TASK DEFINITION: Generate the answer for a given question. The question requires common knowledge of English. Make sure that the answer is in detail, long, consistent with the context, and requires general knowledge of English. To be less repetitive, please vary your language for each question. Give a proper explanation to answer, and if necessary, provide the definition of various terms. And conclude your answer if it's long. If you have used other resources (e.g., Merriam Webster's.) to answer the question, include citations in your answer. You don't need to paraphrase the context of your resources, but make sure that your answer is consistent and complete.
PROBLEM: Possible Duplicate: When is 'L' doubled? I'm confused about the two spellings. In which contexts do I have to use canceling or cancelling? Google returns 15.6 million results with canceling and 18 million with cancelling, so I don't know what is the good spelling. Why are both possible, and are there other such pairs?.

SOLUTION: There are many words that have different accepted spellings between British and American English. The wiktionary.org entry for 'cancelling' says: Alternative forms canceling (US English) This implies that a single 'l' is preferred in American English and a double 'l' in British English.

PROBLEM: I am writing a poem for school. The verse with the word I need to change is this: 7 hours is too long In much too short a day You really don't care if you get an answer wrong Because you don't care a _____ about radioactive decay The only thing I can think of is the word shit, but that word is too offensive. I have tried looking for inoffensive alternatives at Real Life English's Not so Offensive Alternatives to Bad Words in English, and wordhippo but these alternatives do not sound great, especially in a poem. I also searched for don't care a ___ on the free dictionary by Farlex's idioms website and 'don't care a fig' came up, alongside some other suggestions I tried from the autofill suggestions. Most worked literally, but I am looking for a more clever and poetic word or words that could be used in a way that relates to my poem. I am not just looking for any old answer. I do not want you to simply search for 'don't care a' on google. I want suggestions that fit creatively into my poem.

SOLUTION: One option for a word is whit1 : the smallest part or particle imaginable Don't care a whit2 is even an idiomatic phrase: didn't care at all. Sally thought Joe liked her, but he didn't care a whit about her. I don't care a whit what you do with my old clothes. 1 Webster's Third New International Dictionary s.v. whit2 2 The McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs s.v. didn't care a whit

PROBLEM: This is something I always get confuse with (native language German). As far as I know 'did + verb' is something done and finished in the past. But isn't it the same with 'verb + ed'?.

SOLUTION:
The normal way of talking about something in the past tense is to use 'verb + ed'. For example, 'I finished the project on time'. You might use 'did + verb' if you wanted to emphasise the point. In the previous example, if someone claimed that you completed the project late, you might say 'I did finish the project on time, and here's the evidence'. Using 'did + verb' where there is no doubt about the truth sounds strange to native English speakers. Saying something like 'I did go shopping for food yesterday' will probably lead to the response 'Well nobody said you didn't!'