Do I understand the next right?  I caught a fish It will mean I just caught some fish in quantity of one.  I caugh two fish Means I caught two fish that are of the same species  I caught two fishes I caught some indefinite amount of fish of two different species.
46145
Now, I encountered a sentence in a text book, saying     Many fish are specially adapted to live only in certain places.   I know that plural of the word fish can be fish as Merriam says    But wouldn't it someway or somewhat sound unusual or "too unique"?  Is it only to me?
114106
Example:     The stranded fish were flapping desperately on the sand, their mouths   closing and opening, seeking for the water that wasn't there.   Is there's a word that means opening and closing the mouth? I thought of gaping but I think it only means keeping the mouth open?
95507
What does the expression if you catch my drift mean? Where does it originate? I've heard it in the context to signify something like if you know what I mean.
59520
I was trying to say the following and got bewildered with the different choices.     I have "To Kill a Mockingbird" on my list. I will write you about it when I am finished reading it.      I have "To Kill a Mockingbird" on my list. I will write you about it when I have finished reading it.      I have "To Kill a Mockingbird" on my list. I will write you about it when I am done reading it.      I have "To Kill a Mockingbird" on my list. I will write you about it when I finish reading it.   I am not sure which one to pick. I am confused with the exact meanings of these various choices. Could someone also shed some light on what meanings the different tenses convey in a context like this.
116182
Is there a word for using a word twice to imply something different? eg.     Are you done, or are you done done?
19624
how are you?  Well, my biggest doubt at the moment is the difference between these two tenses. Actually, the more I study the more I have doubts with these tenses.      /         These similar threads helped me to clarify and reiterate my previous understanding.   I'm not posting in these threads because the site suggests avoiding asking for clarification (I don't know why because it would avoid new threads with the same content).  My main doubt is as follows:     I've lived in New York for two years.   In my understanding, the sentence above implies (1) that I lived in NY for two years and now I live in another place; or (2) I'm moving to another city after two years living in NY; or (3) I lived in NY for two years, then I moved to another place for some period and, finally, I'm returning. Is that correct?     I've been living in New York for two years.   Whereas the sentence above, in my understanding, implies that I lived in NY for two years and I still living there.  Anyway, many sources that I've already read say that these two sentences have the same meaning and are interchangeable. Therein lies my question. Is that correct? Because if these two sentences are interchangeable, it destroys all my understanding.  Thanks in advance.
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When somebody uses the phrase "not uncommon", do they mean "common" because of the double negative?  I was recently informed that "not uncommon" could imply that something was anything but uncommon (e.g. rare), whereas I thought that rare would be a subset of uncommon and that saying it was not uncommon must mean it is common.
37424
Let's assume that John gave me a cat. I can rephrase the fact with:     What John did was to give me a cat   What John did was give me a cat   What John did was, he gave me a cat   But can I say the following phrase?  What John did was gave me a cat
8233
Could you help me to point out the differences in the following sentences. for me both sentences imply same meaning.      The Restaurant , offers a broad range of locally caught fresh seafood,   prime steak and meat dishes      The Restaurant , offers a wide range of locally caught fresh seafood,   prime steak and meat dishes
21895
Can anyone please help and tell me if this sentence is correct?  &quot;A significant amount of zombies were detected in your city.&quot;  In my opinion it should be &quot;A significant amount of zombies was detected in your city.&quot; because &quot;amount&quot; should be in agreement with &quot;was&quot; even though amount usually refers to something plural. Are both (was and were) acceptable in this case? Edit1: Yes, &quot;number&quot; would be the correct one in this case. So allow me to ask one more thing.  &quot;A significant amount of purchases were detected...&quot;  Does the use of &quot;number&quot; apply in this case also? As purchase is not exactly a thing/person. And if no, is it correct to say &quot;A significant amount of purchases were detected...&quot;? Edit2: So, please tell me what is the correct phrasing?  &quot;A significant amount of purchases were detected...&quot; &quot;A significant amount of purchases was detected...&quot;  Or, since purchases are countable, is the use of &quot;number&quot; instead of &quot;amount&quot; correct here, as in:  &quot;A significant number of purchases were detected...&quot; &quot;A significant number of purchases was detected...&quot;  Or would amount be correct since a purchase involves money and it refers to the amount of money? Would greatly appreciate an answer, and if possible a detailed explanation.
122357
OK, so I'm trying to complete the following analogy:     John ate the worms.   is to     The worms were eaten.   as     John tried to eat the worms.   is to     The worms were tried to be eaten.   or     The worms were eaten attemptively.   ... ? I feel like such an inarticulate fool sometimes.  Edit: I'm not asking which of the two possibilities is better, but how I might complete the analogy, preferably with "the worms" as the subject. This is so that I can write something like     The worms were stolen, taken to John's house, and [tried to be eaten].   Sorry if my question wasn't clear.
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Where did they go?   Where do they went?   Can you please advise which of above forms is correct?  I'm pretty sure that first one is fine but wondering about second one.   Can I use a second form as well or it's incorrect?
18234
I saw a dog.       I have seen a dog.   What are the differences between them? Did these events happen on the same day?
114472
I learned in class that:  a. A tiger is a dangerous animal. b. Tigers are dangerous animals. c. The tiger is a dangerous animal.  These three sentences are used generically. But I just saw:   The tiger is in danger of becoming extinct. Tigers are in danger of becoming extinct. A tiger is in danger of becoming extinct.   the previous sentences and number '1' and '2' are used generically but example 3. is not. Is there anyone who can tell me why the latter examples are different from the former ones?  Also, is there any difference in meaning depending on the article?
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Could anybody please  explain in detail  the sentence     "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo."   I have seen the  but am unable to get it properly.
12418
Are you seening family members arriving at the hospital to find some of the miners? ( exact quote from BBC presenter asking someone over the phone )  Do you see .......  Difference in meaning not grammar.
16736
I have this question that my brain cannot understand because for me it seems to be very illogical. Please, try to explain this to me. It is both english problem but also my native language problem.  For example: If I bought something two days ago. (e.g. Monday, so today is Wednesday) I can't say during Wednesday that I haven't bought anything for 2 days.  Because I skiped just one day and I can still buy something today no? So I would say which makes more logic to me: I haven't bought anything for 1 day.  Same as if I was at the club on Monday now is Wednesday, I would say I haven't been to that club for 1 day. Since today I can still go there. However, i saw more people using it the other way. Which in my opinion is illogical.  They say: I haven't bought anything for 2 days OR I haven't been to that club for 2 days meaning the last time they were there was two days ago. However how logical is it? Imagine you come to that club on Wednesday if you were there on Monday and say to the same barman you saw there on Monday that you haven't been here for 2 days and he would look like: what? are you stupid? You weren't here just one day.  Like as the first question, I haven't purchased anything for 2 days is valid only if you last purchased something on monday and today is thursday, in my opinion, because we should not count monday since you already bought something.  Does anybody get my point? Thanks for answers and your help.