# Did you ask delivery?



## Silver

Hi,

My friend said to me "I am waiting for my lunch" at noon and I was wondering if he ordered fast food from a restaurant, so I asked:

*Did you ask delivery?*

Is it idiomatic to say this?

The intended meaning is "Did you ask food delivered from a restaurant"?

Edited: Another possible context:

A: Would you like to have lunch with us?
B: No.
A:* Did you ask delivery?*
B: Yeah, it's on the way.


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## elroy

Did you *order* delivery?


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## Chasint

"Ask" can be transitive or intransitive. We "ask" a question but we "ask for" a commodity or service. Let us tackle the grammar first:

_Did you ask for delivery?_ Note that this corrects the grammar, but it is is not idiomatic in this situation.

More idiomatic would be "Did you order something?" or (BrE) "Have you ordered something?"


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## elroy

Chasint said:


> More idiomatic would be "Did you order something?" or (BrE) "Have you ordered something?"


Those aren’t specific enough.


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## Chasint

elroy said:


> Those aren’t specific enough.


Could you explain? This is in the context of getting food. It is also seems to be in the context of a group of people who obviously have some kind of relationship when it comes to getting food.

Silver - I think this points to the importance of context when asking such questions. I pictured a group of people who usually eat together during lunch break at a canteen or café at work. In my imagination, they were following a well-worn routine and one of their number was doing something different. I cannot say what elroy imagined but, if you do not provide sufficient context, our natural tendency is to fill in details ourselves. Sometimes this may be the reason you get varying replies.


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## elroy

It doesn’t specify *delivery*.  We do have enough context: 



Silver said:


> The intended meaning is "Did you ask food *delivered* from a restaurant"?


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## Le Gallois bilingue

“Are you having it delivered?”


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## Silver

Chasint said:


> Silver - I think this points to the importance of context when asking such questions. I pictured a group of people who usually eat together during lunch break at a canteen or café at work. In my imagination, they were following a well-worn routine and one of their number was doing something different. I cannot say what elroy imagined but, if you do not provide sufficient context, our natural tendency is to fill in details ourselves. Sometimes this may be the reason you get varying replies.


Well, hmm, how can I put it? The original context was really insufficient so you can see "last edited: ___ minutes ago". I did add another possible conversation because I think it would be much easier for all of you to help me.

elroy understood me correctly and perfectly, like he always does so.

It was just a very normal conversation among two people or some people but not a group of people. 

One more possible situation. I was in my office and it was time for lunch. I wanted to have lunch with Bob so I asked him if he wanted to go with me, he said "I am waiting for my lunch" and I said "Did you order delivery?" I think "delivery" here refers to "food ordered by a customer from restaurants (here we use apps to order food so we don't need to go to the restaurant in order to save time".

Again, thanks a lot, Chasint, you've told me many a time that I need to provide more context and I do so as you suggested.


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## elroy

Silver said:


> I wanted to have lunch with Bob so I asked him if he wanted to go with me, he said "I am waiting for my lunch" and I said "Did you order delivery?"


Perfect.


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## Chasint

> The intended meaning is "Did you ask food *delivered* from a restaurant"?


... or from a fast food outlet.

I'm aware of that, but you have assumed "from a restaurant", which is not necessarily true. Therefore I am justified in saying that each of us imagines a situation and tailors the language accordingly. In this case, especially if these are people who know each other, they will understand how things are done. They won't need to give lengthy explanations.


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## elroy

I have no idea what you’re talking about, @Chasint. 

@Silver wanted to know how to say “Did you order delivery?”  The answer is “Did you order delivery?”


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## Chasint

Silver said:


> One more possible situation. I was in my office and it was time for lunch. I wanted to have lunch with Bob so I asked him if he wanted to go with me, he said "I am waiting for my lunch" and I said "Did you order delivery?"


Thanks for the context. Maybe there is a regional difference here because, although elroy declares it to be perfect, I cannot imagine anyone I know using these exact words.

Here's a typical version in my experience:

- Do you want to come to lunch with me?
- No thanks, I'm waiting for mine
- Oh, did you order something in?

Note the addition of "in". That makes it clear that the food will be brought to Bob, wherever he has asked them to deliver it.


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## Silver

Chasint said:


> I'm aware of that, but you have assumed "from a restaurant", which is not necessarily true. Therefore I am justified in saying that each of us imagines a situation and tailors the language accordingly. In this case, especially if these are people who know each other, they will understand how things are done. They won't need to give lengthy explanations.


