Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Look at, see or watch?

Look atsee or watch?

 

Look at

When we look at something, we direct our eyes in its direction and pay attention to it:
[the speaker is sitting at her computer]
Come and look at this photo Carina sent me.
Look at the rabbit!

Monday, February 20, 2017

"I speak only English" vs "I only speak English"

In the first sentence, only modifies English, and there is always the implication with the first version that you can speak another language, you just won't. In the second sentence, only modifies speak, implying that it is the only language that you are capable of speaking.

https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/difference-between-i-speak-only-and-i-only-speak.1575024/

Monday, February 13, 2017

Cách hỏi "Đã ăn cơm chưa?"

1/ Đã ăn cơm chưa?
Have you eaten yet?

2/ Đã ăn cơm trưa chưa?

In BE it is considered incorrect to use "yet" with "did" or any other verb in the preterite. However, it is quite common in American speech.

In BE, the preterite is used for an action completed in the past. 

Have you had your lunch [yet]?
Yes, I've had my lunch.
Yes, I had lunch at 12.
No, I haven't had lunch [yet].
I would use "did" if talking about some time in the past.

Did you have lunch yesterday?
No, I was so busy, I didn't have time to stop for lunch.
Yes, I had lunch with the boss. She took us all to lunch at the new Thai restaurant.


3/ 
If you are talking about a common, or regular occurrence, you can say
"Do you have your lunch in the canteen every day?"
"Do you have your lunch at 12 o'clock on Monday?"

 https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/have-you-had-your-lunch.615438/

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Feast vs Banquet

Banquet: An elaborate and formal evening meal for many people
Một bữa tiệc lớn, tỉ mỉ, trang trọng (nghi thức) vào buổi tối cho nhiều người

Feast: A large meal, typically a celebratory one
Một bữa tiệc lớn có nhiều thức ăn, điển hình là một bữa tiệc đánh dấu một ngày, sự kiện quan trọng...

(Theo Oxford: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/banquet)


Feast không nhất thiết có nhiều người tham dự. Chữ "lớn" trong định nghĩa của Feast muốn nói đến lượng thức ăn. Bạn có thể có Feast cho một mình bạn, hoặc với hàng trăm người
(Also, a feast doesn't have to have very many people participating. That "large" in the definition refers to the amount of food, not necessarily the number of people. You can have a feast all by yourself or with hundreds.)


Banquet thì trang trọng hơn, bàn ăn được trang trí công phu, và thức ăn được phục vụ tại bàn, và thường chỉ có 3 hoặc 4 món. Feast thì thường không mang tính nghi thức lắm, và thường có nhiều thức ăn và người ta có thể ăn túy thích.
(A banquet is more formal, the tables are richly decorated, and the food is served at the table and there are usually only three or four dishes, take for example the Nobel banquet in Sweden: http://tinyurl.com/9bz4227 A feast is usually not as formal, and there is often more food and people can eat as much as they want, for example a Thanksgiving feast: http://tinyurl.com/9vjegtv)

(Theo:  https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/banquet-vs-feast.2504229/)