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Questions tagged [colloquial-language]

for questions about colloquial language. Colloquial language, colloquial dialect, or informal language is a variety of language commonly employed in conversation or other communication in informal situations.

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11 votes
7 answers
2k views

Which version is correct and normally used, "between you and me" or "between you and I"?

I was listening to the song Superman by Eminem. I've listened it before many times but from the time I've started learning English grammar I am getting confused while reading or listening English. ...
user31782's user avatar
  • 1,763
41 votes
5 answers
223k views

What does "Nailed it" mean?

I came across a few combinations of 'nailed it' or 'nailed down' in various contexts. According to the blog-posts, it seems to be widespread on the internet. However, I have never heard these ...
Bálint Pap's user avatar
  • 1,102
10 votes
2 answers
41k views

When to use "easy" over "easily" as an adverb?

It's my understanding that "easily" is the regular adverb for "easy", e.g. "He makes friends easily". But in some collocations one still uses "easy", e.g. "Take it easy", "Rest easy" or "Slow down ...
Gunnar's user avatar
  • 211
9 votes
7 answers
15k views

Can "me" be a subject?

Me and my friend, Tim, are gonna predict the winners of the next dancing with the stars! I found this sentence from a book. I wonder why we don’t use “I and my friend” since I think it must be the ...
nkm's user avatar
  • 2,513
7 votes
3 answers
4k views

Meaning of "you'd of thought"

I am reading The great Gatsby and there is one part that says: I had a woman up here last week to look at my feet, and when she gave me the bill you'd of thought she had my appendicitis out. I ...
Victor Castillo Torres's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
4k views

Differences between Going to and Will in Informal and Formal English

In formal English (or written English), I'm super sure that the Be going to and Will rules are "respected". (Correct me if I'm wrong) For example, probably in formal English, they probably use "Going ...
Jason O'Neil's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
782 views

I didn't do nothing or anything

Usually when I want to deny something I will say I didn't do anything However, lately I watched some movies in which the people sometimes said I didn't do nothing They use no instead of any, like ...
Ives's user avatar
  • 329
1 vote
1 answer
1k views

A cry boy / A crying boy

You are a cry boy now. You are a crying boy now. What does the each sentence mean? When would you choose each form to mean what?
Joe Kim's user avatar
  • 2,328
0 votes
1 answer
6k views

Is the sentence 'Tom said he hadn't got any money' reported speech from 'Tom said, "I haven't got any money"'?

I came across this pair of sentences in 'Cambridge English Preliminary for Schools Trainer' by Sue Elliott and Liz Gallivan CUP 2012: Tom said he hadn't got any money. Tom said, 'I haven't got any ...
Yukatan's user avatar
  • 1,276
5 votes
5 answers
29k views

Is it alright to say good afternoon Sirs and Madams in a panel interview?

I will be attending a panel interview (with two men and two women). I don't know their names. I want to be more polite, but I am not sure whether it is alright to say Good afternoon, sirs and ...
kitty's user avatar
  • 5,595
3 votes
1 answer
2k views

"She would of been a good woman"

"She would of been a good woman," The Misfit said, "if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life." Source: A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor ...
bart-leby's user avatar
  • 8,683
2 votes
2 answers
1k views

Why do so many people say "equals to" in maths?

It seems to be common to hear x = 3 sin(α) pronounced as x equals to three sine alpha I would read x = 3 sin(α) as "x equals three ...", and I believe this to be the correct pronunciation ...
minseong's user avatar
  • 2,094
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

Is that any expression in English for "not too sweet tea"?

Is that any expression in English for not too sweet tea? Here, we normally say it is as sweet as guava, which means the taste of tea is just half sweet, because the amount of sugar is reduced.
Student's user avatar
  • 1,659
0 votes
2 answers
12k views

As a student, how do I answer "do you have any questions"?

Consider this conversation in an online classroom Teacher: "do you have any questions in this section?" Student: "No" Is the answer a little bit impolite? How about this one? Student: "No ...
PutBere's user avatar
  • 713