Questions tagged [british-english]
for questions specifically related to the English language as spoken and written in the United Kingdom.
853
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Is "push to" correct in this context?
the headline is:
"Rangers Push the Penguins to Game 7 in New York"
to me it is very confusing because the Rangers beat the Penguins, so the Rangers go to game 7 right? but when it says ...
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1
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Is "take part" being regarded as noun in this context? [closed]
excerpt from:
https://acronym24.com/wild-meaning-in-sleep/
I came across this:
"The meaning of WILD is Wake Initiation of Lucid Dreams and other meanings are located at the bottom which take ...
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1
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23
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Which "if clause" is grammatically correct in these sentences
Not a native speaker, so I'm confused about which one is correct in the following example
If I had gotten hired I would have had a good job.
If I got hired I would have had a good job.
I have seen ...
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1
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14
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Can we say "Peppa is teasing George" when Peppa is doing some cheeky actions to Geroge for fun, but not making jokes about George?
I have watched this cartoon
I think that is a British cartoon for children.
In this cartoon, George is a little brother and Peppa is a bigger one. Now, George was playing with a ball when Peppa came ...
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27
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Which one to use Did vs Do [closed]
In the question below, should it be do or did ?
how many rides you did today ?
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2
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38
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What is the meaning of 'Friend the Member for'?
I found that they in the British Parliament use the term 'Friend the Member for...' as shown in the link below when, maybe, referring to a member of parliament. And I just have no idea what the exact ...
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1
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42
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"off of" in the sense of "before"
I oftentimes watch British youtubers and observe that they use "off of" in the sense of "before". this is something I've never come across in American English or any dialect of ...
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Verb: abbreviation stand for/ are used for
I am working on my reseach project and in a tabelle I used abbreviation. After the tabelle i want to explain them.
How to explain it?
in tabelle , the following abbreviation stand for: A is ..., B is ...
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37
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Question Tags- I Am [duplicate]
I am confused about the correct question tag for "I am ..."
Is it "Am I not" or "Aren't I"?
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2
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25
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When to use the plural form (e.g. ‘pollutions’)
There was a question in my test:
People in big cities have to fight against different kinds of pollution / pollutions.
The reference answer was ‘pollutions’. My teacher said ‘pollution’ is a ...
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3
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125
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“have/get your car checked” or inspected/serviced?
Before a long distance journey it is wise to
have/get your car checked
to check the car
do an MOT (a Ministry of Transport test)
service the car
inspect the car
have/get your car inspected
I am ...
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Correct British English Usage of Words [closed]
There are multiple words that are spelt differently in British English and American English. Which of these spellings is correct for British English?
donut / doughnut
aluminum / aluminium
grey / gray
...
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2
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29
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Negative celcius Vs Minus Celcius degrees
Which term is the correct one in British English for descring degrees in Celcius scale?
I've always refered to it with minus, for instance: In Siberia there are minus 50 degrees. But today I saw this ...
2
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1
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43
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Is this sentence grammatically correct? (he *suggested* Anna *uses* ... when negotiating a sale.)
I came across a sentence from BBC English at work. The video is an English lesson, in which a male character has just suggested some phrases that "Anna" can use to negotiate a price with a ...
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What does "2.5× what you're on" mean in this context?
Given this context:
"Would love to offer you the job. At least 2.5× what you're on."
What does "what you're on" mean in this sentence? The person's current wage?
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1
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150
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Language used in "Peaky Blinders"
For a schoolproject, we are working on a research question which is about the language used in the BBC drama show Peaky Blinders.
We are not born in an English speaking region so it isn't really easy ...
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2
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What is the correct (Scottish) pronunciation of "Paechter"?
What is the correct (Scottish) pronunciation of "Paechter"?
The best I have found is this link in which there are two different ways of saying the name. Can one shed some light on the ...
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3
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Do we say "it is on the news" in both American and British English?
Most the dictionaries say "it is in the news".
However, I heard some native American speakers say "it is on the news".
According to my research, "it is on the news" might ...
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1
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Where is Paul pronounced like pole?
I've heard "Paul" pronounced like "pole" and I wonder if that's a regular pronunciation for Americans and British people or if "pole" is just "Paul" ...
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9
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Can "hold on" and "hold up" be interchangeable in British and American English when you want to stop someone from proceeding an action?
I have been watching many American movies and it seems they often say "hold up" to stop someone from proceeding a next action.
See this scenarios, a group of criminals are pointing their ...
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American vs British pronunciation of the name "Sanders"
Let us assume we have a fellow called "(Name) Sanders". If he were from Britain and I were to choose the Oxford pronunciation rules, how would I write that with IPA?
/ ˈsæn dərs / or / ˈsæn ...
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2
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What does "posted out" exactly mean?
I have received an email from my university about my graduation documents.
They wrote that:
Degree Certificates and Diploma Supplements will be sent out by post in January.
You will then be contacted ...
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0
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35
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Older than I am, me, I, he
Which of these is the preferred choice in BrE?
He is older than I/she/we/he/they.
He is older than I am/she/he is/they are.
3.He is older than me/her/him/them.
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37
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Play a sport or do a sport
Do BrE speakers use "play sports" =a few or "play a sport" or "play sport" when refer to one particular sport or different particular sports. But when talking about ...