No, you misunderstood me, Chasint. I think 90% of us who are used to ordering food would consider the food we order is from a restaurant or like you said, an outlet. But an outlet is way less common than a restaurant because restaurants doing such businesses in China for a long time. 

I think elroy understood me very well so he gave a succinct answer in #2, which is what I need. Chasint, you might have noticed that in the OP, the first sentence is "My friend said to me "I'm waiting for my lunch" and this is very clear, IMHO. I also notice that elroy is very careful in reading my threads or he won't answer my questions. 

I also need to add that people here sometimes don't order fast food from an outlet or a restaurant, they just bring food/lunch with them to the company and use the microwave to heat it up. I didn't mentioned this, I'm sorry.


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## Chasint

elroy said:


> I have no idea what you’re talking about, @Chasint.
> 
> @Silver wanted to know how to say “Did you order delivery?”  The answer is “Did you order delivery?”


There must be some miscommunication here. Maybe we aren't arguing at all but just misunderstanding each other. Let us let Silver decide.


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## Keith Bradford

The problem with your original sentence is that we *ask *a person *for *a thing.  You could correctly say "Did you ask *for *delivery?... Did you ask *them *to deliver?"

Any other suggestions about what a modern American or British person might possibly say are all well and good, but your basic grammar needs to be right first!


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## Silver

Keith Bradford said:


> Any other suggestions about what a modern American or British person might possibly say are all well and good, but your basic grammar needs to be right first!


KB, I wish I were born in an English-speaking country.

If I knew I were correct, why would I ask that question? 

Of course I don't want to see my teachers or professors arguing here but as you may have noticed in the OP, I did try my best to provide more context. I prefer to solve problems than to create more problems. Anyway, I really didn't know if I should say "ask for" or "ask them".  

I know "ask someone for help" and "ask for something", but I thought the "ask" in my original question meant "order". I also think that "ask" is okay, for example, as in "Are you asking me"? So I asked that question in the OP.



Chasint said:


> There must be some miscommunication here. Maybe we aren't arguing at all but just misunderstanding each other. Let us let Silver decide.


Well, both of you help me with my English and there's only one thing I need to do: learn from you.


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## Chasint

Silver said:


> No, you misunderstood me, Chasint. I think 90% of us who are used to ordering food would consider the food we order is from a restaurant or like you said, an outlet. But an outlet is way less common than a restaurant because restaurants doing such businesses in China for a long time.
> 
> I think elroy understood me very well so he gave a succinct answer in #2, which is what I need. Chasint, you might have noticed that in the OP, the first sentence is "My friend said to me "I'm waiting for my lunch" and this is very clear, IMHO. I also notice that elroy is very careful in reading my threads or he won't answer my questions.
> 
> I also need to add that people here sometimes don't order fast food from an outlet or a restaurant, they just bring food/lunch with them to the company and use the microwave to heat it up. I didn't mentioned this, I'm sorry.


That is fine. I personally know almost nothing about how things are traditionally done in China - I only know about Britain (and to some extent about the US) 

My assumption when answering questions here, is that people don't simply learn a language as an exercise. I tend to assume that they want to know how it relates to customs in English-speaking countries - perhaps because they intend to visit.

I like to make it clear that I am from the UK, and my assumption is that the learner will want to know how we do things over here. On the other hand, if the question is specifically about, say, the US or Australia then I take a back seat.

Sometimes I debate a point but I don't post in anger or frustration, my sole purpose is to help. Also sometimes I misunderstand. It's not a problem for me and I hope it isn't for others


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## Chasint

Keith Bradford said:


> The problem with your original sentence is that we *ask *a person *for *a thing.  You could correctly say "Did you ask *for *delivery?... Did you ask *them *to deliver?"


While we are all getting things off our chest, I'll just point out that I already said this in my answer #4, although I don't think we need "them" because it is a pronoun without a referent.


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## Language Hound

Silver said:


> My friend said to me "I am waiting for my lunch" at noon and I was wondering if he ordered fast food from a restaurant...


Personally, I find the whole question involving "delivery" rather pointless.
If the person is waiting for their lunch, obviously someone is going to deliver it.
It may be someone from a restaurant or it may be their mother, for example.
If you're really wondering if the person "ordered fast food from a restaurant," I would ask:
_Did you order fast food?_


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## elroy

@Language Hound, I wonder if you misunderstood the question?

