Questions tagged [british-english]
for questions specifically related to the English language as spoken and written in the United Kingdom.
979
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does this phrase really describe the following situation?
I came across this NYT headline:
"How the Shutdown Holdouts Have Antagonized McCarthy Before
Most of the House Republicans who voted against Kevin McCarthy’s stopgap spending bill have long been ...
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1
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"oral communication" vs "speech communication"
Maybe it's more of a question to linguists out here. I'm wondering if there is a difference in meaning between "oral communication" vs "speech communication". To me, both mean the ...
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8
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Does "I saw a blue car and bus" mean "blue bus" or any coloured bus?
What is the outcome of any and every sentence in the following sentence format when the rules of English grammar is applied upon them.
sentence format <Noun Verb Determiner Adjective Noun ...
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Stress of word 'flagrant' /ˈfleɪɡrənt/ is Flagrant or FLAgrant or something else?
Stress of word 'flagrant' /ˈfleɪɡrənt/ is Flagrant or FLAGrant or something else?
My problem is I don't know stress at f (Flagrant) or fleɪ (FLAgrant) (separation of sounds, because as you seen, it is ...
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Are imperfectly constructed sentences understandable?
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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1
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Is "covered wagons rolling access the prairies" wrong?
I am using Oxford's Dictonary Advanced learner + Oxford's Collocations dictionary - 10th edition - mobile application (licensed). I seen
In my thought, it is covered wagons are rolling access the ...
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What are the meanings of dot in word what show in Oxford Dictionary advanced learners for mobile?
What are the meanings of dot in word what show in Oxford Dictionary advanced learners for mobile (licensed subscription)?
Example word: ability . Web version of Oxford dictionary for advanced ...
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How to explain, "listen" has 5 sounds while its pronunciation is `/ˈlɪsn/`? Why not 4 sounds?
Book Cambridge pronunciation in Use Elementary, at Section B, item A3c
In some words there are silent letters (letters with no sound). In
listen, t is silent.
listen 6 letters, 5 sounds
+---+---+---+...
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Position of stress in 3-letter-abbreviation: BBC and DVD
Book "English pronunciation in use - Advance" [E1] page 40:
(1) the ˌBBˈC
(2) He works for the BBˈC.
(3) He works for ˈBBC RAdio.
Book "Oxford Word skill - intermediate - 1st edition&...
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1
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Why /ˈlem.ən/ (Cambridge dictionary - UK voice) but read like /ˈlemən/ (Oxford dictionary - UK voice)?
I am learning at English Pronunciation in Use - Advanced. I seen
Why /ˈlem.ən/ (Cambridge dictionary - UK voice) but read like /ˈlemən/ (Oxford dictionary - UK voice)?
I feel dot . in /ˈlem.ən/ was ...
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Why does this British speaker pronounce the word "gerund" as "/gerUND/" instead of /dʒɛrənd/?
This is from a British speaker who teaches speaking skills to millions of students. In one of his videos, he mentions the word "gerund" but he pronounces it "/gerUND/". Speaking ...
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Exercise book vs. Composition book
As far as I know, in United States students don't use exercise books.
Image 1. Exercise book
They use composition books instead, which often have "marble" cover and bound through the fold.
...
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British or American For IELTS/TOEFL
Which one (British or American) is better for IELTS exam?
What about TOEFL?
I'm lerning American, is it essantial to learn British or not?
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to flip the phrase around and keep the same gist?
is that grammatically accepted to flip:
1.0 "of just enhancing the film they used a lot of technology"
as
2.0 "they used a lot of technology of just enhancing the film"
I believe ...
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Context for "There are only two men in the world of golf can play like that."
Sentence (1) below is grammatically/semantically correct.
Sentences like (1) are traditionally explained by deletion of a nominative case relative pronoun. However, in my view, sentences like (1) are ...
