Questions tagged [spoken-english]
The way in which English is spoken, either formally or informally. As opposed to written usage.
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Can I start a sentence with a noun phrase acting like a direct object?
Can I start a sentence with a long noun phrase acting like a direct object?
The ice cream that I bought yesterday, I put it in the fridge.
The man sitting over there, I know him.
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Meaning of the word 'wurst'
"I'm real sorry to 'ear that, sir. There's two or three o' my pals, anyhow, who remember 'er clear as anything, though we did only see 'er that wurst. Yes, we remember 'her all right."
...
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'Mom to 2 Yorkies' is that sentence grammatically correct?
I have seen people writing on social media like 'Mom to 2 Yorkies' (mostly for pet animals). Is that usage grammatically correct?
My question is about 'to'. What is the difference between Mom of 2 ...
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How to explain the different tenses here?
I'm doing TOEFL speaking practice, and today I met something I can't explain in TPO15: the girl is in the choir where everyone is asked to wear a white shirt and black pants. But she just spilled ...
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How would native speakers express “let‘s start to analysis the next problem“
Just like a math teacher teaches students. now the teacher is going to take students to solve another problem,
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Which sounds more natural: "someone with (the) phone number…" or "someone at (the) phone number 128…"?
I'd like to know which one of the following sentences is more natural and more commonly used and if I need to use the before number in the both sentences below.
The patient with (the) phone number ...
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Is it okay to omit the first "as" in "as adj. as" in informal speech?
I think I sometimes hear sentences like "Much as I think ..." or "Soon as he ...". I'm not certain, but when the "as adj. as" form comes at the beginning of the sentence, ...
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Issue with an expression using the -ing form
What should I know about these two expressions?
I have two expressions but I do not know which one is correct and which one should I use. Above all what is the difference?
I am not the one writing ...
Marco Borzumati
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Is there an omission of the word "why" in this sentence and if yes, what is the reason for it?
The following context is from the movie "Serpico"
"Person 1: We'll take it from here, kid.
You don't have to hang around.
Person 2:What are you talking about?
That's my collar.
Person 1:...
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Have you been saving money?
Me: Have you been saving money lately?
Peter: No, I haven't.
If I ask Peter again: "do you save money?", is it possible for him to answer, "yes, I do"?
Me: Do you save money?
...
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How to pronounce " bored " before "watching"?
I am wondering how to pronounce "you may have gotten bored watching that". I have little understanding about if I should pronounce the 'd' in /bɔrd/ or just /bɔr/ before the word 'watching'....
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Conditional (if)
Nowadays, countless websites will only function if you open an account, which means providing them with an email address and some of your personal data.
Nowadays, countless websites will only ...
Nederlanditis Nederlanditis
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"This one is a question, too" vs "This one is a question. Too"
Is "This one is a question, too" the same as "This one is a question. Too"?
Is the "Too" understood in the second case? Are the two spoken differently?
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How can older adult learn English?
My mother is 68, and currently visiting us in Canada for a year or more. Her English level is very basic. Maybe she can recognize several 100 words reading, and much less when listening, especially ...
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That sounds like 'that do a full three men '. What is this guy exactly saying after the streamer said something to him?
I was watching videos on twitch. After one guy say something to one, I heard the guy saying that which sound like "what do you mean one guy that do a full three men". I understand what they ...
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In a sentence with double negatives, how do I tell if I'm allowed to cancel them out or not?
Asking this because I'm worried that canceling out double negatives can completely change the original meaning of the sentence. I know context and the speaker/writer's intent are also important but is ...
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meaning of "make an everlasting first impression"?
i have this sentence "The competitive world has forced everyone to make an everlasting first impression". what does everlasting first impression meaning?
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"I have got to sing" or "I have gotten to sing"
I know that normally in American English we use "gotten" after has/have but in this type of construction, do Americans say "got" or "gotten"? As in
"I have got to ...
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What is the meaning of "Things the way they were"?
This sentence "Things the way they were" is part of the song "I See the Light" which is from the movie Rapunzel.
All those years living in a blur
All that time never truly seeing
...
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What does "drinks hit someone" mean?
In the song Lucille by Kenny Rogers, a part of the lyric goes like this
When the drinks finally hit her ...
What does hit mean here? And is it an old-fashioned language which is probably not used ...
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I wish I knew in my 20’s vs I wish I had known in my 20’s
I am a little confused with the usage of I wish structure. I understand that when speaking about present we use I wish + Past Simple while speaking about past we say I wish + Past Perfect
So I don’t ...
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How to use "I am the one"
Is it correct to say the following?
"I think I am the one who did it"
Let's say In the past I created some article. But not sure whether I really created it or not. And at the same time ...
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leave or left in the situation mentioned below
I was talking to my co-worker about another annoying co-worker. My co-worker asked, "Is she still here?" referring to that annoying co-worker.
I said,
"I don't know but I wish she left.&...
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Does it make sense to put a lengthy subject after "for" and use "they" to refer to it
I always hear sentences like below in conversations with English learners.
For successful people in the world, they always work hard.
For most employees in the sales department, they have a good ...
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What type of speech is "In person"? [closed]
What type of speech would the phrase: "In person" be part of the English Language?
