Thread: Thinking in English

Okay, today's questions.

1) It's almost the same as this:

Originally Posted by iCake

3) What verb do you use to describe a process of being very close to someone in order to prevent them from falling, hurting etc, especially by catching them, supporting them, holding them etc. I would use придерживать in Russian

But the reason is a little different for that. Now it's all about not letting someone move too fast and if they move too fast you will restrain them by slowing them down, but it's not that you push them or drag them, you at least try to do that gently and you certainly don't restrain them from moving wherever they want. Strangely I would use the same Russian word for that, which is придерживать

2) What word do you use to generally describe a process of repairing a house (like renovating it, putting up wallpapers etc). We say ремонт here.

3) This one is not very pleasant but how do you call those things that sometimes clump together in your nose out of nose slime We say козявка or казюля here

Originally Posted by iCake

But the reason is a little different for that. Now it's all about not letting someone move too fast and if they move too fast you will restrain them by slowing them down, but it's not that you push them or drag them, you at least try to do that gently and you certainly don't restrain them from moving wherever they want.

2) What word do you use to generally describe a process of repairing a house (like renovating it, putting up wallpapers etc). We say ремонт here.

3) This one is not very pleasant but how do you call those things that sometimes clump together in your nose out of nose slime We say козявка or казюля here

1) Смотря кого придерживаешь (I mean, it depends on who you're "restraining"). We might use different words if you're talking about a 5-year-old child in a grocery store; or an adult who is just beginning to learn how to ski/ice-skate/scuba-dive (if you're the instructor) or an elderly person who has difficulty walking. With a small child, we might say "to keep on a short leash" (which literally refers to walking a dog!). With an adult, we might say "to escort" or "to assist with walking."

2) If you are making major structural changes (like knocking down an interior wall between two small rooms, to create one large room), we'd say "to remodel" or "to do remodeling." Superficial changes (like putting up wallpaper) would be "to redecorate." As a general term that covers both extremes, "to renovate" and "renovation" will work.

3) The "nose slime" (when it's wet) is colloquially called "snot." When the snot dries or partly dries into clumps, these are called "boogers" in US English, but I believe that "bogey" is the usual term in the UK. (Hence the "bogey-flavoured" jellybeans in Harry Potter.)

P.S. A детская горка is sometimes called "a sliding board", although Seraph's answer "a slide" seems to be the more common usage. And if the slide is spiral-shaped, kids invariably call it a "twisty slide."