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is this an example of acts as a prepositional phrase?
watching this interview posted on YouTube yesterday with Paul McCartney:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21pcVuPHoek
from 7:26 Paul McCartney
says: "I owe it to him and his team who were briliant ...
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1
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British idioms in America
There is a question I asked a lot of people about that and everyone answered differently.
Can I use British idioms in America or in front of an American citizen? Because some beautiful idioms are ...
3
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2
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using "willing" in negative form
I built this sentence:
"I was going to go for a run after waking up from the nap, but I didn't feel willing."
and my English teacher said I should use "...didn't feel motivated" or ...
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1
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is "if I had been" correct in this case?
in The Beatles's when I'm 64 lyric,
teh line tha says:
If I'd been out till quarter to three
Would you lock the door?
how come The contraction "I'd" is short for "I had" in this ...
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2
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Looks like British people say "They're at the cinema." Don't Americans say "They're at cinema"?
I have seen a difference in the use of "the" between UK and US and that is in the word hospital, is it the same in the word cinema?
I'm in the hospital (US)
I'm in hospital (UK)
They're at ...
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1
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Does "shut off the water" mean to just turn off the tap or to stop the whole water system in your house?
A British native English speaker said
In the UK at least, we “shut off” the water when we want to work on
the plumbing and need to know that the water from the mains won’t keep
flowing and flooding ...
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1
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Can Received Pronunciation pronounce written "r" /l/? Why?
Why does Major Fraser (acted by Lance Lockhart-Ross) pronounce perimeter (/pəˈrɪm.ɪ.tər/ or /pəˈrɪmɪtə(r)/ ), like "peLimeter" (/pəˈlɪm.ɪ.tər/) ? Fraser's accent sounds Received ...
user167167
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Do "the ocean" and "the sea" mean the same in American and British English?
According to Longman Dictionary
"the sea" and "the ocean" are synonyms and mean "the large area of salty water that covers much of the Earth’s surface"
The dictionary ...
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What does the word "framed" mean in this context?
For a split second, Uncle Vernon stood framed in the doorway; then he
let out a bellow like an angry bull and dived at Harry, grabbing him
by the ankle.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
What ...
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Word Framed in Context [duplicate]
For a split second, Uncle Vernon stood framed in the doorway; then he
let out a bellow like an angry bull and dived at Harry, grabbing him
by the ankle.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
What ...
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1
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What are the differences between American English and British English in terms of formal set of replacement rules? [closed]
American Spelling
British Spelling
defen(s)e
defen(c)e
([A-Za-z]+)ize
([A-Za-z]+)ise
[A-Za-z]+ is a regular expression meaning "one or more letters"
We do not have to use regular ...
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40
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Does "sheets" mean the same thing as "sheet"?
Consider the following sentence:
When Harry pulled back his sheets, he found his invisibility cloak folded neatly underneath them.
From Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
I would suppose that ...
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1
answer
133
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What is the British word for the American word "pop quiz"?
According to many dictionaries, "pop quiz" (American English) is like a surprise informal test without warning in advance to test if a student has studied at home.
In Britain, one beautiful ...
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4
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Do British / American / Australian people understand "homework" and "assignment" differently?
I found this link on English Stackexchange.
A person answered "Homework: The collection of all the assignments I have to do at home". I am not sure if this person is American.
I had been ...
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Another's vs Other's
Good afternoon! I found a lot of examples of using the phrase other's on the Internet. As I know, other itself can't be a pronoun. Shouldn't I use another's OR the other's instead?
Here are some ...
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1
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What does the sentence 'He makes a good case' mean？
...Garfield isn’t fogeyish; the final quarter of his book is devoted to Wikipedia, which he sees as a worthy heir to its printed forbears, and in some ways a realization of their aspirations. But what ...
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Is it correct to say "We have a 3-day holiday" in British English?
I know that British people say "holiday" and American say "vacation".
But the confusing part is how they are used as countable and uncountable nouns.
Say, you don't have to go to ...
