Questions tagged [american-english]
This tag is for questions specifically related to the English language as spoken and written in the USA. If you are interested in a difference between American English and British English, please use transatlantic-differences.
1,696
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Is it correct to say "tell me the location I need to go to to get the document"?
Is it correct to say tell me the location I need to go to to get the document or do I have to say tell me the location I need to go to get the document?
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2
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Do we say "put" a rental bike shop?
I can't come up with anything better than to set up a (specialist) shop in an area.
Imagine a park up in the mountains where kids could do MTB (mountain biking?) a place that is accessible but lacking ...
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What is the difference between “have met” vs “had met”
Example: I met this person once at a meeting a year ago, today I am meeting with him again.
Should I say:
We have met a year ago.
Or
We had met a year ago.
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Comma between “such as” and direct quotations?
Consider the following sentence:
We see claims such as “Money is the root of all evil” [1] and “Women require time and money” [2] spread throughout research-level texts.
Here, [1] and [2] are some ...
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Questions about verbs
70% (700) of the total data is used as training data, and the remaining 20% (200) are used as validation data.
I am in the process of creating presentation PPT materials.
Is are used as correct in ...
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Do British people often use the word lightning conductor?
Do British people use the word lightning conductor more frequently than a lightning rod?
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6
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Differences between pronouncing the 'G' and 'J' in US/British English
I'm currently pronouncing:
g as /dgi/
j as /djay/
I'm not sure if this is the American or Britisch way to pronounce it.
If it depends on the choice of words, I was just singing the alphabet.
...
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Can someone explain me in details the text Civil disobedience by Henry David Thoreau? [closed]
I have a presentation to do for my next class, i have to explain it in details and comprehend the meaning of the author.
I really need to comprehend the full texte.
Can someone please help me ...
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2
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An American expression for "a packet of crisps"
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, it seems that this is called "a packet of crisps" (Lognman | crisp), but the same dictionary says that "packet" is ...
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What about you or how about you
I was wondering, if we want to ask someone their answer on something in this kind of context below:
A: How did you feel after graduating from high school?
B: To be honest, I felt nothing. It was not ...
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Is it more fitting to say, "I left two comments on the page" or "I made two comments"?
Which is more appropriate "I left two comments on the page yesterday" or "I made two comments on the page yesterday"
Context: The page contains some changes to be reviewed by ...
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2
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Is it grammatical to say "Here is very nice?"
There is a question that comes across to me--the word 'here' is a noun as well an adverb.
Based on these two sentences:
I like it here.
I like here.
Here is the book that you are looking for.
The word ...
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1
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Is saying your voice is not audible correct?
Is this sentence correct?
Your voice is not audible
or
you are not audible
or are both of them are correct?
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67
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Are these interpretation of same phrase/sentence acceptable?
Imagine you see this headline:
political hate campaign
Could that be used with these meanings:
1 - politicians that use hate in their campaign towards some other politicians
2 - people that carry ...
CommunityBot
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2
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Is it correct to use "reach out about" in a sentence?
The headline is:
As mayhem persisted at Kabul’s airport, the Taliban reached out to a
former Afghan president about a new government.
The way I think it's supossed to be is: "reach out to a ...
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2
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70
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Flapped T in the word “appetite”
In the word “appetite” T is between 2 vowels and it’s not flapped T according to Oxford American English dictionary. Why?
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Using the word discuss without the object
Let's discuss this with him
Let's discuss with him
are both of them grammatically correct?
A grammar checker pointed out a flaw in "Let's discuss with him" and suggested adding "this&...
CommunityBot
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3
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can i start a sentence after a preposition? [closed]
I just want to make sure that I can start a sentence after a preposition. because I have seen some sentences that were started with prepositions like this
In the closet is where I keep the dog food.
...
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1
vote
2
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60
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Using words "not" and "until" in the same sentence
For example, let's say someone said to me, "You did not need to wait until I was in the pool to hold me".
I believe this can translate to something like, "You did not need to wait to ...
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2
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283
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If I want to use an infinitive as an adverb in the sentence then I can use an infinitive with any verb as an adverb?
If I want to use an infinitive as an adverb in the sentence then can I use it with any verb or specific verb?
suppose I want to say " I went there to drive the car" so here to drive the car ...
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what does it mean by "but as several"
Here is a sentence. I am trying to read this sentence but it does not make me seen.
Many applications start based on monolithic architecture, but as several unforeseen requirements surfaced, can be ...
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Is "depending" an adverb in this context?
is this text:
"does the meaning of a song change depending on who wrote it?"
is "depending" an adverb modifying "change" in this case?
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"both per " or "each per"?
If one object costs both of another object, it makes sense to say both X per Y. If an object costs each of two other objects, then does each X per Y mean that it costs one of the other two or does it ...
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What is the proper way to interpret this?
that is the HeadLine I came across from New York Times:
Google Calls In Help From Larry Page and Sergey Brin for A.I. Fight
is it correct call in "help"? I mean should the "help" ...
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1
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Which of the following sentences is the correct usage of the question?
Which of the following sentences is the correct usage of the question or most commonly used in the conversational context?
Was the rental equipment returned today?
Has the rental equipment been ...
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2
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what is the difference between "for" and "at" in this context?
in the sentece:
"Community Rules means written rules and regulations that govern the conduct of tenants for and at the Community."
it might be about technical English but I see some grammar ...
