Questions about English language & grammar

m@ys@m · 03-11-2008, 09:05 PM

hi every body i am iranian i've been trying to make a question but i can't i want native american and english people lend me a hand
the question is about knowing the rank of a president
for example
i say j.f. kenndy is the 50th president of usa

and when i don't know the rank of this president how should i make a question so that the answer is he is 50th president of usa
i wanna know how native people make a question of this sentence

i hope you understand me

for example
when i say i am 18 years old

and when you don't know my age you
ask me

how old are you?

now what about this

answer : j.f.kenndy is 50th president of usa.

question : ?????????????(tell me how to make this question)

thanks in advance

Daydream · 03-12-2008, 06:51 AM

Who was the 50th president of the United States?

or

What presidential number was J.F.K.?

**on a side note.. I don't think J.F.K. was the 50th president hehe so just in case that wasn't a quick sample question you may want to check that out to be sure before you ask..

Drummer for Vertiis · 03-12-2008, 06:56 AM

Question: What number president was John Fitzgerald Kennedy?

Answer: He was thirty-fith (35th) Presedent of the United States Of America

Winzard · 03-19-2008, 01:50 AM

Hi everybody!
It's not a music post, but I'll appreciate your assistance.
I'm just a student. And I wanna hone my skils in spoken english language.
Would anybody talk to me by Skype in english?
Please e-mail me at: quaker@dr.com
Thank you kindly!!!

Drummer for Vertiis · 03-19-2008, 07:16 AM

PM me and I'll teach you

carrot-flowers · 03-26-2008, 11:59 AM

english is not my mother tougue - my english vocabulary is very small

so i don't understand meaning of idiomatic expressions very well

today, i found 2 idioms i couldn't understand exactly

one was 'milk-eyed' and the other was 'bag of weed'

milk-eyed means just 'eyes colored milky-white' ? or it means something different and significant, for instance 'blind'?

'bag of weed' has a different meaning something connected slang ..?

hum ... i don't know -

plz, help me

F A B Scott · 03-27-2008, 02:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carrot-flowers

english is not my mother tougue - my english vocabulary is very small

so i don't understand meaning of idiomatic expressions very well today, i found 2 idioms i couldn't understand exactly

one was 'milk-eyed' and the other was 'bag of weed'

milk-eyed means just 'eyes colored milky-white' ? or it means something different and significant, for instance 'blind'?

'bag of weed' has a different meaning something connected slang ..?

plz, help me

Bag of weed most probably simply refers to a bag of illegal smoking substances. [eg grass/cannabis/marijuana sold in a small bag]

I always thought "milk eyed" derived from a baby calf who can hardly see anything other than where to get it's mother's milk. And was then used to describe some innocent person who has only one point of view.

[And in a similar way to how calling a person green-eyed with jealousy would not really mean they had green coloured eyes]

m@ys@m · 04-17-2008, 08:01 AM

hello every one

pls tell me what is the meaning of "jam" in michael's song which is named "jam" i know the meanings of jam but it has some different meanings what it means here?

go with it jam

much for me to jam

jam jam here comes the man hot damn

It Ain't Too Much Stuff
It Ain't Too Much
It Ain't Too
Much For Me To
Jam

FindLyric · 05-22-2008, 11:33 PM

Hi ya'll! I hope someone can help me! I can't seem to understand what this sentence mean. I try to uncovered it but I can't seem to do it! Here is the sentence: I have written about boon-doggles on bankers' row and sleight of hand at Seventh Avenue fashion houses.

P.S I know that this is the wrong section to write this or maybe even the wrong forum but I did it anyways. And the reason why I didn't write this in the general section is because it seems it doesn't let me.

Thanks in advance!

Edit: I think I wrote the word boon-doggles wrong. It could be boondoggles. Sorry!!!! What a mess lmao!

F A B Scott · 05-24-2008, 06:23 AM

Boondoggle is a term for a scheme that wastes time and money.
Bankers' Row is the name many cities call the street or area where the financial institutions are located.
Sleight of hand refers to the execution of tricks by magicians or sometimes cheats.
Seventh Avenue fashion houses is most likely the avenue [Seventh] that is known as Fashion Avenue in Manhattan where it is the centre of the garment and fashion industry.

Hope that helps.

FindLyric · 05-26-2008, 01:20 AM

Thank you very much Scott! That helped alot!

P.S Cool nickname and avatar!

F A B Scott · 05-26-2008, 05:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FindLyric

Thank you very much Scott! That helped alot!

P.S Cool nickname and avatar!

Thanks.

Always happy to help where possible..

jandros · 06-19-2008, 03:30 PM

No one has replied to this??? And it's such a good question!!

Jam is a term from the late 1960's and early 70's. Michael is from that era. Simply, it means to let the music flow, to let it go ..... to let the musicians make it whatever it wants to be .... to lose restraints, and to allow creative energy to take control.

So, the idea is probably as old as the history of music

But sometimes, in live performances, jam can be planned or staged. So it isn't really "jam" because it's not spontaneous.

