HuubL
hunter-gatherer
For a Dutchman my English is not too bad, at least I usually have no problems to follow what's being said here, but for the 'dings' and 'dents' I've always wondered whether there is a difference between the two. Just to make sure that I'm not degrading my items for sale too much by using the wrong wording. 
wolves3012
Veteran
My view is that a dent is an area where the surface is pushed in, a ding is just a mark where the camera has been banged but no dent left. Others may hold different opinions of course!
drewbarb
picnic like it's 1999
A dent is generally worse than a ding- a ding is a very small dent, maybe a pin-point size mark.
BTW- I've heard it said that the Dutch speak just about the best English in the world. As an American who has lived in Britain, I won't argue.
BTW- I've heard it said that the Dutch speak just about the best English in the world. As an American who has lived in Britain, I won't argue.
HuubL
hunter-gatherer
Thanks Drew, I'll tell the Ministry of Education! They need a pat on the back, the Dutch educational system is under some heavy fire lately. After decades of cutbacks Dutch expenditure on education is now one of the lowest in Europe. However, we have no speech synchronization for our American series on TV like the Germans, but use subtitling. Our kids learn English watching TV, not at school!
If I understand correctly, a dent is worse then a ding, because it's bigger. But a dent could be hammered out. A ding cannot.
If I understand correctly, a dent is worse then a ding, because it's bigger. But a dent could be hammered out. A ding cannot.
wolves3012
Veteran
As an englishman I'd also agree - most foreigners nowadays have a better grasp of English and its spelling than most of our population!drewbarb said: