Questions tagged [british-english]
for questions specifically related to the English language as spoken and written in the United Kingdom.
1,032
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Why is choon the phonetic rendering of tune?
I read on https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/choon that the etymology of the word choon is:
Phonetic rendering of tune.
Why is choon the phonetic rendering of tune? Isn't "choo" typically ...
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"Knocking it out of the park" sports metaphor American English vs British English?
I came across the phrase Knocking it out of the park in US when an American colleague used it(I am sure I would have heard it on TV before, but never really noticed); I think it is a sports metaphor (...
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"I would have never thought that I would find a book that will have / would have such a huge influence on me"?
I have basically two questions with the sentence above.
After searching in google, I'm not sure which is the correct one, because I saw people using both:
"I never would have", or
"I ...
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2
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"What a wonderful day we've woken up to!" Does this sentence make any sense/natural in English?
I would like to say in the morning that we are going to have a really good day( because we are going on a trip), but I don't know if it is correct in English in this context or if it sounds natural, ...
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What is the first vowel of "pardon" used as interjection?
I know that "pardon", when used as a normal word in a sentence, is pronounced /pɑːdn̩/, with a long vowel. But it seems to me that when used as an interjection to signal that you did not ...
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"Thanks a lot!" Sarcasm much?
In a WhatsApp message, a private student told me she had passed her C1 exam. In the weeks leading to the exam, I had expressed concern about her writing, and she was especially worried about the ...
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British or American English
Is the phrase “stative verb” used also in American English or only in British English?
I’ve only known it as “state of being verbs” in American English.
Thank you.
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a fortnight ago = a fortnight ago today?
This is a question about British English.
(1) I met her a fortnight ago.
(2) I met her a fortnight ago today.
Do these two sentences have the same meaning?
In Japanese, I met her a fortnight ago ...
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Can someone explain the difference of "note" vs "take note"? Thanks
Can someone explain the difference of "note" vs "take note"? Both have the meaning of "paying special attention". Is the "special attention" the same with both ...
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2
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What does this phrase from Milton mean?
Could anyone please help me understand this quote of Milton from the self-help book "Pushing to the front, Chapter LXII: A College Education at Home" by Orison Swett Marden:
"Books,&...
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When can we omit the article in front of a countable word in singular?
In the sentence below, there is no "the" in front of former President. I am wondering what is the grammar rule for that?
Under Smith and his successor, Douglas, Canada sought closer trade ...
Julia
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what does this phrase mean "placed on her end"?
I found this expression on this reading passage:
The RMS Titanic left Southampton for New York on April 10, 1912. On board were some of the richest and most famous people of the time who had paid ...
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Can a spiv be a female? If not, what is the female equivalent of it?
From https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spiv:
noun
ˈspiv
1 British : a man who lives by his wits without regular employment
2 British : SLACKER sense 1
spivvy ˈspi-vē adjective British
...
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A walking cane here at my side
I have a question about the song Englishman in New York. Why "is" missed in the phrase "a walking cane here at my side"?
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Forgetting the pronunciation of certain words (expat)
As an English expat, I've noticed that especially over the last few years (I've been abroad for 8 years and counting) I've started to forget the exact pronunciation of certain words. It's annoying and ...
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Do people in Sydney or even Australia say napkin, tissue, or serviette?
When I first moved to Australia (Sydney to be precise), I used napkin as a force of habit. However, I ended up switching to tissues. However, online, I read that serviette is a French-sounding synonym ...
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Is there a British English equivalent of a "straight-A student"?
My 18-year-old private student, Italian, is taking the Cambridge Advance English exam in July. I am marking their essay which has the following phrase:
… by observing the dedication of these high-ace ...
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What is a building with two floors called?
In American English, the first floor is the floor that is on the same level with ground, which is called ground floor in British English. And British first floor is American second floor.
Given this, ...
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Is “loo roll” a common term for a roll of bath tissue?
Bearing in mind that loo is a common term for the restroom in the U.K., I’ve been listening to Michael McIntyre’s comedy and heard him use the term “loo-roll”, which based on the context seems to be ...
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How would you translate "le rendez-vous du tout Paris" in English?
This is a "famous" French expression and to be honest, I thought Anglophone speakers used it too, I was almost sure I'd heard it before. Some research online and no results. Do you know if ...
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correct usage of "that"
Is this sentence using "that" correctly? Is it correct?
It's a story about the brotherhood of people, that we are all children of the same land.
Can a conjunction be dropped in these types ...
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What would you call the ground floor if you were in a country where it is the first floor?
I live in a country where we call the floor of a building at the ground level the 1st floor, the next one - the 2nd floor and so on. We have the same numeration in our lifts and these numbers are ...
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Could I use "that" if I merely have one bike?
On https://www.grammarly.com/blog/which-vs-that/, it says
In a restrictive clause, use that.
In a nonrestrictive clause, use which.
It shows two examples.
My bike that has a broken seat is in the ...
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Can I completely omit "of" when speaking quickly?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_der_x5Zxmc
At 3:37 of this video the man says, as far as I'm concerned, "For portions of that first half we sort of dominated them".
I've slowed the audio ...
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Does British English affirm a negative question with yes?
Suppose I was asked this negative question:
You are not a student, are you?
and I'm not a student.
