Dear Mr Yang

I would like to know if these 2 words, King & Emperor, have the same meaning, would you pls tell me?

thanks a lot

Kat

Dear Kat,

Originally , a king was the head of a kingdom , and an emperor was the head of an Empire . But some people liked to claim that their country was an empire even though it was small . eg . Japan . Gt Britain is a small country and the head was king or queen. But after it had acquired many colonies , it became an empire , eg , the British Empire , but the head was still "king" . Ethiopia was a poor and small country but when it was a kingdom , the head called himself Emperor , and called his country an Empire .
So all depends what the sovereign wants to call himself and his country .

TLY

Dear Mr.Yang,

Hello! I have a question which makes me very confuse.

Last Friday, My English teacher gave me some proofreading to do. AActually, I don't know his explanation was right or wrong.

This proofreading is:
"We can have a picnic somewhere in Sai Kung or travel to Lamma Island and have a picnic on one of beaches is close to the ferry pier."

The suggested answer is crossing out "is" which is before "close" or adding "which" in front of "is". I think that's true.

Then one of us asked him could "close" change to "closed", but he said "is closed" iis not suitable in this question. Beacuse its Chinese meaning is Ãö³¬. And he said we couldn't use "close" in passive form in this situation.

Later, I found out dictionary. "Close" is a transitive and intransitive verb. Why use "closed" is wrong? After this verb, it has "to". I think its Chinese meaning may not be Ãö³¬.

Now, I still do not know whose answer is true or not. My classmate or my teacher? Could you mind telling me the answer?

Thanks for your help:)

Yours faithfully,

Criste

Dear Criste

" Close " may be an adjective meaning " near"
" Closed " may be an adjective meaning shut
correct form - on one of the beaches close to the ferry pier - it means the beaches are near to the ferry pier .

TLY

Dear Mr. Yang:

Please let me know the real difference between to learn and to study and also bored and boring. Is it right to say: I am bored or I am boring.
Thank you very much for your precious time.

Best regards.
Lan

Dear Lan,

See Oxford Concise Dictionary

To study - often includes reading , but not always , eg . to study the anantomy

of a cat may need no reading of a book .

to learn - it means to acquire knowledge or skill , it may or may not require reading . eg , I'm learning to speak French or , I'm learning how to grow roses. You may or you may not read a book .

I am bored - means you feel a lack of interest

he is boring - means he feels a lack of interest , or tired , or impatient

he is boring me by his long story

I am bored by his long story

TLY

Dear Mr. Yang,

I heard the following notice from the p.a. system inside the MTR train cabin recently. It says ' Eating or drinking is not allowed inside the train or in the paid area of the station'. I would like to ask whether using 'paid area' is appropriate. The original meaning is after you pay/enter the entrance
gate.
Is it Chinglish or a MTR jargon. Is it better for an English speaking visitor to understand if we use 'beyond the entrance gate'.

Jimmy

Dear Jimmy ,

You need not worry too much about the correctness of the English used on notice boards and advertisements - often the Engliah is ungrammatical , but the meaning is clear enough .These people are aiming at a shortcut. 'Paid area' means the area you enter after making payment .

TLY