Questions and answers

[GrayMan]

В этой теме я буду публиковать цитаты (вопросы-ответы) с одного популярного англоязычного форума. В основном эти вопросы-ответы относятся к жизни в англоязычных странах и к английскому языку.

Прошу помнить, что мнение редакции не всегда совпадает с мнением авторов) А мнение авторов - возможно, иногда спорное - надеюсь, всегда будет поучительным.

[GrayMan]

Why do British and Commonwealth folk use "fortnight" to refer to a period of two weeks?

Because the English word for two weeks is a fortnight. Anyone who speaks English can tell you this. It's only considered weird in countries that think they speak English but don't know it very well. Same goes for autumn.

[GrayMan]

Why and when did 'I will' replace 'I shall' in British English?

When I was a kid in the 1950/60s, both were regarded as correct, but they meant different things. When I was about 10, I had an English teacher who had a knack of phrasing lessons in ways that any child would remember. On the will/shall question he offered the example:

“I will die and nobody shall save me.”

This meant, more or less, “I intend to die and I forbid anybody to keep me alive.” The counter-example was:

“I shall die and nobody will save me.”

This meant, roughly, “Oh dear, I'm dying and there's nobody around who can keep me alive.”

If you just want to describe something that's going to happen, you say I/we shall; you/she/he/it/they will. But if you want to convey strong intentionality, you say I/we will; you/she/he/it/they shall.

I still tend to make this distinction, but I recognise that it's on the way out.

[GrayMan]

What's the most classic example of English humor?

Two wives go out for a girls night. They have a good time drinking and dancing ….. as the night wears on they end up getting drunk. When it’s time to leave they decide to walk home, but on the way home they need to pee. They go into a cemetery but after relieving themselves realise they have nothing to wipe with. One of the ladies uses her underwear, the other uses a wreath she sees lying nearby.

The next morning one husband phones the other slightly concerned - ‘I’m not sure they should go out together again, my wife came home with no knickers on’.

‘You think that’s bad?’ said the other man. ‘My wife came home with a card in her crack that read ‘From all of us at the fire service - you’ll never be forgotten’’.

[GrayMan]

Is "I extremely love you" grammatically correct? I hear from somebody that the word "extremely" is only used for adjectives, not verbs, is it true?

You can rest assured that a synonym for “extremely” is “very much.”

So, it is not difficult to see that the sentence “I [very much][extremely] love you” is grammatically correct.

It would also be correct, and more conventional, if it were “I love you [very much][extremely].”

[Сключики]

*подписка

[GrayMan]

Why do the British say that they are "Going up to London"?

When I was a child and asked my grandmother this question, she said it was all about importance. Regardless of where on the map you live, you still go up to London, because it's the capital city.

And in the same way, you go up to university, especially if it's Oxford or Cambridge, and go down at the end of term. If you don't work or behave extremely badly, you might be Sent Down.

What you do if you are going home from Oxford or Cambridge, and home is in London, I have no idea. “I'm going down on Friday, going up to London,” presumably!

[GrayMan]

Who do you call “ma'am” in the UK?

Traditionally, any woman who holds a senior position to you.

These days it is considered old fashioned and is not used very often. In the police force you address female superiors as “ma’am”, I believe it’s the same in the armed forces, and you also address the queen as “ma’am” (after initially addressing her as “your Majesty”, it’s “ma’am” for the rest of the conversation).

But that’s pretty much it. Other than that, you only hear it when someone is being sarky.

[GrayMan]

British people say "going to hospital" or "at university". Most Americans would have "the" in both phrases. Is there a general rule when "the" is omitted in British English?

When a British person says “I’m going to hospital” they mean they are going to participate in the services of the Hospital - ie, they are going there for treatment.
If they were to say “I’m going to the hospital” - you would understand that to mean they are visiting someone else, or doing some work there etc - but NOT being treated.
The same would be said of “going to school” - would mean they are going as a student, but “going to the school” would mean going as a non-student - perhaps to see an event, pick up a child etc.
There are only a few exceptions of this type - Hospital, School, University, College, Prison and Church.
You can see how a native English speaker would have a completely different understanding of “I’m going to Prison”, from “I’m going to the Prison”.
I know it’s illogical, but you’d never say “I’m going to cinema”, or “I’m going to restaurant” etc, even though you might work there, or be eating there etc.
Also, you’d say “I’m going to England”, never “I’m going to the England” - but conversely, you’d never say “I’m going to United Kingdom” - you’d always say “I’m going to THE United Kingdom”.
English - a language with few rules and innumerable exceptions to them.

[GrayMan]

Which one is correct, I arrived to London or I arrived in London?

In English, TO for traveling implies movement: go to, come to, fly to, walk to…
However, ARRIVE in English works like STOP. It is the opposite of movement.
Therefore we don’t say “arrive to” or “stop to” a location.
For arrive and stop we generally use AT and IN. He arrived/stopped at the traffic lights. She arrived/stopped in the park.
AT is for (1) exact points (2) perimeters. He stopped at the tree (a specific point in the park). She arrived at the station (a point on her journey). We arrived at the village (the edge of the village, or a point on your journey). We sit at the table (the edge of the table).
IN is for arriving/stopping somewhere inside a space. It is less exact. She arrived in London (anywhere in the city).

[Копытное]

в могучем языке вся можно
и прибыть на Лондон ( arrived on London ) вполне приемлемо, так как, ракета может прибыть на город, как и человек может прибыть на него с верху приземлившись
так что, вы прибыли К или прибыли В имеет смысловое значение в целом контексте всей фразы или параграфа.

Which one is correct, I arrived to London or I arrived in London?

"To be, or not to be" неверно перевести "к быть или не к быть", верный смысл есть когда "в бытии или не в бытии"
с "to be", be определено глаголом. тогда мы имеем из общего параграфа смысл, "к бытию кем-то или не к бытию им"
но если мы используем смысл "в бытии" где "бытие" есть имя существительное, это как сказать в космос или не в космос, где космос есть определенным бытием, как бытийным состоянием чего-то.

"To be, or not to be" - сама фраза есть в смысле- быть существом прилагательным к бытию чего-то или им не быть, где связка "to be" определяет действие "к чему-то чтобы как"
само слово "arrived" есть много сложным из "are"- "river" -"end"= "есть" -"реки(течения)" -"окончание"= притечь(прибыть)
слово "прибыть " так же много сложно, "при"-"быть", префикс "при" уже означает состояние к "чему-то" быть,
тогда перевод "I arrived to London"- Я к быть к Лондон выглядит как нон-сенс(двойной смысл)
Но ,"Я к быть в Лондон ", уже имеет смысл о проживании в черте чего-то.