@Silver wants to know if the person ordered food through a delivery _service_, for example directly from a restaurant or through an app like Uber Eats.  He is not just asking if _anyone at all _is going to literally “deliver” the food.


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## RM1(SS)

"Did you request delivery?"



Language Hound said:


> If the person is waiting for their lunch, obviously someone is going to deliver it.


"Did you remember to say you wanted it delivered?"


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## elroy

Asking whether the person made sure to request delivery does not fit the context.  The question is not about an order the speaker already knows the other person made; they’re not checking to make sure they indicated that they wanted it delivered.  They’re asking about the context of the person’s waiting for their lunch.  They want to know if they’re waiting for a delivery order as opposed to, say, waiting for their friend to bring them food.

So an appropriate question, in US English, is “Did you order delivery?”

(As a side note, most people ordering delivery say from the outset that they want it delivered.  It would be very odd indeed to put in a whole order and only then “request delivery.”)


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## Chasint

elroy said:


> @Language Hound, I wonder if you misunderstood the question?
> 
> @Silver wants to know if the person ordered food through a delivery _service_, for example directly from a restaurant or through an app like Uber Eats.  He is not just asking if _anyone at all _is going to literally “deliver” the food.


So in that case is the question

"Did you ask Delivery?"

or

"Did you ask "Express Delivery"?

or similar?


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## elroy

Neither.  See my first post in this thread.


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## Chasint

It is clear to me that elroy understands this question and I probably never will. I shall therefore move on at this point


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## elroy

I’ll try one more time. 

A: I’m waiting for my lunch.

B1: Are you waiting for your lunch because you put it in a delivery order with a restaurant or a food delivery app and are now waiting for your delivery to arrive?

B2: Did you order delivery?

B1 is what @Silver wants to ask.  B2 is a much shorter way to ask the same thing.  I hope B1 helps you understand the question.


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## Chasint

No, my brain does not compute.  For me "to order food" in this scenario _implies_ delivery - if it didn't then why is the friend _waiting_?

So, as far as I am concerned the word delivery is superfluous to requirements.

- _Come and eat with us
- No, I'm waiting
- Did you order something?
- Yes I did
- When are they delivering?
- They aren't
- So why are you waiting instead of going to collect it?_

That scenario is crazy - if you ordered and are waiting for the order to arrive, it stands to reason that you requested delivery.

Anyway ...

Anything I say will only be groundhoggish from now on. I have no idea what is being asked or why it is being asked. I admit defeat. I lay down my arms and surrender. This is a dead parrot as far as I am concerned. It is no more


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## elroy

I think "Did you order something?" would be an odd question to ask in this context if we meant "Did you order delivery?"  "order delivery" is almost like a phrasal verb; it functions as a single unit referring to a specific activity.

Furthermore, it's possible that they ordered takeout from the restaurant next door and are waiting here for it because the restaurant said it was going to take 20 minutes to prepare.

Or maybe there's an on-site canteen or restaurant where they put in an ordinary order and a waiter is going to be bringing it to them.

We don't know if either of these are possible options in this context.  What we do know is that @Silver wants to specifically ask if they ordered delivery, which would be a perfectly ordinary thing to ask in this situation in the US.


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## dojibear

There is a lot of context here. OP says this in a place where this service is very common: freshly prepared food, delivered to your location. There are many businesses that provide this service, and many people who use this service (for meals at the office, or meals at home, or meals anyplace else). It is similar to ordering (by phone) a pizza or Chinese food in the US, and having it delivered to your home.

There is no standard term in English. "Takeout" and "fast food" and "delivery" are all close but they all have other meanings.

I think saying "to order" is important. You ordered (by phone or internet) the food delivery. You placed an order with the delivery service or restaurant. That is the key. That is why B won't go with you. B has already placed an order.



Silver said:


> A: Would you like to have lunch with us?
> B: No.
> A:* Did you ask delivery?*
> B: Yeah, it's on the way.


For the bold, I would say *Did you order takeout? *It isn't perfect -- it omits part of the meaning in post #26's long version.
Here I say "takeout" instead of "delivery" to mean "food delivery". But both are fine (in my opinion). We don't need to define the service. Both A and B are familiar with the service.


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## elroy

dojibear said:


> "Takeout" and "fast food" and "delivery" are all close


Close?   These are all very different!

