Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[missdaredevil]

1.
How is *tell him her fate* different from *tell him of her fate*?
2.
I want you to hazard/make/take a guess at the riddle.
Do they all mean the same thing?

3.
I went to a metalsmithing class to learn one specific metal-tin.
Can it be called "tin-smithing"?

4.
He bought 3 gasoline. 3 tanks of gasoline?


5.Dogs are *adaptable* to cold weather.
Is that how it's commonly used?

Thanks

[CP]

1. I think they are the same. When you tell him her fate, you tell him what is going to happen to her. When you tell him of her fate, you tell him about what is going to happen to her.

2. Yes, they do.

3. Yes, tinsmiths are people who work tin; silversmiths work silver (and gold), and so do goldsmiths. Blacksmiths work iron and steel. So it was a little funny some years back when Paul Simon introduced the band Ladysmith Black Momzabo to the world.

4. Well, usually you buy up to one tank at a time. If your tank holds 20 gallons, or about 75 liters, you might buy a whole tank full ("Fill 'er up!") or $20.00 worth (about seven gallons right now) or 25 liters. But you wouldn't -- you couldn't -- buy three tanks unless you had three cars at the same pump.

5. Yes, or "Dogs adapt to cold weather."

So, mostly yesses, Miss DD. Good!
_________________
You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[missdaredevil]

So it was a little funny some years back when Paul Simon introduced the band *Ladysmith Black Momzabo* to the world.

Could you explain that part more clearly?

Thanks to you- CP for your support and your humor.

[CP]

Well, if a tinsmith is the expert at working tin, and the goldsmith is the expert at working tin, then the ladysmith must be the expert at working women. I thought it was funny, anyway.

Of course, lots of bands take names that hint that they are popular with the women. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are breaking the hearts of girls everywhere, aren't they? Jerry Lee Lewis was nicknamed Killer, not because he murdered people, but because he was such a "lady killer." And the band The Killers are "lady killers," too.
_________________
You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[missdaredevil]

Well, usually you buy up to one tank at a time. If your tank holds 20 gallons, or about 75 liters, you might buy a whole tank full ("Fill 'er up!") or $20.00 worth (about seven gallons right now) or 25 liters. But you wouldn't -- you couldn't -- buy three tanks unless you had three cars at the same pump.

So what is the *quantity noun* in this case?

tHNAKS