Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[missdaredevil]

1
Pears and apples are *watery* /*juicy* fruits.

2
Which one is better, meaning they have a lot of water into them?

3
You should *break out a sweat* when you are sick.
Is that correct?

4
We are more like friends than *a teacher and a student*.
Is that ok?

5
Please let me know if I give you the right *amount* of money.
Is that right?

6.
Is *b i tchy* usually used as an adjective to describe someone who complains a lot or someone who is a b i tch?

Thanks

[CP]

1, 2. They are juicy, full of juice. Even though the juice is mostly water, you wouldn't use "watery" for lush, plump, juicy fruits. However, you might say that you live in a watery place, someplace humid or swampy. "Finding Nemo" was all about creatures who live in a watery environment.

3. Usually you hear "break out in sweat" when someone is ill and gets sweaty. When it is fever, or a fearful situation, sometime you hear "break out in a cold sweat." If you are exercising, you can start out dry but "break a sweat" when you start sweating, ending up drenched in sweat if you work long enough.

4. "We are more friends than teacher and student." Instead of just being in the roles of teacher and student, we have a closer relationship.

5. If you give me any money at all, that will be the right amount. Yes, you are using it correctly.

6. Yes, you can use that word to mean someone who complains a lot, or to describe how someone was acting at a particular time, or as a general description of someone's personality or behavior.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[missdaredevil]

3. Usually you hear "break out in sweat" when *someone is ill* and gets sweaty.

How will that happen?

If you are exercising, you can start out dry but "break a sweat" when you start sweating, ending up drenched in sweat if you work long enough.

So, it is okay to say to someone ill that *try to break a sweat"?


4. "We are more friends than teacher and student."

So, "We are more like friends than a teacher and a student" is grammatically incorrect?

6. Yes, you can use that word to mean someone who complains a lot, or to describe how someone was acting at a particular time, or as a *general description of someone's personality or behavior.*

So, that can be the adjective of *b i tch*?

[CP]

How will that happen?
If you have never had the flu and "chills and fever," feeling hot but shivering cold, sweating and delirious -- well, you haven't lived!

So, it is okay to say to someone ill that *try to break a sweat"?
No. "Break a sweat" means "starting to sweat," when the sweat first starts to break out. It doesn't mean stopping the sweat. Example: Mike Tyson knocked out his opponent in the first round, before he even broke a sweat.

So, "We are more like friends than a teacher and a student" is grammatically incorrect?
Well, I wouldn't say it is grammatically incorrect, but you are not likely to hear it that way. The roles of teacher and student, or friend and foe, or Republican and Democrat, or brother and sister, or what you will, are usually given without any article in sentences such as yours. So it is only incorrect by usage, not necessarily grammatically incorrect.

So, that can be the adjective of *b i tch*?
Yes, a b i t c h acts b i t c h y by definition, I guess. Neither the noun nor the verb is very polite, even though you hear them more and more in the mass media or in common speech. Next time you feel like calling someone a b i t c h, even if she deserves it, try understatement instead. "You seem a little irritated. Are you feeling all right, dear?" Then duck.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb