The English Language

[MJMcCready]

I've said it enough times but this thread has been hijacked and gone horribly wrong. It seems to me to be the worst thread on the whole site by far. Why don't you stop doing someone else's dirty work and let him get to the bottom of the correction he is preoccupied with. Why not discuss The English Language itself? There's much to talk about there but based on how this is going, most could fit what they have to say on the back of a stamp. Let's talk about prescriptivism and its legacy. How about that?

[IM Jack Rudd]

It hasn't been hijacked; this is what the thread has been about from the start. (And it exists so that Soheil doesn't start a new thread for each linguistic query he has.)

[Matt Mackenzie]

And its a much less busy thread than it used to be anyway.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"And its a much less busy thread than it used to be anyway."

Perhaps more people are put off by the overwhelming tsunami of negativity on the forum.

Or maybe Soheil is now speaking English perfectly.

The title of the thread does allow a number of interpretations...

[soheil_hooshdaran]

Hello, After a long time!

What is the difference between put in effort and make effort and do your best and try

[Kevin Thurlow]

Welcome back!

"put in effort and make effort and do your best and try"

I think they are just about the same.

Suppose someone asks for 6 nice apples. If you just pick up the first 6 apples, you are not trying. If you search the container in front of you and find 6 nice apples, you have at least tried, therefore "putting in" or "making" an effort. If you then look for another container and search that as well, you could be said to be doing your best.

But, the last one could mean, "I know you are not good at this, but do not give up." For example, I was rubbish at art at school (and still am). It is tempting if asked to draw anything, to just give up, and say, "Get somebody else to do it." But if you carefully produce a not very good drawing, at least you have tried...

[soheil_hooshdaran]

Thank you.
What's the difference between upsetting and distressing?

[Ian Thompson]

What's the difference between upsetting and distressing?

Being distressed is being badly upset. I might be upset if I lost a game of chess from a winning position. I might be distressed if I was told a relative was seriously ill.

[Tim Spanton]

Actually, it's try to do your best, not do your best and try!

[soheil_hooshdaran]

Thank you