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what is the role of word "practical" in "practical joke"?
in this definition of practical joke,
"playful or mischievous act intended to trick, deceive, or embarrass someone for the amusement of the prankster or others. It is usually harmless in nature ...
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3
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"If you do not mind" or "If you agree": what is the best choice?
I am writing an email to my team to ask if I can use their time slot to discuss one of my open questions.
It looks like this question can be useful for all of us. I think it makes sense to discuss it ...
Anna Koroleva
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1
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What is correct: "at Kent Gliding Club" or "in Kent Gliding Club"?
I want to give a description of my youtube video (I gave it actually, but I am not sure if it is correct). What is the proper form?
2000ft aerotow at Kent Gliding Club.
or
2000ft aerotow in Kent ...
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What I learned/have learned from quitting my job is
I have another situation/context with the verb "learn":
If I quit my job 3 months ago, now I meet my friends and say:
What I learned/have learned from quitting my job is that doing what
you ...
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Do American people say “the office building has five floors”, "It's five-floor building" and “my office is on the fifth story”?
I have done some study and it seems that British people are fine with these sentences as they use "storey/story" and "floor" interchangebly:
"The office building has 5 stories&...
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If I use "all the same" will the sentence be grammatically correct
None of his requests were granted, he kept on asking all the same.
If I use "all the same" in this sentence will it be grammatically correct? Thank you.
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Better style for "Is there..." questions
I noticed that in writing I very often phrase questions in the following manner:
Is there a setting for the time delay [in the app]?
Is there a reference to Colonial influence in Australia [in a book]...
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Why are "glass", "bath", "bastard", "can't", "example", "past" pronounced with /ɑː/ in Southern English accents?
The list in the subject isn't comprehensive - these are exAmples of words where an "a" is not followed by an "r", but still in Southern England (e.g. RP) people pronounce them with ...
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How can I find free British RP articulatory phonetics images?
I need some free images of British RP articulatory phonetics (for 44 sounds) like the following one.
However, I can collect them from youtube video tutorials by taking snapshots. But the problem is ...
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How are /ɪ/ and /ʌ/ realised in the Nottingham (East Midlands) accent?
I've got a sample of a few words pronounced by a Nottingham accent representative: https://youtu.be/2fCSeDEZeVU
My ear is far from perfect and this is why I'd like to ask for your help in this ...
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2
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stood vs standing
I was listening to a podcast and
person 1:
If you were stood on the station platform?
pedant:
Standing, if you were standing on the station platform?
What is wrong with stood in that sentence? as ...
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"Where did you find Sara"
I am pretty clear with this sentence interpretation, where i have added "from" with the sentence as in "Where did you find Sara from" but if i do not use "from" and ...
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2
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the painting was glazed
In the following passge, is "glazed" a US usage?
The two young women from the campaign group Just Stop Oil threw the contents of two tins of Heinz tomato soup over the painting, which, the ...
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What is American equivalent of "Can you move up a bit"?
I the Oxford Dictionary, they say
a bit [singular] (especially British English) a short time or distance
Can you move up a bit?
The dictionary didn't say the equivalent expression in American ...
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Can "and" be used for the thousands place in sounded-out numbers? [duplicate]
Can "and" be used for the thousands place in sounded-out numbers? Or is it only restricted to the tens and ones places? For example:
9,300,000 => nine million and(?) three hundred ...
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baker's and barber's in British English
The Longman Dictionary says "baker's" and "barber's" could mean their respective establishments in British English. If so, is the following OK?
There is a two-storey barber's ...
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Which one is the correct to use "onto" or "Into" in this context?
in the text:
"In a rosary, beads are threaded onto a string to attach the beads together."
which make more sence:
1 -threaded onto a string
2 - threaded into a string
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2
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What does "used to" mean in the definition part in a dictionary?
I modified the original question to make it clearer so that it could help more people. If you want to see the original question, please see the edit history or scroll down.
--
I'm using the Longman ...
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