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Sentence Construction with put up
So yesterday I was driving my friend back to his home and he wasn't sure where we were. So I asked him
"put up your address on Google maps"
Now I am wondering if the sentence above is ...
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Construction of phrasal verbs
I was thinking about how phrasal verbs are constructed. You take a verb and add a preposition to it. Like, Put off, Break up, Make out e.t.c.
As a learner of English I kind of have to memorize them if ...
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The temperature will increase "during" or "throughout" the night?
If I want to tell someone that the temperature is going to increase over the period of night, how can I say that?
The temperature will increase during the night.
or
The temperature will increase ...
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The background of "Can you pass me the salt"
My textbook says that It is considered rude to reach out your hand and take something in front of others. Being Japanese myself, and when in Rome do as the Romans do is my policy, I'd rather they ...
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How do you go to school or How do you get to school?
Which is correct between How do you get to __ vs How do you go to ___? Can you also explain why it's the correct way to ask this question or how do they differ?
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oral expression of calendar years
Consider the following written sentence:
By 1911 the company had grown considerably since its humble beginnings, ten years earlier in 1901.
In vernacular speech, a common oral representation is one ...
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Can some one help me understand a sentence in this video? [closed]
This wonderful YouTuber has helped me a great deal learning algorithms but the subtitles don't seem to make sense to me, here the subs merged with what I hear:
"... I have told you in one video ...
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Is it normal to reverse the placement of (adjective/noun) with (subject + verb)?
I've seen this type of sentences in Harry Potter books. I've made these up, but I'm sure Rubeus Hagrid or whoever talks like this:
Tiring, those blokes are.
Such a great man, Dumblodre is.
Why do ...
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he said to me, "traitor" change to indirect
he said to me, "traitor" change to indirect
would the indirect be : He called me a traitor. or
He told me that I have been a traitor.
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Always" "usually" "often" "sometimes" "never"
Usually we use words like "always" "usually" "often" "sometimes" "never" in present passive as in "He is always given a surprise" and past ...
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Does it sound werid to native speakers if the learners use formal words in casual/everyday speech?
I'm always curious whether using formal words in a casual/everyday speech sounds weird to native speakers. Or maybe the native speakers can notice such uses but don't care at all?
For example, the ...
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Does Relative pronoun in relative clause always follows the noun it modifies/referes?
I have studied about relative clauses in many blogs and i noticed in every blog that, the relative pronoun was followed by the noun it modifies, is it thumb rule of relative clause? Or any situations ...
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When reading a text VS When we are reading a text
Compare the the fallowing two :
When reading a text instead of listening to someone speak, we miss
out on the speaker’s intonation – that’s the way the voice rises and
falls when speaking.
When we ...
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Is the word 'Jargon'?
The online dictionary Merriam-webster says there is a word 'ungotten'. But Can we use it like we use the words such as unseen, unheard etc.? Is there any other word we can use for 'not obtained'?
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What is the actor saying [closed]
What is the actor talking about from 5:25 to 5:55. Especially at 5:41. "...make the mistake of showing my son..." YouTube subtitles aren't really helpful. He mentions something that is ...
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Why do some people use 'It's ain't' as in "It's ain't true" with "Is + ain't"?
I found that many people use the form of 'is ain't' on the Internet.
I don't know why they use "Is" + "Ain't" whereas it doesn't make any sense?
According to Google, there are ...
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Is “happy time” spoken English?
So – and here comes the question – why is there not as much happiness
as there is happy time gone by?
Happy time means the time when someone is happy, but it doesn’t mean the time which feels happy. ...
user139825
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A word is not allowed to ask here [closed]
Guess this question will be closed soon. But, I still need to figure out what it means in the context of a garage sale. Is "hard-xxx" negative or positive in the clip, "You are such a ...
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What does the actor say?
I hope it is allowed to ask this question on this forum. What does Gerard Butler say from the beginning of the video till 0:15?
https://youtu.be/T4AM_I5b1CM
Please don't ban me. If this is the wrong ...
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I need help for a definition [closed]
Does this sentence make sense, and is it correct?
“ Her honest opinion seemed very abrasive to others”
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Per American pronunciation, "a ear" or "an ear"?
I just watched YEAR vs. EAR - American English Pronunciation (EAR vs. HEAR), and I hear absolutely no difference between the pronunciations of "ear" and "year", given we should use ...
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Can "compounded" be used as an adjective? For example "this is a compounded issue"?
Today I found this sentence on the CBC news site:
"We know that people have been feeding animals in the park. So that is contributing," she said. "I think this is a compounded issue.&...
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What does "Book skin" mean in this context? (I've got extra book skin from breastfeeding) [closed]
"I've got extra book skin from breastfeeding"
What does "book skin" exactly mean here?
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How commonly used are "sir" and "madam" in spoken English in America?
Are "sir" and "madam" considered old-fashioned in spoken English in the US? Do native speakers use these words to address their teacher, boss, or customer in conversations?
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Do native English speakers pronounce every final letter when speaking fast? [closed]
I came across situations where it looks like they don't pronounce the final letter of every word in a sentence? Personally, I feel that skipping the final letter somehow seems beautiful? What is the ...
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