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Why 'are getting' at sentence 'I'm sorry to hear that your parents are getting divorced.'? [closed]
Book Destination C1&C2, page 6:
Write the verb in brackets in the correct form, present simple or
present continuous, in each gap:
I'm sorry to hear that your parents __________ (get) divorced.
...
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What is the grammatical function of the words "symptom" and "distress" in the following sentence: "...hoping for a reduction in symptom distress."
The full sentence:
People enter therapy hoping for a reduction in symptom distress.
Is "symptom distress" a noun+noun pattern or a noun+verb? Is it like the pattern "fight club", ...
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2
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"Shutdown Holdouts" meaning
I came across this in the New York Times:
"How the Shutdown Holdouts Have Antagonized McCarthy Before."
The first sentence says:
"Most of the House Republicans who voted against ...
- 48.8k
1
vote
2
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58
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Comma before “and” separating two short independent math statements?
Consider a typical mathematical sentence defining two tuples: (s_i)_{i=1}^n and (t_i)_{i=1}^n:
Let (s_i)_{i=1}^n = X (,) and (t_i)_{i=1}^n = Y.
The parens around the comma mean that it's unclear ...
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1
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What is the meaning of "Not actually"?
For example, let's say Person A says "1 plus 1 is 3". Then Person B can either say "It's not 3, it's 2" or "It's actually 2".
What if Person B says "It's not ...
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4
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The slang term for books made of paper
What is slang for a book that has pages made of paper; the opposite of an ebook? I used to know. It's something like "tree book", which I know is wrong, but I can't come up with anything ...
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Why does the rising pitch start from "in a rush" instead of "rush"?
YouTube: in a rush
Please watch the video first.
The image is the pitch contour from PRAAT. It shows that the rising pitch starts from "in a rush" instead of "rush". Is it because ...
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Is it an adverb clause, a relative clause or a noun clause?
Is it an adverb clause, a relative clause or a noun clause?
"To get to New Zealand the fastest way"
The whole sentence is... To get to New Zealand the fastest way, you will have to fly from ...
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1
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Can we pronounce “can” as /kən/ at the beginning of a sentence?
I know that “can” can be reduced to /kən/ unless it has to be stressed. For example in a sentence like “I believe I can fly” we can say /kən/ instead of /kæn/. My question is, can we do the same thing ...
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2
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What are the various meanings of the expression "North America"?
My understanding is that anglophones take it to mean any of the following depending on context:
Canada and the U.S.: by far the most common usage in most contexts, the default definition.
Canada, the ...
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1
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What does "squeeze along" mean in this sentence?
It was not intended that we should have such a hard time getting a
living, that we should just manage to squeeze along, to get together a
few comforts, to spend about all of our time making a living ...
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3
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1
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The way I phrase questions seems to confuse native English speakers
I am an Indian, so the English I speak is more closer to British English than American English. And this particular way I phrase questions seems to confuse Americans more than Britishers from what I ...
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What's the meaning of "receive credit for freshman mathematics" in college?
This context comes from the book "Black Rednecks And White Liberals"
by Thomas Sowell.
At one time, the reputation of Dunbar graduates was such that they did
not have to take entrance ...
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"It is done" what is the sentence structure?
It is done
Is "done" in the above sentence an adjunctive or a verb?
Or is it a simple past tense in passive form. If so why "is" is used.
Please clarify what is the structure of the sentence. This ...
CommunityBot
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Are imperfectly constructed sentences understandable? [closed]
As an English learner, when building a sentence in my head it is almost impossible to get it out idiomatically. For example, before I knew the word "regarding" I built this sentence:
"...
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Why is Christina Perri pronouncing "closer" as "cloSSer"?
In this song at 0:58, Christina Perri pronounced the word "closer" with an S sound: clo[s]er
I have always pronounced and heard it with a Z sound. Is the pronunciation of "closer" ...
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What kind of question would questions that start with (and why is/should/does/would) in response to a statement, explanation, or declarative?
What kind of question would questions that start with (and why is/should/does/would) be in response to a statement, explanation, or declarative. What is the function of the "And" part and ...
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Waiting your comments how to use with verb on below sentence
Q. I ____ john and Liz after school tomorrow.
A. am meet
B. am meeting
C. met
Q2. My sister ____ john and Liz after school tomorrow.
A. Is meet
B. Is meeting
C. met
...
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what is "continental" person
I was watching Addams family yesterday.
During the dinner in the "cave" Gomez said about Uncle Fester, that he is continental person.
I understand that English people talking about Europeans as ...
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How to ask to let you pass in the bus
For example, you are sitting near the window on the bus. A person sits next to you and blocks the passage (not on purpose).
And here is your stop and you need to get out. How to ask politely to let ...
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Is it grammatically correct to say "I don't feel a shred of sleepiness"
I've heard people say "she doesn't have a shred of decency." Is it grammatically correct to say "I don't feel a shred of sleepiness?" I'm in doubt because I am thinking: a shred is ...
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Can I reply to "How are you doing?" with "I'm good"?
Ok, I've already searched this site. There are questions about this. I've read them and read the answers. But they don't really answer what I wonder. I'm asking about grammar.
Let's say the cashier ...
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3
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Pronunciation of "a" in "cat"
My book about American English pronunciation (General American) says that to pronounce the letter A in, for example, cat (whose sound is /æ/), I should drop my jaw down as to say [ä], but then (from ...
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3
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1
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Difference between 'gamer' and 'player'?
I saw a sentence today:
Back in the last century, gamers were sometimes known to take advantage of players with slow (as in dialup) links; an opponent could be eliminated literally before he or she ...
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