Folks in the talkbacks I came across this phrase the other day and got baffled. I then started to look up the word talkback. Here's the definition from Dictionary.com: –noun Radio and Television. a communications system enabling those in the studio to hear control-room personnel through a loudspeaker or headphones. But this didn't quite explain what I read through the context. I then bracketed the phrase and did some googling. It seemed to me that it might be referring to people who are in control but don't really know what exactly is going on, but I was not sure. I'd like to know who these "folks" might be. Can someone shed some light on this for me? Thanks! If you'd like to know where I got it from, I read it on Matt the dancing guy's blog. It's in the 3rd paragraph from the back. http://wherethehellismatt.typepad.com/blog/2009/01/san-francisco-california-.html

Measure words in recipes I've learned that we need to put “of” between a measure word and the noun that you want to measure. For example, one pair “of” pants, two cups “of” coffee, etc. But it seems to be another story when it comes to recipes, where phrases like “1 cup sliced almonds” or “3 tablespoons red wine vinegar” are very commonly seen. Is this just a word-saving thing or it's just different with recipes?

Exclamation sentences that start with an auxiliary verb There were times when I came across a couple of sentences that seem like questions but they were not. They hit me that way because they all started with an auxiliary verb. Here are some examples: Don't you dare! Would you look at that! Are you handsome! It seems to me that all you have to do is turn a declarative into its interrogative form, change the question mark into an exclamation one and voila! I'm wondering if I can do the same thing to every sentence with an auxiliary verb, or if there are only limited ones that can apply to this form. Or can you guys just give me some other sentences of this kind that are actually in use or that you will actually say?

"There be + Noun + Place" vs "Noun + be + Place" 1) There are three people in the room. 2) Three people are in the room. As far as I understand, they're pretty much the same. But can you guys still kind of explain the nuances between them for me: And, is it common to say something like "This room has three people"? If so, under what circumstances will you most likely to say it? Thank you very much in advance.

The switching of the present tense when describing the past (repost) Please refer to the following question, which is the original one: http://www.italki.com/answers/question/31426.htm Thanks to sudsey, who was kind enough to tell me that an example would make it easier, I then decided to repost the same question since I couldn't add anything to the original one and couldn't extend the deadline either. I didn't include an example because I had this impression that I heard it quite often and I thought it wouldn't be too hard for you guys to think of an example of your own. But it turned out I thought wrong. Sorry about that. I can't exactly recall and quote anything now so I'll just make up something by myself. Here goes: ...I came to her and saw her with a man. This man “has” a snake in his hand. I “can” see the fangs in the snake's mouth... Hope this example is a proper one and that you guys can help me out with this. Thanks a million to your time and patience!

How do I phrase this in English? (左邊倒數第二間) Hi, thank you for dropping by. Say there's this hallway. This hallway has on its sides two lines of rooms, which are marked using white circles: ○○○○○○○●○┐ → │ ○○○○○○○○○┘ Say the black circle is the restroom, can I tell someone where the restroom is by saying, “Down the hall and it is on the left, the second door from the end”? Or how else can I make it more proper/natural?

How can I rephrase "horizontal" and "vertical"? Say, I'd like to draw a 3x3 grid for Tic-tac-toe. If I want to use smaller words, instead of saying "draw 4 horizontal lines and 4 vertical lines", can I say something like: "draw 4 lines top down and 4 lines left right"?

The switching of the present tense in describing the past I've noticed that native speakers of English will still use the present tense when they reminisce or talk of the past. How do you decide you want to switch the "present for past" button on or off? I have a hunch that this is going to be a tough one. But don't you just love to explore your inner world as I do when I come across a tough question regarding Mandarin learning? Many thanks to you in advance. ^_^

Shop = Store? I've learned that a shop is a store, and vice versa. And I've been bearing in mind this equation until recently. Now my question is: Is one of the two more preferred than the other to a specific item? I mean, take "flower" for example, do you say/hear "flower shop" or "flower store" more often? Can it be possible that when this item is more likely to be "stored" for a longer period of time, more people go with "store"? Or is this one of those American English vs British English things? Or am I making a mountain out of a molehill here? Any comments or answers will help. Thanks!