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3
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42
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Confusion of sentences in gerund situation
He is happy to read English.
He is happy reading English.
There is no difference between above two sentences. Right?
Which out of below is the correct meaning of above sentences. I am confused. Can ...
3
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1
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British council says "We use the past continuous for something that happened again and again." Is this not true for "used to do"?
British council says "We use the past continuous for something that happened again and again. And they put some sentences below:
I was practising every day, three times a day.
They were meeting ...
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1
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21
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Had vs was grammatical part [closed]
Can we write I had born instead of I was born? Please explain it. Which one should I write in a sentence. Please explain elaborately.
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1
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32
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"to apologise to someone for something" or "to apologise to someone about something" or "to apologise to someone over something"
"Downing Street apologises to Queen over lockdown parties."
The sentence is from the BBC.
As far as I know, the structure should be "to apologise to someone about something" or &...
4
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1
answer
50
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Replace an impolite phrase for making up facts on the fly
I was talking to a group and something happened and I had to quickly enhance my narrative to fit some new facts. I wanted to say
"I am not bull-shitting this is true"
but realised I didn't ...
0
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1
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28
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Inquiry vs Enquiry what's the difference?
Is there a difference between the two words Inquiry and Enquiry when being used in formal writing as the two have been used alternatively in literature. And if not which one should be preferred in ...
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2
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53
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Meaning of ID in "ID CARD"
What exactly does "ID" stand for? Is it an abbreviation of "identity document", or is it just the first two letters of the word "identity"? If it is an abbreviation of &...
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3
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154
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Why do children in England call a female teacher "Sir"? [closed]
I'm a female teacher assistant and I found very weird that English children (from England) call me "Sir," I would be more comfortable if they called me "Madam," as adults do when ...
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1
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33
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What would be correct "Businessman's club" or "Businessmen's club"?
What would be correct "Businessman's club" or "Businessmen's club"? If there is a difference, British version.
(just in case, or "Businessman club" or "Businessmen ...
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1
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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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1
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31
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Do I need to make sure I'm using a particular form of English?
English is my second language, but I'm practically bilingual. I consume a lot of American/British media, and I can somewhat distinguish their difference (accent is always a big giveaway, but I'm ...
2
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1
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310
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Is there a difference between "artist" and "artiste"?
While we commonly use the word "artist" (for a person who knows any art), a lot of literary publications and even some news organisations spell the word as "artiste" - with an &...
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1
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27
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Make sure he painted the room
Can we use "make sure" with past tense or past participle tense eg "make sure he painted the room" "make sure he had already painted the room when you left for london ...
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0
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You could have told me that he had taken the taxi
"You could have told me that he had taken the taxi back home" Is this grammatically correct? By the way "had taken" is not used here as back shift of "has taken". "...
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0
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36
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a real wow with / a real wow for / a real wow among
The first sentence is from Cambridge dictionary. As I understand the first one - "He" has good relationships with all the girls from his class. Right? Is it because of his behavior with the ...
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2
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" I got selected" =I am or I was selected (specially in british english)
"I got selected for a job today."
Apart from "have been", could I replace "got" with "Was" or "Am"? "I was or I am selected"?
I reckon if I ...
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0
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32
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That something be vs that something is
Which one of the following sentences is grammatically correct?
"That every A be B is clear"
"That every A is B is clear"
Also, is there a difference in meaning?
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1
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After the game, we went out to eat, went to the movies, and then went home. Is it a simple or compound sentence?
After the game, we went out to eat, went to the movies, and then went home.
Is that a simple or compound sentence?
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0
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What do you call a person(employee) who follows instructions?
If you have a junior who has a positive quality of following instructions/orders, what would be the formal word for it?
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1
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Perr/pɛr/ means peer/pɪə/, pair/peə/, or something else?
What do you mean by 'perr'/pɛr/? 'Peer'/pɪə/, pair/peə/ or something else? You know where that comes from? Is it a throaty pronunciation of the ‘r’ sound, characteristic of the Glaswegian accent of ...
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2
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What is a shop of shoes called in the UK?
What is a shop of shoes called in the UK?
Is it called:
shoe shop
or
shoes shop
or
shoe store
or
shoes store
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0
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A lot has changed ___ Larry came back from his summer vacation
A lot has changed ___ Larry came back from his summer vacation.
a. since
b. after
c. when
d. then
May I ask what is the most suitable answer for this question? This is because intially I chose a. ...
14
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9
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Is there a formal word or expression for "snail mail"?
As the heading suggests, I'm wondering whether there is a formal word or phrase for "snail mail", that can be used in contexts where we want to make clear that we're not talking about emails....
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1
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He had done nothing about supper,___? hadn't he or didn't he
He had done nothing about supper,___?
Should it finish with hadn't he or didn't he?
Which one is correct?
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2
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27
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Get something over to somebody?
I am watching The Office (UK) to improve my English. In the beginning of EP1, the actor said "We'll get a CV over to you this afternoon". I guess he will send the CV to another person. Is ...
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"He gets awake " "He gets waken up"
As with can use "get" with both "an adjective" and 'past participle". SO can i say "He gets awake = he awakes. He gets woken up= he wakes up.