Questions tagged [american-english]
This tag is for questions related to the English language as used in the United States of America.
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Enquire and inquire
In British English I think these two words have different shades of meaning, but I couldn't articulate them. In American English I see inquire used where I would use "enquire".
Are there shades of ...
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When did the term "flip flop" displace the term "thong" in North America for a type of sandal?
To Australians like me "thong" means a kind of sandal such as recently repopularized by the Havaianas brand but we know it means a kind of G-string in other English-speaking parts of the world.
To ...
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Starting an independent statement with "I mean, ..."
A friend was noting that his daughter would occasionally start sentences with the phrase "I mean, " simply for emphasis, not for clarification:
Friend: How was the Miley Cyrus concert?
...
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Billion and other large numbers
Traditionally a billion in American English means 109 (1,000,000,000, a thousand million) while in British English it means 1012 (a million million) with milliard meaning 109.
Is this still the case ...
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Which is the correct way to refer to the letter "Z" — "Zee" or "Zed"?
So I am giving a presentation to an American audience tomorrow, and I have rather cluelessly labeled some components on a Powerpoint slide using the alphabet. When I talk about "component Z", I want ...
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"Cancellation", "Canceled", "Canceling" — US usage
I'm trying to figure out if there is a specific rule behind the word "cancel" that would cause "cancellation" to have two L's, but "canceled" and "canceling" to have only one (in the US).
I ...
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'Expired' or 'Passed away'?
When someone dies, do we say they expired or passed away?
Does the word expired give any more respect when used? Or less respect than passed away?
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5
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"I hate when..." vs "I hate it when..."
Growing up in Australia (and with an English mother) we would say "I hate it when " It seems, based on TV and movies, that in the USA it's more common to say "I hate when "
The two phrases mean the ...
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Is it appropriate to call a British person a "Brit"?
Specifically, is it appropriate for a non-British person to call a British person a "Brit"? Whenever I see it from an American source it always feels too familiar or too informal, or both. But I can't ...
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The conflicting origin of a “piece of cake”
Finding the precise history of the idiom, a piece of cake, is no picnic as I discovered.
According to the websites: The idioms.com and Bloomsbury International (a British language school), its ...
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American Equivalent of "Bog Standard"
I'm searching for an American English phrase that is the most readily equivalent to the British expression bog standard (which means, as I understand, plain, ordinary or unremarkable).
I'm tempted to ...
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Is it acceptable in American English to pronounce "grocery" as "groshery"?
I caught myself pronouncing the "c" in "grocery" as an "sh" sound. Is this commonplace/accepted, or is it perhaps geographic? Does this occur with "c" in other words?
As background, I was raised in ...
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Why is stigmata a plural of stigma?
When I first looked this word up on Dictionary.com, I found entries not for it, but instead stigma. I was baffled. Words in the English language usually follow the -(e)s pluralization pattern, but why ...
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What is it called when you “refill” a debit card?
How it is called (in the US) when you go to the bank or an ATM to add cash to your VISA/MasterCard debit card? That is, when you add cash to the bank account which is tied to that card.
Is it ...
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Hyphenation of "second most northerly" [closed]
I've changed my mind a number of times about which of these variants works best:
the second most northerly coffee shop in Seattle
the second-most-northerly coffee shop in Seattle
the second-...
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6
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"If I knew you're coming I wouldn't have come"
Is the statement
If I knew you're coming I wouldn't have come
correct? Should we use
If I had known you're coming, I wouldn't have come
instead? Please consider American-British differences.
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Why is “bloody” considered offensive in the UK but not in the US?
Why is the word bloody considered offensive in Britain — where it is used as an adjectival expletive — but not so in the US?
user4906
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Why is it called an “Indian file”?
I recently came across a US phrase, Indian file. This is utterly unheard of in the UK, and probably outside North America; at least I’ve certainly never heard of it. The phrase would be expressed in ...
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What source explains the different pronunciations of "hol" in "alcohol" and "hollow"?
According to Merriam-Webster, the pronunciation of alcohol is "ˈal-kə-ˌhȯl" while the pronunciation of hollow is "ˈhä-(ˌ)lō." Why are they pronounced with different vowels? I think I've figured out ...
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"shyer" or "shier"
My Longman dictionary states that the comparative of 'shy' is 'shyer'. However, at least two online dictionaries also give the form 'shier' as being acceptable: The Free Dictionary and Merriam-Webster....
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How to use quotes in a list with commas
This is a sentence that I wrote:
In the text, words such as greenbacks, ironclads, and blockade were used.
However, I think there should be quotations around the words. How would I place them? ...
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avoid the slash?
Should the slash be avoided?
For example every week/day in my head is translated to every week or day. I think I started using slashes because I saw them used in forums and in articles.
Is using ...
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"Elder brother" or "older brother"?
I've read both forms in newspapers and online news: elder brother and older brother.
What's the difference between them? When should I use which?
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How to say "I'm sorry" to express sympathy for misfortune without inviting "It's not your fault"
Possible Duplicate:
Does apologizing entail recognizing being at fault?
Often, in conversation, something like this will happen:
A: I didn't sleep well last night; My dog ran away; or A family ...
