I’ve seen the phrase “there’s this guy...” a number of times, and in each context it seems to has a different meaning (every time I just guess according to the context!) Is there any idiomatic meaning to this phrase?!
124017
What I write should mean the following: "There is this blog, but I don't remember its name."   So I thought I have to write it this way to achieve the meaning in a short way: "This blog."   But is this correct? Does is mean what I want to say? Because I've learned at school that "this" points to something specific. But I that's not what I want to achieve.   Sorry if the question is unclear. But I have no idea how to explain it differently.
37027
It is common to say "What happened to him (or somebody)?" to inquire about somebodies' whereabouts. But is it right?   In my opinion, it should be "What was happened to him?" or "What did happen to him?", even it can be "What had happen to him (before today)?" Am I wrong in this understanding?
87330
I am always confused with the preposition. Can somebody point me to the material where prepositional phrase is explained?  Here is the problem I am facing currently.     This was discussed (stated/announced/said) at the last meeting when you were not present.    or     This was discussed (stated/announced/said) in the last meeting when you were not present.
68869
Why Michael, 's host at the start of each video says "Michael here" instead of "Michael is here"?   Is it grammatically correct or just a slang / simplified way of speaking?
16029
The plural "guys" definitely is, at least here in San Francisco — I'm often hearing all-girl companies here being greeted with 'Hi guys, how are you doing?'.  How about the singular guy? Is it universally assumed that 'the guy who will be doing this' can be either guy or gal?
102769
Not being a native speaker and suffering semantic satiation from overthinking this, I'd like to ask this probably overly simple question.     Not once would he...   uses reversal for negation and means "he wouldn't even once..."     Not once he would...   is litotes for "He would frequently..."  Is that correct or did I mess up? If I did mess up, how to correctly express the two meanings?
110446
Someone introduced himself to us.  After that, when we look back and say what he said, which is right to say?     What did he say his name is?      What did he say his name was?   I think the first one is plausible because his name is always XX, but I'm not sure. Please tell me which is allowed.
45682
I just read about a guy that was beaten to the punch several times. I couldn't find a meaning of that using my dictionary or Google, so what does that mean?
113896
I first heard this phrase in an episode of Family Guy, and they're typically fans of referencing older shows and movies, especially from the 80s. So I'd assumed it was a fairly commonly known thing.  Then I came across it in a friend's novel. The novel is in a Southern American, older time setting, which is about where I'd expect to find examples of it.  Then I had a look online and couldn't find examples of the phrase or it's origin.  Is there such a phrase and origin? Or is this just a coincidence with people choosing something that sounds equally old-timey?
81454
I've been searching about the ability to use "one" and "someone" interchangeably but found almost nothing. So what's the difference between them and can they be used interchangeably, for example, in these sentences:   There are numerous things (one, someone) could notice There is a hidden place (one, someone) might find  If (one, someone) comes up to you and asks....
106094
"Tell me who she is."      "Tell me who your boyfriend is."   We usually reverse the order, so it becomes like that.  But I wonder whether "tell me who is the real man" also works because "tell me who the real man is" sounds like we have already known the real man and I am just asking about his name.  If my friend and I are going to arm-wrestle, and I say:     "Let's see who is the real man."    Is that correct?
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What does this mean?      I am sure this would not have been possible had I remained a typical Anglophone North American.   I have never heard that before and I really find it strange.  I deduce that it means      I am sure this would not have been possible if I kept remaining Anglophone North American.   But I might be wrong in this.
53828
Anyone have an extra apartment there?   This quote is from an English native speaker. Why "anyone have"?  This could be an elliptical question, but I'd expect native speakers to ask a question using an affirmative sentence as in:     Anyone knows what happened?   Here is the full quote:     Friends. Hi! Sitting here on a Friday night brainstorming honeymoon   options with David. Who has ideas?!? Where is a great place to visit   at the end of March? We have ideas all over the place. One option we   are thinking about Paris ... anyone have an extra apartment there?   If it is an elliptical question, what do you think is more common in everyday spoken English? Elliptical or questions in affirmative forms?  Edit:  Thanks to everyone for answering. I was looking for  when I came across this quote which serves as a real world example:     In Reply to: (Correcting omission) posted by R. Berg on February 25,   2003      : : : Anyone know the origin of the idiom or phrase "Throw the book at   em." I realize it means prosecute someone to the fullest extent of the   law, a law enforcement term, but does anyone really know where it came   from and when it first began being used?
113387
What is the official 'name' for the 'there is' / 'there are' construction? Is it a verb phrase or a lexical verb?  I'd say possibly a verb but it must be the most difficult term to Google.
84295
I would like to know what does this phrase means:     "Why don't you just beat it?"   My dictionary says only that: beat it: get lost Can you beat it? : Do you get it?
8978
Okay, of course I've used different popular online dictionaries and the translation makes sense in the most cases.    Sometimes I find usages of 'though' where I don't get the meaning of the word.   An example I've found on twitter     That face, though. [Image of a dog looking weird]   The tweet came without any context or conversation.  When I translate this example to my native language - german - this makes absolutely no sense. At least for me.  So is the above usage some kind of slang? What is the meaning of though in this case?  For the completeness an example that makes absolutely sense for me     Though he tried very hard, he failed the course.
91921
What exactly does the phrase "he/she was hurting" mean? Is the person in question experiencing pain?  Update: I am specifically looking for the phrase "to be hurting", not the individual words "hurt" or "hurting". I searched Google and Merriam Webster and did not find that specific phrase explained.