Questions.
Hi, there

Please, help me with these questions. I need to improve my vocabulary!

1) If I am walking with someone on the street and he is with your head down, looking at their phone, about to step into a puddle(Can I say "step into a puddle"?), would it be possible to say "Hey, watch the puddle"? If not, what would you suggest?
2)Do you say "If you were to use the car, can you get $40 dollars of gas(petrol) for me?" or "If you were to use the car, can you put in $40 dollars of gas(petrol) for me?". If neither, How would you say that?
3) In a movie, I heard, refering to a old/elderly(which adjective should I use?) lady: "After her arteries went hard, she was moved into the house with us" What does it mean? "Arteries went hard"?
4) Do you say "The author holds that..." in the sense of "The author maintains that".. "The author claims that"? I read, on Cambridge Online Dictionary, that "hold" can mean "Believe an idea to be correct or state that something is true"

Thank you very much!

Question

Questions.
Hi, there

Please, help me with these questions. I need to improve my vocabulary!

1) If I am walking with someone on the street and he is with your head down, looking at their phone, about to step into a puddle(Can I say "step into a puddle"?), would it be possible to say "Hey, watch the puddle"? If not, what would you suggest?
2)Do you say "If you were to use the car, can you get $40 dollars of gas(petrol) for me?" or "If you were to use the car, can you put in $40 dollars of gas(petrol) for me?". If neither, How would you say that?
3) In a movie, I heard, refering to a old/elderly(which adjective should I use?) lady: "After her arteries went hard, she was moved into the house with us" What does it mean? "Arteries went hard"?
4) Do you say "The author holds that..." in the sense of "The author maintains that".. "The author claims that"? I read, on Cambridge Online Dictionary, that "hold" can mean "Believe an idea to be correct or state that something is true"

Thank you very much!

Answer

Hi Gabriel.

1. Yes, it is correct to say "step into a puddle".  Yes, it's OK to say "Hey, watch the puddle!"
2. Either one is fine, but it would be more natural to say "If you use the car, could you get $40 of gas?" or "If you use the car, could you put in $40 of gas?"  The word "could" is a little more polite, but it's perfectly fine to say "can".  Oh, and you really should say "please get" or "please put in".
3. Use of the word "elderly" has become almost universal in place of "old".  For some reason, English speakers no longer like to use the word "old" to describe people, even though there is nothing wrong with the word.  The condition "hardening of the arteries" refers to the buildup of plaque on the artery walls that often occurs with advanced age, leading to cardio-vascular diseases.
4. "The author holds that" has the meaning you found, but it's a usage that is rarely used in conversation or in informal writing.

Good luck!

Answer

1) Yes! Please say that!
2)  If you are going to use the car, could you put $40 of gas in it?
3) Hard arteries means the elderly person most likely has heart disease and their arteries have clogged with plaque making a heart attack more likely. "Elderly" is a more polite term  and can be an adjective or a noun ("the elderly woman" or " I visited a home for the elderly.") Old  can only be used as an adjective (the old man).
4) That definition is correct and you can use that phrase!

Answers · 2

Still haven’t found your answers?

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!