“So, what has your Principal decided to do? Is he planning to ...”
“I have no idea. All I know is, he has received a great deal of suggestions, and he ...”
“You mean ‘many suggestions’, don't you?”
“What’s wrong with ‘a great deal of suggestions’? A lot of people say it.”
“That’s true. But the expression ‘a great deal of’ is usually followed by an uncountable noun, not a countable one. You can say, he has received ‘a number of suggestions’ or ‘many suggestions’.”
“But not ‘a great deal of suggestions’. I suppose it’s okay to say, I have received a great deal of money.”
“Sounds fine. Here’s another example. The storm did a great deal of damage. So, tell me, how was your weekend? Did you work on your project?”
“I was planning to. But I ended up spending most of my time with my friend, Shomu.”
“Shomu? Oh yes, I remember him. He is the one with those flaky ideas about ...”
“Flaky ideas? What does it mean?”
“The word ‘flaky’ is used in informal contexts to mean eccentric. It can be used with people as well. For example, when I was in school, I had a flaky physics teacher.”
“You mean your teacher was crazy?”
“When ‘flaky’ is used with people, it suggests that the person is unpredictable or unconventional. Everyone thought my English teacher was flaky because she used pop songs in the classroom.”
“I guess some people would think that using songs and films to teach English is a flaky idea. I’m sure the students enjoyed the music, though.”
“We certainly did. Had a lot of fun in class.”
“Talking about having fun, how was your trip to Darjeeling?”
“It was okay. It was too short, and the conference itself wasn’t in Darjeeling proper.”
“What do you mean by Darjeeling proper? Do you mean ...”
“When you use the word ‘proper’ after the name of a place, it means the main part of the town or city. So, when I say, we weren’t in Darjeeling proper ...”
“You mean that you weren’t staying in Darjeeling; you were staying outside.”
“But very close to Darjeeling. Here’s another example. By the time we reached Shimla proper, all of us were cold and hungry.”
“Ratan has been to France several times. But he’s never been to Paris proper. Have you been to Paris?”
“I’ve never been abroad. I don’t even hold a passport.”
“I can see that. There’s nothing in your hand. So, ...”
“That’s not what I mean. You see, the word ‘hold’ has several different meanings. When you say you don’t ‘hold a passport’, you mean you don’t possess or have one. This use of ‘hold’ is considered formal.”
“I see. How about this example? In Dubai, many construction workers from India were arrested because they didn’t hold a work permit.”
“A few of my friends don’t hold an opinion about anything.”
“You’re lucky. My friends hold an opinion about everything.”
“Your friends are politicians in the making.”
******
“The worst thing about being a tourist is having other tourists recognize you as a tourist.” — Russell Baker
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