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Which is the correct expression?

student

Which is the correct expression?

student asking question

What's the difference between "college" and "university"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"College" and "university" are slightly different in the US. Universities usually offer degrees, such as four-year undergraduate degrees, in additional to graduate degrees like Master's degrees and PhDs. Meanwhile, colleges usually grant diplomas and offer programs less than four years in length. In general, colleges focus more on career training and the trades, whereas university programs are more centered around academic and professional training. This is changing, however, and the divide between college and university has been blurring more and more in recent years. Ex: I graduated with a college degree and now I am licensed baker. Ex: I graduated with an undergraduate degree from a university.

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Popular Q&As

03/28

1
What does "in return" mean?
"In return" means to get or give something in exchange for another thing. Ex: They paid the man in return for his work. Ex: What can we do in return for your kindness?

2
What's "looking" mean here?
Here, "looking" is an adjective which means to have a specific appearance. If you want to describe the appearance of someone or something, you can use an adjective and "looking." Ex: That's an ugly-looking car. = That car has an ugly appearance. Ex: Those actors make a good-looking couple.

3
Why's it "was" instead of "were?"
Grammatically, "were" would be correct here, but this way of speaking is fairly common in some places in the USA, and is considered to be more accepted now than before. Eminem uses "AAVE" in his song lyrics, African-American Vernacular English, which is a way of speaking English that has developed among African-Americans due to various complexities and often includes differences like this. Ex: We was going to the shops to get some ice cream. Ex: I don't need nothing like that. => anything = nothing

4
Is "with" necessary here? I thought it is okay to say just "I'd like to present you a gift".
"With" is not necessary here, however, it sounds a little unnatural if you take it out and don't have any preposition. Instead, you could say "I'd like to present to you a gift" or "I'd like to present a gift to you", although both of these sound a bit more formal than the original sentence. So although "with" is not necessary here, it sounds the most natural to use.

5
What does "[something]'s up on the cloud" mean? Is it an idiom?
It is an idiom! The common phrase is someone's "head is in the clouds". If one's "head is in the clouds", it means they are disconnected from reality. They daydream a lot and live in their imagination. It's said as a criticism since they can be unaware of what is happening around them. Ex: Sorry, I had my head in the clouds. I'm listening now. Ex: Julia's head is always stuck in the clouds. Ex: You got your head in the clouds? Pay attention!

Complete the expression with a quiz!

At

the

age

of

24,

she

became

the

first

deaf

and

blind

person

to

graduate

from

college.