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 after a preposition? [closed]
I just want to make sure that I can start a sentence after a preposition. because I have seen some sentences that were started with prepositions like this
In the closet is where I keep the dog food.
...
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How prevalent is the usage of the word prudent among native english speakers [closed]
I'm not certain if this is the appropriate place to inquire, but I have a question about the English language: I recently learned the word "prudent" and its meaning. However, I'm curious ...
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Using words "not" and "until" in the same sentence
For example, let's say someone said to me, "You did not need to wait until I was in the pool to hold me".
I believe this can translate to something like, "You did not need to wait to ...
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Does “you can go now” sound rude? Context provided in question
As an IT guy in a college, I was helping a professor with his phone problems. After I was done helping him, I told him “you can go now.” to end the interaction as I had another student waiting for my ...
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If we can “give someone a call”, why can't we “give a phone call”?
According to Cambridge Dictionary a phone call (also phonecall) is something that you make, and provides the following examples
Will you excuse me? I need to make a phone call.
I've got a few phone ...
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Is it my ears or is it the narrator pronouncing"...JAGGED CLIFFS" something like ".... JAG IL TIFFS."?
Cornered, the seals keep close to the jagged cliffs. BBC (see:1:19-1:23)
I listened to it more than 10 times and suprised to hear the "...jagged cliffs" was pronounced something like ".....
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What is the meaning of "Not actually"?
For example, let's say Person A says "1 plus 1 is 3". Then Person B can either say "It's not 3, it's 2" or "It's actually 2".
What if Person B says "It's not ...
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Using The "Across" preposition in "The Pharmacy is across the Market" sentence is appropriate?
I wanted to ask if "across" can be used in daily life like that, or using "opposite" is a more proper one instead of "across"
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"Who you don't know their name" vs "Whose name you don't know"
From urbandictionary.com:
(1) G - word used to call someone who you don't know their name
my variant:
(2) G - word used to call someone whose name you don't know
As far as I understand, entry (1) is ...
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Sometimes 'to be' verb is not pronounced or pronounced well in a sentence in spoken English (new post with source) is this correct?
It seems that sometimes in spoken English, The verb to be is not pronounced (or not pronounced well). According to the examples given, is this correct?
After comparing almost correct subtitles with ...
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Can you turn a declarative sentence into a interrogative sentence with changing pronunciation type or way of tone? [duplicate]
Looks like you can change a declarative sentence to interrogative by changing your way of speech. I have come across this several times, What do you think?
Hey man, How's it going?
-Hey fine, And you?...
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I want to know about English grammar's passive and active voices?
Organization was formed to achieve specific goals.
Is it passive voice or active voice? If it's passive voice then what is it expressed in an active voice?
Sadia Aftab
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Using ing verbs
How many times can you use ing without it becoming wrong?
The waiting room was empty except for an old man sitting in a corner reading a book.
Is two times the limit?
The waiting room was empty ...
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Can I say "I'm doing this first than you"?
I don't think you can be first than someone, but I was thinking like some sort of competition.
Would this be considered: The one that done it before you do?
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Do you pronounce discount or disgount?
I learned in English class that you should change pronunciation, k to g, t to d and p to b, that is immediately after s in spoken English, like express -> exbress and skill -> sgill. I am using ...
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less than four miles of water
The following is a CNN trascript. Is something missing in the boldfaced part?
I'm here in Taiwan. On a small island sitting surprisingly close to that bustling metropolis behind me, less than four ...
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Idiomatic translation of "把英语捡起来" in spoken English?
A friend informed me that they haven't been practicing English for a while and would like to "pick up" their English learning journey again. In Chinese, they say "我最近好久没学英语了，得把英语捡起来&...
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What is the right pronunciation of "planned"?
Today in my English class my teacher taught us about the "plan" verb using it in present perfect.
I was curious what is the right pronunciation of "planned" in American or British ...
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When should I make a pause: before or after "that"?
Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me that it would be harder to study chemistry or physics without a teacher's guidance than painting.
I've always thought that I should say like "it seems to me ...
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What does "the point being" mean in this sentence?
I watched a Selena Gomez speech (https://youtu.be/jG-4kBIDAzA?t=120).
At 2:00, she said this below.
When I was eleven, the point being is that when I was seven, I wanted to be an actress and I wanted ...
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What does the word "feedback" actually mean?
