sentence easier to understand.

This is the shop in which I bought my bike.
→ This is the shop where I bought my bike.

relative adverb	meaning	use	example
when	in/on which	refers to a time expression	the day when we met him
where	in/at which	refers to a place	the place where we met him
why	for which	refers to a reason	the reason why we met him

M

AAE Q154:sentence without a verb

Hi,

Can a sentence be completed without using a verb?

Amit


Hi Amit,

As a general rule, sentences without verbs are incomplete sentences, i.e., sentence fragments.

However, exclamations are considered grammatically correct even without a verb:

"How sweet!" or "What a mess!"

Hope this helps

M

AAE Q153: I

Hi,

Is 'I' an abbreviation or not?

Abdul


Hi,

Yes it is from from Old English 'ic'. It was reduced to 'i' by 1137 in northern England, it began to be capitalized c.1250 to mark it as a distinct word and avoid misreading in handwritten manuscripts.

Thanks

M

AAE Q152: Imply

Hi

What's the meaning of imply?

Thank you so much

Rachid


Hi Rachid,

Imply

1. to suggest that sth is true or that you feel or think sth, without saying so directly. Are you implying (that) I am wrong?
2. to make it seem likely that sth is true or exists syn suggest. The survey implies (that) more people are moving house than was thought.
3. (of an idea, action, etc.) to make sth necessary in order to be successful. The project implies an enormous investment in training.

Thanks

M

AAE Q151: 'in/at school'

Hello!
Which is more correct?

We studied basic English in school? vs. We studied basic English at School?
Thank you!

Hi,

The only difference is that "in school" is American English and "at school" is British English.

M

AAE Q150: order of adjectives

Hi Matt,

I'd like to ask you about order of adjectives in sentence. In Czech, when we have two blue shirts and one is dirty, we say "the dirty blue shirt". When we have two dirty shirts and one is blue, we say "the blue dirty shirt". The more outstanding attribute can be emphasised by moving to the beginning. But at school I was learnt that English has this constant order:

number -> judgement -> size, length, height -> age -> colour -> origin -> material -> purpose

So, in our case, English would always say "the dirty blue shirt" (since "dirty" is a judgement?) without a possibility to emphasise one of attributes? Is it really so strict?

Thanks,
Vlada

Hi,

Thanks for your question.

I would say that it is possible to emphasise one of the attributes if you need to differentiate between similar objects. Referring back to your example, if there were two or more dirty shirts and one of them was blue it is possible to refer to this one as "the blue dirty shirt".

M

AAE Q149: 'wet-eared'

hi,

I wonder the meaning of the word 'wet-eared'.

Thanks


Hello,

This is from the expression "to be wet behind the ears" which is used to describe a person who is either very young or inexperienced. It originates from the fact that newborn babies are still wet (and obviously inexperienced).

Therefore to describe someone as wet-eared is to say that they have little experience.

M

AAE Q148: can't get a hold of him

Hello.

I heard the phrase : "I can't get (a) hold of him" twice. At first, there was an "a", but in the other situation, there wasn't. Are there any differences? Which sentence is correct?

Thanks Bara


Hi Bara,

Basically, both sentences are correct and there are no differences in meaning.

M

AAE Q147: G.I.

Hi Matt,

I'd like to ask you about a "G. I. soldier"

Thanks Mirek


Hi Mirek,

GI or G.I. is a term describing members of the U.S. armed forces or items of their equipment. It may be used as an adjective or as a noun. The term is often thought to be an initialism of "Government Issue" or "General Infantry" but the origin of the term is in fact galvanized iron after the letters "GI" that used to denote equipment such as metal trash cans made from it in U.S. Army inventories and supply records.

During World War I it was somehow assumed that GI stood for "Government Issue" and the term was applied to all military equipment and the soldiers themselves (another incorrect interpretation is "General Infantry"). The term reached even further as its usage spread with the American troops during World War II.

Hope this helps

M

AAE Q146: 'hard-done by'

Hi,

What does it mean ¨to feel hard done by.."

.....and how to use it in sentences

Ivana

Hi,

Please click here for my previous definition.

Matt

AAE Q145: 'longest word'

Hi,

I have a bee in my bonnet about what's the longest word in English?

Thanks for the answer

Best regards Roman


Hi,

It really depends what you mean by the longest word, but the longest recognised, non-technical word (which isn't a place name) is:

antidisestablishmentarianism

It is a political position that originated in nineteenth-century Britain, where antidisestablishmentarians were opposed to proposals to remove the Church of England's status as the state church of England forwarded principally by both Payne and Tuffin.

Thanks

M

AAE Q144: 'apostrophe s'

Hi,

I have a question concerning apostrophe –‘s.

I have been taught that apostrophe “-'s” is not applicable to things, ideas etc. just to people, animals, places and time.(English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy). But very often I can see in the technical standards using -‘s for objects. For example:


The fire scenario's primary purpose is to identify the product's potential contribution to each

hazardous aspect of the developing fire and, thereby, those aspects of the product's fire

performance which affect the outcome of the fire scenario. Once the key contributors are

established, methods for their quantification or measurement must be identified as illustrated

in Flowchart 1.

Is the use of apostrophe in this context correct?

I wonder because there was a discussion between people having English as mother language and people learned English as second language. Some English speaking people insist that using the apostrophe for things is correct and Murphy has wrong.

I appreciate your answer very much.

Best regards,
Irina Ekblad

Hi Irina,

I have been doing some research on the subject and, to be honest, finding a set of rules which works all the time is impossible.

Firstly I would like to say that all of the highlighted examples above are completely fine; using the apostrophe for things, people or animals is correct.

However sometimes it is not necessary to use an apostrophe: if the noun is a building, an object, or a piece of furniture

room of the hotel = hotel room

door of the car = car door

leg of the table = table leg

Hope this helps.

Matt

AAE Q143: 'at the right place at the right time'

Hi,

Could you tell me which sentence is right?:

"be at the right place at the right time"
or
"be in the right place at the right time"

and how can i answer the sentence "nice to meet you"??

thanks...


Hi,

Both of these sentences are correct. In English you can either be 'in' a place or 'at' a place and often both. The sentence is an expression and personally I don't think it is important which one you use.

The usual response to "nice to meet you" is "nice to meet you too".

Please click here for more examples of greetings.

Matt

AAE Q142: 'call it a day'

Hi Matt,

Can you explain to me sentence "Call it a day?"

Thanks for your answer

Have a nice day

Iva


Hi,

If someone "calls it a day" they stop doing something, especially working.

After playing together for 20 years the band have finally decided to call it a day.

It's almost midnight - I think it's time to call it a day.

Hope this helps

M