Years ago I read in a book that in American English the answer would be
No, I'm not a student
But ...
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76
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I slipped/have slipped on... I think I broke/have broken my
The following is from a movie called "Home Abduction" (here's a link to that moment on YouTube):
Woman #2 goes upstairs. Woman #1 is waiting for her downstairs. Woman #1 hears woman #2 ...
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Is Doug pronounced dug or door-g?
I remember many years ago when I was in Durham, UK, people pronounce the name Doug as door-g. However, I look up the dictionary and Oxford dict online and many other sources, they clearly say that ...
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Why English IPA is so different across its definitions?
I'm trying to create a website to help my partner learn phonetics. She is taking a class as part of her English degree.
The issue is that I do not understand how phonetic translation works and ...
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Am I expected to add more or further thoughts following indeed?
Is it proper to reply “Indeed!” to agree with someone on some opinion?
Am I expected to add more or further thoughts following indeed? (I remember seeing such advice somewhere, and can't find it. But ...
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What should a room in a hospital where nurses dress wounds of patients be called?
Bing's dictionary (which in turn is based on some Oxford dictionary) says that verb dress has this sense:
clean, treat, or apply a dressing to (a wound): "she washed the wound
and dressed it ...
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What's this linguistic, phonetic or phonologic phenomenon called?
I was enjoying the relaxing vibes that the hotel provided.
When Americans say the above sentence, do they sometimes say "vibes that" as "vibesat"?
Does it also happen in other ...
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What are you? or Who are you?- questions about jobs [duplicate]
Some years ago students in Russia were taught to use only "What are you?"-question when asking about jobs or professions. But some days ago I came across both questions - "What is this?&...
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I found out that a new restaurant has opened
On the way home from work, Sarah noticed a new restaurant a couple of blocks from her house. When she came home, she said to her husband:
1. I found out that a new restaurant has opened in our ...
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Placement of a relative pronoun
Please consider the following sentence:
Ada Lovelace is the first computer programmer in the world who wrote the code for analytical engine.
Is the placement of the relative pronoun "who" ...
lamia boudaoud
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Are both verb forms acceptable? "There is/are marks all over it."
a) There are marks all over it.
b) There is marks all over it.
“Is” vs. “Are”—Correct Usage
Can is be switched with are here or it is ungrammatical to do so?
I may be inclined to say in speech: there ...
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Following the present perfect (I've cooked) with the simple past (I didn't make)
John gets up later than his wife does because his work day starts later than his wife's. His wife always cooks him breakfast before leaving for work. This time she's cooked him some mashed potato and ...
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Articles before the nouns in specific cases
Pls kindly explain why we use "a" article in the sentences like "He has a personal fortune of 1 billion", "a temperature of around 19 degrees"etc
Vladimir Prokopovich
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What is the difference between American and British English on "garden" and "yard"?
(Source: https://www.eyre-design.co.uk/garden-design/back-gardens/)
After I have done my research, this is what I understand.
Have a look at the picture above.
British will say "front/back yard&...
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Differences in Usage: 'Cellphone' vs. 'Mobile Phone' in English
I've often come across two terms that seem to refer to the same device but are used differently: "cellphone" and "mobile phone." I'm curious about the differences in the usage of ...
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Is "tartar" more common than "scale" in dentistry?
According to my study, some British people say "a buildup of scale on my teeth" and both British and American people say "a buildup of tartar on my teeth".
The British also say &...
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Pleonasm and formal logic [closed]
Would such statements as 'That is quite true' or 'That is very true' be taken as non-pleonastic, acceptable ways of saying by educated people in the UK? (In formal logic, true or false are boolean ...
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In British English, can I use "be" in the past/present/future continuous tenses, like in "you are being selfish"? [closed]
According to the Oxford dictionary, be is not used in the Past /Present /Future Continuous tenses, so in terms of standard British grammar I cannot say "You are being selfish". According to ...
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Slowed meaning negative or just in this sentences
In this paragraph:
For the €362bn personal luxury goods sector, 2023 may go down as the
year that the post-Covid bubble finally burst.
Despite the reopening of China at the start of the year, demand ...
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What is the British version of "jaywalk"?
American people say
jaywalk: to cross a street carelessly or at an illegal or dangerous place
The police officer warned us not to jaywalk
It seems British people don't say "jaywalk".
Do we ...
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phrase as alternative to "I'm scared of being here"?
I want to know if I could strike a more formal tone as an alternative to "I'm scared of being here" like:
1 - "I'm in fear to be here"
or "I'm feared to be here"
are ...
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"Within 7 working days upon arrival" vs. "of your arrival date"
Two questions
Is there any difference between the sentence "within 7 working days upon arrival" and "within 7 working of your arrival date"?
How do we count these 7 working days? ...
euciph
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Present perfect for three consecutive events
John, Peter and Sarah are at a ski resort. John loses his balance and falls down. He then tries to get up, but he can't, so Sarah and Peter call for an ambulance. When it arrives, the doctor says John'...
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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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May I know the meaning of *Take some punches*? [closed]
May I know the meaning of Take some punches
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Present perfect vs. simple past for a sequence of actions (British English)
John is an archaeologist. He's come to country X. He starts digging in the hope of finding things that will prove his theory. Bob calls him, and John tells him that he's now in country X. Bob asks him:...
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