"fast food" only says what kind of food you ordered.  It says nothing about the method of accessing it.

"takeout" is the opposite of "delivery"!  Takeout means you will pick it up at the restaurant; delivery means the restaurant (or delivery service) will bring it to you.

We do need to specify "delivery" because that's specifically what @Silver wants to know (see my previous posts).


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## Chasint

elroy said:


> Close?   These are all very different!
> 
> "fast food" only says what kind of food you ordered.  It says nothing about the method of accessing it.
> 
> "takeout" is the opposite of "delivery"!  Takeout means you will pick it up at the restaurant; delivery means the restaurant (or delivery service) will bring it to you.
> 
> We do need to specify "delivery" because that's specifically what @Silver wants to know (see my previous posts).


I have recovered slightly. This is my last attempt at finding something that I can grasp whilst remaining sane, and then I am off to bed.

A: Are you having lunch with us?
B: No.
A:* Are you having something delivered?**
B: Yeah, it's on the way.

________________________________
* or
A: Are you having lunch delivered?


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## elroy

That’s possible, just wordier.  “Did you order delivery?” or “Are you getting delivery?” would be more likely in the US.


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## Seiryuu

I've heard of _ordering takeout_, but _ordering delivery_ (without the use of an article) is something I've never heard before.

In OP's first scenario in their opening post, if I were to ask my friend if they are waiting for a fast food delivery, I'd ask "are you getting fast food delivered?" as a response, because I already know that they're waiting for their lunch; what I don't know is what kind of food they're getting, and if they're heading out shortly to pick it up or if the food is coming to them.

In the second scenario, I'd say (for the bolded line): "Are you getting something delivered?"


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## dojibear

Silver said:


> the first sentence is "My friend said to me "I'm waiting for my lunch" and this is very clear,


We already know that he is waiting for his lunch to come here.



Seiryuu said:


> I've heard of _ordering takeout_, but _ordering delivery_ (without the use of an article) is something I've never heard before.


Same here. Nobody says "I ordered delivery". I have never heard it.

< Comment not about English removed. Cagey, moderator >


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## Seiryuu

dojibear said:


> We already know that he is waiting for his lunch to come here.


Anecdotally, I sometimes wait a little bit before heading out to pick up my takeout as some places I call ahead to tell me that my order will be done in X minutes, so it's not definite. Granted, I'd tack on "to be ready" at the end, but I find the sentence to be sufficiently ambiguous.


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## elroy

dojibear said:


> Nobody says "I ordered delivery".  I have never heard it.


Just because you've never heard it doesn't mean "nobody says it." 

Here are some examples of usage I quickly found online:

_"It was already dark out, really cold and I didn't feel like trying to wrangle my kid into their snowsuit or stroller to walk over there, so I* ordered delivery *on their website for an additional fee. I paid online and left a 20 percent tip."_​"Rude" delivery driver scolding woman for ordering food nearby sparks fury​​_Ok! I *ordered delivery*, when will I get it?_​_We charge a flat rate of $7.50 per delivery to help cover the costs of hand delivering Parcels to the Bay Area._​FAQs — Parcels​​_And when you *order delivery *from Denny's on Grubhub.com, you'll get quality, all-American diner food brought right to your door._​Prepare your taste buds...​​_Huge Mistakes Everyone Makes When *Ordering Delivery*_​Huge Mistakes Everyone Makes When Ordering Delivery - Mashed​​_Before you *order delivery*, add your address to make sure the partner services your area._​Place your food order - Google Food Ordering Help​​_Macy's shoppers and downtown visitors are now welcome to *order delivery *or takeout at Seven on State at Macy's. _​Where to order takeout and delivery in the Loop​
I found lots of results on Canadian websites, too.  It doesn't get any more Canadian than Tim Hortons:

_*Order delivery *through our mobile app or website._​Tim Hortons​


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## Chasint

elroy said:


> That’s possible, just wordier.  “Did you order delivery?” or “Are you getting delivery?” would be more likely in the US.


Okay, then as I wondered earlier, it seems that the difference is regional. Both of those sentences sound foreign to me. If they hadn't been produced by a native speaker, I would have assumed they were a direct translation from another language!


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## elroy

Seiryuu said:


> Anecdotally, I sometimes wait a little bit before heading out to pick up my takeout as some places I call ahead to tell me that my order will be done in X minutes, so it's not definite. Granted, I'd tack on "to be ready" at the end, but I find the sentence to be sufficiently ambiguous.