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"Sport" vs "Sports" Origin
I was recently reading this article on the use of "math" vs. "maths" as a collective noun (Americans use the former, Brits the latter). However, the trend seen in "math/maths" is reversed in "sport/...
user88040
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What do students call their teacher in class? [closed]
Well, years ago I was an English teacher in an English Teaching Institute. In the country I live, students call their teachers by saying "Mr. Teacher" or "Teacher" (literally translated) in schools. ...
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The meaning of the English idiom "pot calling the kettle black"
I would like to know something more about this idiom and how North American or English speaking people use it.
Is the idiom considered outdated or offensive by young people?
When is "pot calling the ...
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Is it always appropriate to reciprocate when asked "How are you?" [closed]
This question is related to When someone asks how are you, are you supposed to answer, "Good," or "Fine," and ask back?. There, the answer by z7sg Ѫ claims it is sometimes appropriate not to ...
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How to answer “Is this John?” on phone [closed]
What is the most appropriate answer (American way)?
Yes, John speaking.
Yes, it is him.
Yes, it is he.
Yes.
Yes, speaking.
I need to answer calls when interviewers/hiring managers call.
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"Ground floor" vs. "first floor"
Is the bottom-most floor (on ground level not the basement) "ground floor" or "first floor" in America?
user20934
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3
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Pronunciation of "i" in the words like "direct", "organization", etc
I'm a nonnative speaker of English and I've always been unsure about the pronunciation of "i" inside words like direct, organization, etc. I was thinking that it's a matter of choice between American ...
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"In back of'' vs. "back of" vs. the spatial sense of "behind" in AmE
What's the difference to these expressions, as in "The little girl was hiding in back of the tree" vs. "The little girl was hiding back of the tree" vs. "The little girl was hiding behind the tree"?
...
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Pronunciation of 'aunt' in the US
I was under the impression that all Americans pronounced aunt like the insect, ant (/ænt/), or relatively similar sounding variants such as the southern aint (/eɪnt/). According to both Webster and ...
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Similar words that change from "-ter" to "tre"
I just found out that luster in British English was actually lustre. This was something that I did not know before.
Are there any other words that behave like this? Why? (According to what?)
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Is the 'th' sound usually reduced in spoken English?
I am working on my accent and pronunciation. I use American Accent Training and it says that in spoken English, speakers usually run words together.
For example, "Run them all together" turns into "...
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What word describes interpreting evidence in such a way as to reach a desired conclusion?
Does anyone know what it's called when you interpret evidence to reach the conclusion you want?
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Is "key" as an adjective, meaning "crucial", standard in American English?
As an adjective, key can mean "Of crucial importance" (Oxford). For example: the key facts are the most important facts, or a key worker is an employee whose role is especially vital.
In British ...
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Past simple vs past perfect; British- vs American English
According to this site the use of past simple and present perfect is quite strict in British English, while in American English you can normally use simple past instead of present perfect:
In British ...
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Why do we say "eat healthy" instead of "eat healthily"? [duplicate]
Why do we say "eat healthy" instead of "eat healthily", even though the latter is the only "correct" one, according to the comments in
"eat healthy" or "eat healthily"
What ...
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"Three-hundred forty-two" or "three-hundred and forty-two"? [closed]
So on this answer here: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/12699791/finding-the-word-version-of-a-number/12700097#comment17146082_12700097
We were having the argument whether it is “three hundred ...
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What is the Single Word for Burning Alive?
Is there any single word substitute for 'Burning Alive'? We've Behead for 'Cut off the head'. Similar way, What is the Single word equivalent for 'Burning Alive' If any?
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What's the difference between "requester" and "requestor"?
Both are in dictionaries. I've heard people insist "requester" is correct for a person who requests something, and that "requestor" is wrong there, leaving me to wonder how it is ...
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How do Americans refer to their non-metric system in everyday circumstances?
In Australian English, we'd refer to using feet, inches, pounds, ounces and the like as "imperial units". In everyday conversation, do Americans refer to their non-metric units as "imperial", even ...
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"Soccer mom": why soccer?
...why not football mom, baseball mom, or basketball mom?
Soccer mom, as far as I can tell, is an American term made popular during the 1996 presidential elections, used to describe a key demographic ...
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How is y’all’dn’t’ve pronounced
According to Wikipedia, y’all’dn’t’ve is a valid contraction.
I am having difficulty pronouncing the L-D-N-T-V consonant cluster, especially since there is no vowel at the end (silent E). Y’all’dn’t’...
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Is it conceivable that President Obama might use the word "queue"?
President Obama in a press conference, in London today, has said that if Britain votes to leave the European Union and makes separate application to the United States for a trade deal, she will be at ...
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How can I order eggs "over hard" in the UK?
I've recently made a couple of trips to the London area, and I've had a terrible time trying to convince the hotel breakfast cooks that I want my eggs fried "over hard", meaning that both the white ...
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Is "act like a mensch" too localized for ELU readers (U.S. and/or British English)?
This question was motivated by an interesting comment that was made at https://academia.stackexchange.com/posts/comments/123681?noredirect=1
Part of Answer: I don't think that particular research ...
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What is a less controversial name for the clothing item known as a "wife-beater" in the United States?
In the United States, a white sleeveless shirt is often referred to as a "wife-beater".
Typically I try to avoid using "wife-beater" due to its negative connotation. I've tried using a few different ...
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Which variant of English should I use when my target audience is the world?
I know that all variants of English (American English, British English, etc.) can be generally understood by everybody who knows any of the English variants. However, there are some regionalisms that ...
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