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.
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Pronunciation of the prefix "anti" in American English
From what I understand, the British pronunciation would be [anti] pretty much everywhere. But in American English I usually hear [antai], although it is mixed up with [anti] from time to time.
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“Can you do this?” vs. “Can you please do this?”
When someone asks me
Can you do this?
I feel that it is missing the “please”.
Is “please” already implied by “can”, or is it proper to ask
Can you please do this?
Marcos
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Is "Alien" a term normally used for foreigners?
When used in the context of foreigners, rather than extra-terrestrial beings, is "Alien" commonly used?
I suspect that it's only used in legal contexts, such as government forms. But I'm not totally ...
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In American English, why is the past tense of "plan" spelt "planned"?
In American English, a lot of words are spelt with a single consonant plus "-ed", rather than two consonants as you often find in British English. Why isn't "plan" spelt with a single consonant?
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Talking at irregular intervals
One of my friend speaks sporadically (that is, not often) to me.
How to express this in correct tense and words.
How to ask him about this.
"Why you are talking sporadically to me?" is this correct
...
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what does" I've got some time on my hands" mean? [duplicate]
"My shift at work's kinda long, you know? It is -so I,ve usually got some time on my hands to, you know...whatever. Think, I guess."
user49116
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What is the meaning of `light my fire` in this sentence? [closed]
What is the meaning of light my fire in this sentence:
You light my red fire. Hot white, and blue.
American Flag?
The context is the song On Our Way by Lana Del Rey:
You, ooh-ooh-ooh
You ...
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When talking of American money, what does "pennies" mean?
Time ago, I was talking with an American friend of mine. She was checking how much money she had and said "[…] a dime and four pennies."
Since 100 cents make a dollar, why did she say pennies?
Is ...
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Is "ceteris paribus" used in formal American English?
A question for American people (English people are welcomed as well but I guess their use of English is more formal): do you use ceteris paribus in some formal text? If not, what would be the best ...
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"bag" vs "package"
In American English, would you say that chips, cookies, and candies are usually packed in bags or would you say they are packed in packages? I can't see much difference between a plastic bag and a ...
user1555
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American pronunciation of constituent
In this entry, is the American pronunciation (as written) correct? Is there any difference between British and American pronunciations?
user288
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how can we use "literally"? [closed]
What does literally exactly mean?
I am not so clear about its meaning, and I often get confused.
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Why do we pronounce "slurp" with ə, but "slump" with ʌ?
Why do we pronounce slurp as /sləːp/ or /slɜ:p/ (BrE) or /slɝ:p/ (AmE) (Cambridge Dictionary of Pronunciation), but slump as /slʌmp/?
Is it because of the presence of R?
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What to respond if someone knocks on the door when you are using the changing room?
When I am in the changing room, sometimes others knock on the door to check whether the room is empty. As a non-native English speaker, I am curious what do you respond in this case?
I tried to say "...
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Shadow vs Shade
Which of these two sentences is more used by people in the USA when talking about staying outside in the shadow/shade?
"I am in the shadow and not in the sun."
OR
"I am in the shade and not in ...
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Is "blue road" an understood expression used to refer to particular roads?
I was watching a TV program about the USA when the speaker said proseguiamo nella scoperta delle strade blu ("let's continue in the discovery of blue roads"). I didn't follow the program since the ...
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Can these plural and singular forms be exchanged?
Do you work on Sundays? What do you usually do at the
weekend? (Essential Grammar in Use)
Can the plural and singular forms be exchanged like these?
Do you work on the Sunday?
What do you ...
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Can relative pronouns be omitted in some regions?
“I guess it was Cal asked Lee.” (Aron, born in California) . . .
. . . “That’s a smell could raise me out of a concrete grave.”
(Adam, born in Connecticut) (John Steinbeck, East of Eden)
In the ‘...
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Quoting a sentence containing a quote: Which quotation mark should I use?
In American English, the quotation mark normally used is the double quotation mark.
Edema asked, "Am I an alliteration addict?"
When quoting text, which quotation marks should I use?
Single ...
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Punctuation inside quotes: Should I put the period inside quotes, if the sentence ends with a question mark or an exclamation point?
In American English, a period is not added at the end of a sentence if it ends with a quote whose last letter is a quotation mark or an exclamation point.
Edema asked, "Am I an alliteration addict?"...
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What does 'it's blowed over' mean?
They sat silent in the coal-black cave of vines. Ma said, “How’m I
gonna know ’bout you? They might kill ya’ and I wouldn’ know. They
might hurt ya. How’m I gonna know?” Tom laughed uneasily, “...
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Describing stomach related common problems
I did some research on how common stomach related problems are described in English, and made some sentences. Would you please look at them and let me know are they all correct and sound natural to ...
