Forum newsfeeds |  | | Notices | You are welcome to answer questions posted in the Ask a Teacher forum as long as your suggestions, help, and advice reflect a good understanding of the English language. If you are not a teacher, you will need to state that clearly at the top of your post. Please note, all posts are moderated by our in-house language experts, so make sure your suggestions, help, and advice house the kind of information an international language teacher would offer. If not, and your posts do not contribute to the topic in a positive way, they will be subject to deletion. | 
19-Feb-2004, 20:11
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 512
First Language: Taiwanese Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
| | Hobby: watch movies, see movies? Are the following correct? (Something I always wanted to ask, but never get around.)
1. My hobbies are watching movies, playing Nintendo, collecting stamps, etc.
2. Did you see the movie, "Crouching tigers, hidden dragon?"
3. Would you like to watch a movie with me at my home tonight?
4. Would you like to go to a movie with me tonight?
Thanks.
BMO | 
19-Feb-2004, 21:28
|  | Moderator | | Join Date: Feb 2003 Country: USA
Posts: 13,362
Current Location: North Carolina First Language: English Thanks: 73
Thanked 843 Times in 755 Posts
| | Those are all perfectly correct.
:)
Ask some more questions like that. This is easy stuff.
:wink:
__________________ ~R | 
19-Feb-2004, 22:05
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 512
First Language: Taiwanese Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
| | Thanks, I think I am regressing. Okay, here is an idiom, my favorite topics:
"Two heads are better than one." Is it two people or any number as long as it is more than one?
Can I define it like, "People working together get better results than one does alone?" How about, "When working on the same project, more people consult with each other get better results than one does alone?"
How would you define it?
Thanks again, BMO | 
19-Feb-2004, 23:04
| | Editor, UsingEnglish.com | | Join Date: Nov 2002 Country: UK
Posts: 25,267
Current Location: Phnom Penh First Language: English Thanks: 3
Thanked 332 Times in 303 Posts
| | You can- two heads can refer to more than two people.  | 
20-Feb-2004, 02:17
|  | Moderator | | Join Date: Feb 2003 Country: USA
Posts: 13,362
Current Location: North Carolina First Language: English Thanks: 73
Thanked 843 Times in 755 Posts
| | I would say that "Two heads are better than one" means that two (or more) can come up with more ideas than one person. There is another one that means the opposite: too many cooks spoil the broth. That means that too many people "helping" can lead to a bad result. (Presumably, not everybody knows what everybody else is doing.) The two aren't really opposites since one is about thinking up ideas and the other is about participating in some sort of activity.
:)
__________________ ~R | 
20-Feb-2004, 04:01
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 512
First Language: Taiwanese Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
| | Hey, thank you all. This makes a lot of sense, as the idiom is not about activity, but thinking. That I wasn't sure. Another point is also well explained - that part about "Too many cooks spoil the soup" not being an opposite idiom. It was often cited as such, but that clearly isn't the case.
BMO | 
20-Feb-2004, 04:45
|  | Moderator | | Join Date: Feb 2003 Country: USA
Posts: 13,362
Current Location: North Carolina First Language: English Thanks: 73
Thanked 843 Times in 755 Posts
| | We're glad to help.
:)
__________________ ~R | 
29-Feb-2004, 07:14
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 512
First Language: Taiwanese Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
| | Quote: |
Originally Posted by RonBee I would say that "Two heads are better than one" means that two (or more) can come up with more ideas than one person. There is another one that means the opposite: too many cooks spoil the broth. That means that too many people "helping" can lead to a bad result. (Presumably, not everybody knows what everybody else is doing.) The two aren't really opposites since one is about thinking up ideas and the other is about participating in some sort of activity.
:) | An opposite idiom of "Too many cooks spoil the broth" is "There is safety in numbers." The latter means the more people the better.
BMO | 
29-Feb-2004, 15:11
| | Editor, UsingEnglish.com | | Join Date: Nov 2002 Country: UK
Posts: 25,267
Current Location: Phnom Penh First Language: English Thanks: 3
Thanked 332 Times in 303 Posts
| | Quote: |
Originally Posted by bmo
An opposite idiom of "Too many cooks spoil the broth" is "There is safety in numbers." The latter means the more people the better.
BMO | We also have 'Many hands make light work'.  | | Thread Tools | | | | Display Modes | Linear Mode |
Posting Rules
| You may post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts HTML code is Off | | |
Similar Threads | | Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post | | Tornado watch etc. | NewHope | Ask a Teacher | 3 | 18-Sep-2004 07:35 | All times are GMT. The time now is 20:34. |  |