Highest scored questions
113,369 questions
337
votes
13
answers
103k
views
Why 11 am + 1 hour == 12:00 pm?
One hour after 11:00 am is 12:00 pm. I find this very strange. Why isn't it 12:00 am?
More descriptively, I thought we can think of the am/pm part as a time unit representing a higher amount than ...
- 3,171
219
votes
5
answers
127k
views
How does the "Dalai Lama walks into a pizza shop..." joke work?
On YouTube, there's that famous joke the Dalai Lama didn't understand — and neither did I. It even made headlines in my part of the world, and on some of the sites I frequent, yet nobody ever ...
- 5,436
189
votes
6
answers
32k
views
Canonical Post #2: What is the perfect, and how should I use it?
This is a Canonical Post, intended as a reference and resource for both Questioners and Answerers.
The English “perfect” is deeply puzzling for learners. Nearly one Question in every twenty here asks ...
- 176k
174
votes
11
answers
106k
views
How should I refer to a friend who is a girl but not a girlfriend?
When I'm talking about my friend, who is a girl, but not a girlfriend, what word or phrase should I use? If the gender was unimportant, it would not be a problem. But if I want to note that the friend ...
- 5,820
159
votes
8
answers
40k
views
Why "grand theft auto", not "grand auto theft"?
There is a video game series called "Grand Theft Auto".
According to its Wikipedia page:
The name of the series references the term used in the US for motor
vehicle theft.
[...]
Motor ...
- 2,491
145
votes
4
answers
44k
views
“GOD is real, unless declared integer.”
I'm unable to interpret a sentence though searched and read multiple explanations.
“GOD is real, unless declared integer.” a Fortran-based witticism
Real is real number,
What's the idioms it refers ...
- 2,732
134
votes
14
answers
116k
views
Is there any difference between “which” and “that”?
What is the difference between the words which and that?
For example:
I have a car which is blue.
I have a car that is blue.
Are there any rules specifying usage of which and that?
- 3,121
124
votes
11
answers
227k
views
What does the line "So long and thanks for all the fish!" mean?
I got a mail with the subject "So long and thanks for all the fish!" from my Manager. What does it mean?
- 1,426
120
votes
10
answers
26k
views
Why do we say "I love cake" but "I love cars"?
Why do some nouns need to be in the plural for that structure to work, while some are ok in the singular? E.g.: I love pizza, I love beef, etc.
I always thought it was a matter of countable x ...
- 1,419
112
votes
8
answers
152k
views
Is there any difference between being ill and sick?
I can say I'm ill or I'm sick. But what is the difference between the usage of these terms?
I've heard that one can use sick for longer-term and ill for shorter-term, but is that really correct? How ...
- 5,820
104
votes
11
answers
9k
views
Free as in "free speech", not as in "free beer"
Free software is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of free as in free speech, not as in free beer. — Richard Stallman
Translating free to my language (...
- 8,135
103
votes
8
answers
111k
views
Why does the i in "naïve" have two dots?
I have observed that the word naïve is written with two dots on the i. Why is this? Is it correct to write the word with a single dot, as in naive?
Are there any other English words with such two dots?...
- 3,822
103
votes
8
answers
24k
views
How can native English speakers read an unknown word correctly?
I have learned English for many years, and from the first day I began to learn it I know the dictionary is necessary for the study. One of the important aspects is that English words, unlike German ...
- 1,031
100
votes
11
answers
319k
views
Should I say "She is in the park" or "She is at the park"?
I am really confused. Which preposition is correct?
She is in/at the park.
They are in/at the park.
I am in/at the park.
Should I use in or at in these sentences?
Ana
97
votes
12
answers
430k
views
How do you say 100,000,000,000,000,000,000 in words?
One of the answers in a reading exercise in my class today was:
100,000,000,000,000,000,000
... which was the value of the highest denomination note ever issued. It was a 100,000,000,000,000,000,000 ...