I googled the meaning and it tells me "'feedback' means 'information about reactions to a product, a person's performance of a task, etc. which is used as a basis for improvement'." However, ...
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What does "apparently" mean in this conversation? [closed]
"Now we've got to give a bit of feedback about last term's modules - just short comments, apparently. Shall we do that now?"
"OK. So medical terminology."
I know "apparently&...
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"Pick me up and bring me" vs "carry me" vs other form
Let's say my child wants me to pick him up and carry him to his room, what should he say?
What a native English speaker would say in this situation?
"Daddy pick me up and bring me to my room&...
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Will the word "tell" work in the given context?
Is it possible to use the word "tell" in the provided context? If not, please, give your reason(s).
She took part in school debates as the leader of the high school debate team, and ...
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Is “what color is she” colloquial?
I have a pony.
What color is she?
That’s sounds always wrong for me. Is it colloquial?
I would always say:
What color does she have?
What is more common?
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What is the full expression of "welcome to X"?
We can say "Welcome to" + a place, like "Welcome to my website" or "Welcome to Berlin", to greet someone, but I don't know what the complete expression of "welcome ...
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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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Do uncommon and rare both have same meaning? [duplicate]
"Do 'uncommon' and 'rare' both have the same meaning, and can one replace the other in a sentence?"
Can you explain what is the correct usage.
Uncommon (of an event, situation, or condition)...
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How to say "Please save his portion for him to eat later" more natively and shortly?
Say one friend is absent at the time when we are eating out with friends. And maybe also the food is so great that we just couldn't stop eating more than we need.
So, if I want to remind/tell my ...
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Is memory in the sentence focus to remember or to remind?
She says, laughing at the memory. “The lab assistant just said, ‘Well,
nobody’s ever done that before.’”
Thank you and will welcome an expert voice.
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"IT" and "THAT" sound the same in phrasal verbs in connected speech. For instance: ".....burned it up." AND "....burned that up."
That stupid fire burned it up.
That stupid fire burned that up.
When listening this sentence, which is from a TV series, in connected speech where speakers speak very very fast by linking words to ...
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The actress says something like "Even heeeevy" but the subtitle says "Even though ........" Is she really pronuncing ".....though" or is it my ears?
This is from the famous TV series "Friends", in which Rachel goes to a job interview a second time. ( see 1:24-2:00 )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PgyARtIWSw
At 1:49, she suddenly shouts ...
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What would be the meaning of "You give me the awful impression […] of someone who hasn't read any of the arguments against your position ever."?
As a non native speaker I am facing trouble understanding one of the famous quotes from Christopher Hitchens,
"You give me the awful impression, I hate to have to say it, of someone who hasn't ...
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Why does the rising pitch start from "in a rush" instead of "rush"?
YouTube: in a rush
Please watch the video first.
The image is the pitch contour from PRAAT. It shows that the rising pitch starts from "in a rush" instead of "rush". Is it because ...
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Can "correct" be used in the sense of "decent" in "My day was correct/decent"?
After a discussion with a French native speaker, I am asking here:
Can the sentence "My day was correct" be used synonymously with "My day was decent" when answering to "How ...
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which one is more appropriate? indicate: ... or indicate
I'm writing to describe a cartoon, and there's a caption that means "on the road" below the cartoon.
should I write
1: The caption indicates: "On the road".
or
2: The caption ...
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Students doubt the usefulness of the Present Perfect tenses
I've got the same questions from different students recently. They question the necessity of learning Perfect tenses (even the Present Perfect Simple) claiming that as rumors say or as they hear in ...
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What does this woman want to say? [closed]
Would you kindly help me to understand what does the woman said here in these few seconds " 25:3 to 25:14" I really couldn't understand it
https://fb.watch/fh9a2egKL2/
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Usage of "long time no see/hear" in informal speech
What is the most common thing to say when we send a text to someone who hasn't texted us for a few days? "long time no see" or "long time no hear" or can both be used?
Does it ...
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Why do we use "is" instead of "has been" in this example? [closed]
Why do we use "is" instead of "has been" in the below example?
Lisa is in Germany. She (is/has been) there on a business trip.
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Is replying to an uncertainty correct English?
Person 1: "I don't know whether to get A or B"
Person 2: "B"
For example:
Person 1: "I don't know whether to get an apple or a windows computer"
Person 2: "windows ...
theflamingtiger
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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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