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Visualization or visualisation
Both of them are used: visualization and visualisation.
Visualisation is more commonly used in UK.
But, visualization is more common in US.
What is the history of this word?
Which is officially ...
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Is it possible to be grammatically correct without using past perfect?
Can you guys please help with which verb tense to use when talking about numerous specific events?
In the example below, I'm not quite sure if past perfect really is necessary.
"She sent me a ...
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When is using the past perfect tense not necessary?
Is it more natural to speak in simple past or past perfect when explaining past events to a friend? It seems like Americans use more simple past in everyday life than past perfect. I found this ...
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Is "Do you know X?" natural English?
Native speakers of Japanese have the Japanese phrase "[X]を知っていますか?", which they often say in English as "Do you know [X]?". It means something like "Have you heard about [X]?"
For example
Do you ...
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What is commonly used to respond "howdy howdy" greetings?
When people greet us by 'howdy howdy', what is the best reply to it? Is it also used in British English?
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what does "dogs and cats" mean?
I have this sentence.
It rains dogs and cats
It makes me crazy because I didn't know the meaning of it, until someone told me that it means "it rains a lot."
Now I have this sentence.
If we ...
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Can I use "not only … but also" in this sentence?
Can I use "not only … but" in the following sentence?
According to the host, it serves not only to protect the house from the danger of a robbery, but also to prohibit a bad spirit as well.
Is ...
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TOEFL reading book
I want to ask you if you know any TOEFL book which has passage for TOEFL reading sections, just passages, I mean book maybe with millions pages but just passages.
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Do Canadians and Americans really use "gotten" as past participle when speaking?
The OALD has the following note about get:
In spoken North American English the past participle got•ten /ˈɡɒtn/ /ˈɡɑːtn/ is almost always used.
I know that I have got a car just means I have a car....
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How to pronounce the American "em'" in "them"?
I just can't pronounce it properly..
How to pronounce the AmE's "em" in "them"? I always pronounced it like the "un" in "fun" or the "um" in dumb.
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Is 'aerial view/map/painting' the right term for a map/painting drawn/painted from a bird's-eye view?
It was an aerial view of the city.
It was an aerial map of the city.
It was an aerial painting of the city.
Any other ways to say this?
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Is "Global Financial Crisis" the most common term in American English?
I came across a Japanese person using "Lehman shock" when writing English, and I'd like to know what the most common American English term is. Do Americans use the term "Global Financial Crisis"? Or ...
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Pronunciation of I'll
Do Americans pronounce ‘I’ll’ as ‘all [ɔ:l]' as an American ESL teacher says, frequently?
[Her YouTube Channel]
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Is "stove element" a common name for this object?
I read in a book it's called a oven stove element, and I used this word. But it might sound formal, is there another more common name for it? If not, what else is it called?
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Pronunciation of L at the end of a word
American Accent Training (a book that should help who speaks English as second language with the pronunciation of American English) says that L is pronounced differently at the end of a word. ...
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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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Pronunciation of words that rhyme with "bare"
I listened to the pronunciation of words containing ar with the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary I have on my computer; in particular, I checked the pronunciation of the following words:
Dare
...
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What are the differences between the pronunciation of "bidet" in American and British English?
What are the differences between the pronunciation of bidet in American English, and British English?
The last part of the word sounds like the pronunciation of day, in both the cases. I don't ...
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Recommended ways to regularly talk with people to practice English [closed]
For those people who don't live in a country where English is used in daily life, sustaining English speaking skills is very very hard.
I myself spent many hours looking for conversation groups and ...
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Does "have you not scolded by any" make any sense? [closed]
While chatting with a friend I used the phrase "have you not scolded by any". But it doesn't sound correct. Does it make any sense?
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"Gotten" versus "got"
When in a sentence I want to use the present perfect of get, I say have/has gotten.
A friend of mine (who is American) corrects me, saying I should use have/has got. From my English classes, I ...
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Villages and hamlets in US native parlance
How common or uncommon are the words village and hamlet in US native parlance? In the small discussion following this comment, one user said that the word village is not a word we use here, but ...
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Are British words jarring in US English? [closed]
In particular, I don't mean mere alternate spellings like colour, honour, but words that are entirely different: using lift instead of elevator, fridge instead of refrigerator etc.
What is the common ...
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What is the American street naming convention? [closed]
What sets apart a street, an avenue, a road (rd.), an alley - a way, and whatever forms of communication tracts I missed - that appear as part of street names on city maps in the US?
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Is "thru" for "through" acceptable? "Tho" for "though"?
I've been told that in American English, sometimes words ending in -ough are written -u: for example thru instead of through.
Is this correct English, or is it simply a common error?
If it is ...
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