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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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