When I was coming from school to my house, there was heavy rain. Then one of my friends said  "Don't simply walk, run fast". Then the question came to my mind: how should I go so as to avoid wetting: walk or run?
121321
When it's raining, would you get less wet if you run or more wet?  I think you will get less wet, because rain is coming down in a constant volume and if you run you will have a shorter amount of time you will get less volume  I'm not too sure though, some people say when you run you are running into a more volume of rain because rain is not all coming up to down, it will hit you more horizontally
63077
This is the subject that's been bugging me for quite some time now, even though I believe I've managed to grasp the entire reported speech pretty well.  If I want to repeat to someone what I previously said about my opinion on swimming, I could go either with #1:        I said I didn't like to swim.      if I didn't want to emphasize anything, or with #2,        I said I don't like to swim.      if I want to make it clear that my not liking to swim still holds true.     What I can't understand is why I have to switch tenses back if I'm talking about things like:        He didn't know California was on the West Coast.      It's obvious that California hasn't moved a single inch, so why can't I express it by saying:        He didn't know California is on the West Coast.        Similarly, is such shifting required in every utterance of such meaning? For example:        I told you it was impossible to fly.      It's obvious that no matter how hard I tried I still wouldn't be able to fly. So can't I say "is impossible" (#7) in this case?        I told you it is impossible to fly.
6781
Could anyone help me with finding the difference between saying "catch a bus/train/etc" and  "take a train/bus/etc"? I'm afraid I haven't been able to glean one from my dictionary.
67151
I am not sure how to approach this problem.  Every day, a dance student walks from her home to dance-school, which is located $12$ blocks east and $16$ blocks north from home. She always takes the shortest walk of $28$ blocks.  $a$) How many different walks are possible?  $b$) Suppose that $5$ blocks east and $6$ blocks north of her home lives her dance friend, whom she meets each day on her way to dance school. Now how many walks are possible?  For $a$ I was thinking $P(28,12)\cdot P(28,16)$, but not sure if that would work because you can't walk the furthest block north before the closest block north.  And for $b$ I'm not really sure where to start.
89987
Today in the middle of my ride it started raining and I could barely see due to the amount of rain on my glasses.  This is basically what I could see   I have jokingly talked about using Rain-X on my glasses, but now it's starting to seem like a good idea.  Is there a way to keep this from happening or at least to a minimum?
9372
I know several questions were asked about the difference between "going to" and "will". Based on several answers (see, for instance, ,  and ), I understood that "will" is more spontaneous and "going to" is used with more planned actions.  So, it seems that everything is pretty fine. However, in , Kosmonaut has an answer in which he states: "Let's say that tomorrow you will walk your dog from 7 - 8 AM".  On the one hand, you probably planned to walk your dog long before and thus I should use "Let's say that tomorrow you're going to walk your dog from 7 - 8 am".   On the other hand, since I'm saying "let's say...", I'm deciding right now (thus, unplanned) that you will walk your dog. So, even though in this hypothetical situation you made a plan, I'm in a more spontaneous mood deciding right now that that's what you will do tomorrow, and, thus, I should use "will".  Which one (if any) of the above explanations is right?
69357
I'm a little OCD when it comes to traveling. I have learned from experience that when I am away, I constantly have visions that a pipe in the wall had burst and that the water is slowly filling the house. Having been through this enough times, I am tempted to put my worries to rest by simply turning off the main water line (in the garage) before we leave. My new fear with doing this, of course, is that I will cause something else bad to happen.  So I am curious, is it bad to turn off the water and drain the pipes prior to leaving for a week? In addition, what other precautions should I take aside from turning down the water heater? A few details - our house is two story, copper pipes, and we would be traveling in the spring time so temperatures in the house would stay at around 70 F.
94045
I think most folk happily use either "while" or "whilst". I've a vague recollection that at one time "while" indicated the passing of time and "whilst" was essentially the same as "whereas" or "although".  So using while for time passing...     While I was walking down the street the sun was shining.   ... and whilst for whereas/although...     Whilst I was walking down the street I often prefer to hop.   Any views?
34308
Not being good at swimming, he didn't like it.   Could we omit the word "being" here?     Not good at swimming, he didn't like it.   Which one is grammatically correct?
69120
Although she forgot to water it for a week, the plant was still alive/live.   Which one is right?  My professor has just told me that you must use ALIVE. But I don't know why yet.
36513
Is walking up/down the road/street applicable if the street is not sloped?  I think I heard something about "with/against the numbering of houses" but I'm not sure if it's correct.  Also, if that were correct, why is walking down the street  than walking up the street?
51634
Is there an idiom available, that is exactly opposite to "Cake walk" or "Child's play"? I am looking for something exactly synonymous with "Very difficult" or "strenuous".   Example Sentence:      This task is really _______(difficult).
30439
The day before yesterday I think, my daughter asked me where we were going and since I was not planning to do the weekly shopping on that day and I just wanted to buy some stuff from two stores, I said offhand we are going to the shops! Looking back, it seems when I don't find a NAmE word I turn to UK if I know of.  So what do you say when:   go shopping (it's just go shopping!) you go to buy something specific; I mean you're not going shopping, and it's usually found in any store. You don't have to shop around. you want to buy non grocery or clothing stuff, maybe a can of paint and a spare part for your car together.    I have found some kind of answer for this question on , but I prefer to get a clear answer to my points above, and also if you agree with this native speaker about using store in singular form not plural:     Just as a side note, we don't use the plural in American English. "I'm   going to the store" (even if I may visit several stores), not "I'm   going to the stores". (If we know we are going to several stores I   think it would be more likely to say "I'm going shopping" or even "I'm   going downtown" in smaller towns.)
7449
If I jump from an airplane straight positioned upright into the ocean, why is it the same as jumping straight on the ground?  Water is a liquid as opposed to the ground, so I would expect that by plunging straight in the water, I would enter it aerodynamically and then be slowed in the water.
75751
There's a 10% chance it will rain today. There's a 15% chance it will snow today.   What percentage chance is it that it will:   Both rain and snow (it can both rain and snow at the same time)? Neither rain nor snow? -   Raining and snowing are independent of each other.  EDIT: (ADDED)   Rain or snow but not both?
119878
I didn't see any wizards drenched in the rain at the end of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (don't recall, actually). But would the rain equally affect the wizards as it did no-maj's?   This event is something that doesn't necessarily need to be forgotten by the Wizarding community. How would they avoid being obliviated by the rain?  (They could avoid the rain by Apparating, but what about the showers and drinking water?)  This question is picking at my brain.
74249
The sentences are:   Mary has worked as a teacher for over 25 years. It has rained heavily for 2 hours.   Does it mean "Mary" is still working as a teacher or she is no longer working now? Does it mean it is still raining or it stopped?  Since it cannot mean both, so how to suggest either one of the meanings?