  Yes, as I said:


elroy said:


> it's possible that they ordered takeout from the restaurant next door and are waiting here for it because the restaurant said it was going to take 20 minutes to prepare.



@Silver's question makes perfect sense to me.


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## Seiryuu

Chasint said:


> Okay, then as I wondered earlier, it seems that the difference is regional. Both of those sentences sound foreign to me.


Agreed. I haven't heard it in casual parlance where I am; closest I hear is "You getting [it]/[something] delivered?"


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## Chasint

elroy said:


> ...
> 
> @Silver's question makes perfect sense to me.


Then let us (and this matter) rest in peace! Goodnight!


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## elroy

"order delivery" is definitely idiomatic in US English, and, from what I can tell, in Canadian English, whether or not individual Americans or Canadians have ever heard or used it.  I have heard and used it in casual parlance.  (A quick Internet search does suggest that it's not used in the UK.)


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## Silver

elroy said:


> @Language Hound, I wonder if you misunderstood the question?
> 
> @Silver wants to know if the person ordered food through a delivery _service_, for example directly from a restaurant or through an app like Uber Eats.  He is not just asking if _anyone at all _is going to literally “deliver” the food.


Hmm, I wonder if the person has ordered food. It really didn't matter if he ordered his food through a delivery service or an app. I must apologize here for not making myself clear at the beginning of starting this thread. Actually I waited for a while after I got the reply from elory (#2) so I think those who read the thread before elroy did might not understand what I meant by "delivery" here. My bad. I thought "delivery" meant "fast food" even though I edited the OP by saying "fast food delivery".

Both elroy and LH are my best friends and instructors here. And again thank you so much for helping me with my stupid questions. Actually most of the Chinese people who learn English don't care this at all. But I do. I want to learn idiomatic English. They might be happy with "Did you ask delivery" because native speakers (of English) who live in China understand that; they know the culture. But you don't because culture differs here and there.

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elroy said:


> They’re asking about the context of the person’s waiting for their lunch. They want to know if they’re waiting for a delivery order as opposed to, say, waiting for their friend to bring them food. (Yes. If he wasn't waiting for his lunch, I would ask him to come along with me and eat out together.)
> 
> So an appropriate question, in US English, is “Did you order delivery?” (I'll always write this down.)



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Chasint said:


> - Did you order something?


This is also possible, trust me, because the context you provided, teacher Chasint, is clear and it is understood by the listeners.



elroy said:


> We don't know if either of these are possible options in this context. What we do know is that @Silver wants to specifically ask if they ordered delivery, which would be a perfectly ordinary thing to ask in this situation in the US.


And yes, this is what I meant to say because the context was clear. My bad, sorry, I seeme not to add that it was noon and we were supposed to have lunch. I now notice that this is more a culture thing than a language thing. But again, I think elroy understands me correctly while "Did you order something" is not wrong at all. Why? I've heard people use that very often, both native speakers and non-native speakers here. Many people teach English, and some of them are native speakers, they make videos and upload videos online. In those videos, we hear how they use phrases, idioms and so on. "Did you order something" is very common. 

At 3.p.m. in the afternoon:

Bob: Ann, feel like a cup of coffee?
Ann: No.
Bob: Have you already ordered something (refers to your drink)?
Ann: No, I don't want to drink anything today. 

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## Silver

elroy said:


> Close?  These are all very different!


They are, actually, elroy, in Chinese culture. I think that's why doji said they were almost the same. I explained this in #42. However, people (who study English in China) don't care about this so but I do. In a word, these words and phreases don't mean the same thing, I agree with elroy. But doji isn't wrong, as far as culture difference is concerned. 



Chasint said:


> Okay, then as I wondered earlier, it seems that the difference is regional. Both of those sentences sound foreign to me. If they hadn't been produced by a native speaker, I would have assumed they were a direct translation from another language!


This is also possible.

My dear teachers, friends, and everyone who has taken your time to help me here. Please don't get angry or upset about this. It was me who posted a stupid question. I really don't want to see this at all. I should have provided specific context and explained myself better. It's all of you who've made a better me as an English learner. I am forever grateful for your help.

I've learned a lot from this thread and I'm looking forward to learning from all of you, like I've been doing for so many years here.


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