I'm sure that it can be explained more simply, or better. But does this help?

lacyloves · 06-19-2008, 07:09 PM

Check out any live performance by the grateful dead, phish, widespread panic, umphrey's mcGee, or moe. for examples of jams. I love it.

Jester · 06-20-2008, 06:03 AM

To "jam" in music means a group of musicians playing freely and seeing what comes out of it.

Jam can also mean a sticky substance, usually made from fruit and sugar used to coat toast or scones or cakes for a breakfast or midmorning treat.

m@ys@m · 06-22-2008, 12:28 PM

thank you so much for helping me

jandros · 06-22-2008, 07:48 PM

RedFishKilla · 06-22-2008, 09:01 PM

in this instance, jam is also a homonym if the music video is taken into consideration.

the video has michael jackson teaching basketball legend michael jordan how to dance and michael jordan teaching michael jackson how to play basketball. thus the alternate meaning to jam = to dunk a basketball.

Jester · 06-23-2008, 06:15 AM

No, "dunk" means to dunk, "jam" means to play

jandros · 06-23-2008, 07:02 AM

Red is correct. In U.S. English slang, you can also jam a basketball.

There is also an American phrase, a play on Greek words and fraternity/sorority societies: phi-slamma-jamma. If you can dunk a basketball, colorfully and "with feeling", then you're a member of the phi-slamma-jamma club.

You can also stuff a basketball, you can swish it, and so forth. If you can watch an American basketball game with **** Vitale as the announcer, then you'll master most of our basketball cliches.

But we don't want to confuse our friend m@ys@m

Ultimate_Worrier · 09-18-2008, 10:02 AM

Actually, to jam is to make something stick in somewhere and it can't get out

to jam a basketball in the hole it to make it go in the basket with no designs to leave.

"swish" is the sound a ball makes going through the air into the basket.

BASKETBALL...

PLAYED IT
WATCHED IT
OWNED IT

PROPEL · 09-27-2008, 01:30 AM

bascially theres multiple meanings of the word/verb "to jam"

this is a good thread! haha

gina50 · 10-15-2008, 09:13 AM

for this song, micheal is talking about dancing. just letting loose, feeling the music and dancing. in the US some people say this is my "jam" meaning it is a great song or thier favorite song to dance to. remember micheal is a great dancer, so in this song he's saying "jam" or dance. in the video both micheal's do what comes naturally to them, micheal jordan dunks and micheal jackson dances, both are doing the same word, "jam" in their own way.

hope this helps.

Orwa · 04-13-2009, 04:27 AM

So first question:

"Used to" is a past word, i know that, but how to use it??, what's the different between "Used to" & "Was"

"i used to be nice" is it the same as "I was nice"??

Thanks in advance!

Steena · 04-13-2009, 04:54 AM

Hi Orwa, I'd like to merge this with the following topic:
Questions about English language - I guess you will agree with me that the purpose is the same

Orwa · 04-13-2009, 05:03 AM

so what i have to do Steena??, merge it as you like, the most important for me to have the help, don't worry, do as you like, do you need me to remove it??, or you do something else??

btw, sorry, i haven't seen that "Questions about English language " before, so i didn't post in it!!

El raisa · 04-13-2009, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orwa

So first question:

"Used to" is a past word, i know that, but how to use it??, what's the different between "Used to" & "Was"

"i used to be nice" is it the same as "I was nice"??

Thanks in advance!

Nice idea Orwa

Well , may be others can help you more , but here is what I stdied :
Used to = إعتاد
I was nice
أنا كنت لطيفاً
I used to be nice
اعتدت أن أكون لطيفاً
So you can say:
I used to smoke
I used to travel alot...etc
Hope you will get better answer

jandros · 04-13-2009, 08:40 AM

El raisa, your examples are great! But I can't read your Arabic, so I don't know about that

Orwa, here is a more complicated explanation

.....

"Was" is simple past tense, and it usually means a single event, not a repetition:

Q: What happened to you on Saturday? Why didn't I see you on ATL?

A: I was busy on Saturday.
A: I was visiting my family.
A: I drank too much, so I was drunk. (no true, just an example!!)

"Used to" is like a repeating event in the past (history), or a continuing, on-going condition:

I used to work every Saturday.
I used to visit my family a lot.
I used to be a drug addict. (not true, just an example!!!

)

Now, sometimes "was" can also be used like "used to", but only in a specific context:

I used to be a drug addict.
I was a drug addict.

The word "addict" means a continuing condition. So in this case, it's ok to say "I was a drug addict."

MaresLejanos · 04-13-2009, 11:21 AM

Why I didn't see this thread before????????????

It's nice to know that I can make questions about English

... I'm gonna read it from the beginning.

And what about "used" but in present, talking about something you do frequently.
Like: I'm used running every day ??

jandros · 04-13-2009, 11:33 AM

Mares, it's the same phrase but with different meaning, if you use present tense "I am/I'm" .... I'm used to running every day.

In this sense, it means the same as "I'm accustomed to" ... or "I have the habit of".

So the difference is this, for the same phrase "used to" ...

Present tense: I am used to running every day.

Past tense (not true now): I used to run every day.

¿Está claro? Si no, dígame