I saw this sign. ‘What is everty woman?’
I saw this on an ad for spa treatments.
From SE
Hi SE!
Well, we don't know what 'everty' means because there's no such word.
It looks like a careless typo to us, SE!
Of course you'd know that the word should be 'every' instead.
Dear Sir,
Which of these sentences is correct – 1 or 2?
1. Optimize the use of the space …
2. Optimize the usage of the space …
Thank you and best regards.
cheongroland
Hi cheongroland!
Guess what? Both are correct!
Both can refer to the act of employing or using something!
But if you made us choose one, we'd go with 'use'. That's because we like to keep things short and simple, cheongroland!
I saw this sign at the international seafood restaurant at East Coast Park.
The sign should be read "handed" instead of "handle".
sggenesis
Hi sggenesis!
You're absolutely right, sggenesis!
But allow us to make two more corrections.
First, you don't need the comma after 'property'. And second, we'd write it as 'the police' and not just 'police'!
I was in the school bus and I saw this sign at the glass window. It should be ‘Emergency exit break glass to open’
Iqmal Junid
Hey Iqmal Junid!
We’ve seen this before! Looks like there are many mischievous pranksters about, Iqmal Junid!
And of course, that should be ‘glass’!
Hi,
I have attached a photo of a paper bag from The Body Shop. ‘Nature's Way to Beautiful’ is printed on the bag.
Is that right? Or should we replace 'beautiful' with 'beauty', or add a ‘being’ before 'beautiful'?
Thank you,
Kate
Hi Kate!
Actually, this isn’t incorrect, Kate!
While we are more familiar with ‘beautiful’ being used as an adjective to describe things of beauty, ‘beautiful’ can also be a noun that refers to the concept of beauty!
Note though, when using ‘beautiful’ as a noun, it’s more common to phrase it as ‘the beautiful’. But it isn’t necessary!
This sign made us wonder if the words 'through' and 'throw' actually rhyme.
Gil and Vin
Hi Gil and Vin!
It makes us wonder as well! But ‘don’t throw here’ isn’t right either, Gil and Vin!
That should be ‘no littering’, or if you want to be specific, ‘no littering of cigarette butts here’!
We assume it’s cigarette butts that are the problem and that there aren’t people who are throwing cigarettes around.
Dear STOMP,
Please take a look at the food part. It reads ‘(steam steamed not get angry)’.
What does that actually mean?
Kun Wang
Hello Kun Wang!
Wow, we can’t squint that hard! But we’re pretty confused about the ‘steamed not get angry’ bit too!
Maybe you should write in to the manufacturers to ask them for an explanation, Kun Wang. And then let us know what they say!
Dear Editor,
I do not agree with your reply on this poser that both forms are correct. The correct form should be ‘double yellow lines’.
Both ‘double’ and ‘yellow’ modify the noun ‘line’. Double is more than one and the noun case should be in the plural form.
It's rather odd that ‘double’ acts as an adverb modifier of ‘yellow’.
Yours truly,
Fok Kar Kee
Hi Fok Kar Kee!
Thanks for writing in! We love hearing what you guys think!
Anyway, yes we agree that if you wanted to be specific about the English of the phrase, you’d say ‘double yellow lines’.
But it has become conventional that ‘double yellow line’ is used, so that’s why we say both are correct!
Hi,
I have always confused words like; ‘repair’, ‘measurement’, ‘conclusion’.
In what situation are the above words (verb) used with an ‘s’ and without an ‘s’.
For example,
1.Please get the repair work done OR Please get the repair works done.
2. Taking measurement OR Taking measurements
3. The conclusions we have OR The conclusion we have
I Iook forward to receiving your reply soon.
Thanks,
Edward
Hello Edward!
1. For this, the right phrase to use is ‘repair work’. That will refer to all work whether it’s one work item or many! ‘Works’ means something else – it refers to a manufacturing place or the working parts of a machine
2. Well, this is quite simple actually, Edward! It just depends if you’re taking just one measurement or more than one measurement! If just one, use ‘measurement’, if more than one, use ‘measurements’.
3. Same thing here, Edward! If it’s more than a single conclusion, then use the plural form ‘conclusions’!
What is the difference between ‘lighten’ and ‘lightener’?
I am a bit confused by the two.
Regards,
STOMPer Jake
Hi STOMPer Jake!
You’ve got us thinking about the weight we gained over the Chinese New Year holidays, STOMPer Jake.
‘Lighten’ is a verb that refers to giving light to something or to make something lighter.
‘Lightener’ is a noun that refers to the thing that ‘lightens’!
Hope that clears things for you, STOMPer Jake!
