Questions tagged [indian-english]
Questions related to the English language as spoken and written in India.
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What is the best online reference for national variants in English usage?
Australian English are well served by the Macquarie Dictionary, and also Collins and Oxford dictionaries of local usage.
South Africa also has academic centres on English language but these focus on ...
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1answer
104 views
What does the word “Stone” mean in this context [closed]
A book by Salman Rushdie ("Shame"), Hindu–Islamic tensed relations are described.
So there are several words starting/containing the word Stone
Stonewasher
Stone-gang
Stone-godly
'The one-godly ...
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2answers
41 views
Indian English, use of who
Maya is sister of dhara who is doctor.
Maya is sister of dhara, who is doctor.
In both statements who is used for which person???
9
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2answers
366 views
Why is Indian English usually rhotic?
It seems that speakers of Indian English generally speak with a rhotic accent, pronouncing an [r] in all cases where spelled, whereas a speaker of British English would leave it off in postvocalic ...
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2answers
52 views
What does “straggle on his chin” means?
What does "straggle on his chin" mean?
As I shook his hand, a kid cruising by—no more than a sophomore, judging by the fresh crop of pimples and the serio-comic straggle on his chin that aspired to ...
5
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1answer
255 views
British South Asian accent
This is a two-part question. A lot of British South Asian that are born and bred in the UK have a peculiar accent. It's very different than the familiar Indian accent too. So my question is...
Is ...
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1answer
99 views
Which is the correct? A universally or an universally? [duplicate]
Which is the correct option for below sentence?
Who doesn't know that he is ____ universally acclaimed writter?
1) a
2) an
Thanks in advance.
24
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5answers
5k views
Is “I” an alphabet or a letter?
I have come across this sentence, "Modi understands only one alphabet, and that is the capital I", in the renowned Indian writer Dr. Shashi Tharoor's recently published book "The Paradoxical Prime ...
9
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2answers
662 views
What is the origin of “prepone” in Indian English?
As Merriam-Webster notes, to prepone meaning “to move to an earlier time” is widely used by India's English speakers, but largely unheard outside the subcontinent.
Interestingly, the term was used ...
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1answer
42 views
Is it OK to use two consecutive 'that' in a sentence? [duplicate]
Is the usage of 2 consecutive 'that' in the following sentence correct, because it looks a bit odd? Should these be separated by comma perhaps?
"While I agree that strength and size definitely gives ...
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2answers
112 views
Antonyms of duty is right? [closed]
I saw duty's antonyms is right.
How is it sir/ma'am kindly explain
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3answers
3k views
Which is the first day of the week? [closed]
As there is some confusion between Sunday and Monday.
Kindly tell me how to explain when someone ask me this question, that which is the first day of week ?
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1answer
36 views
On the double meaning of evaluation
I know that evaluation can refer to both the process and the result, but when you say something is an evaluation of another thing, like fact is evaluation of claim (forgive the choppiness, the ...
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2answers
329 views
Is it correct to say “double eight” or “triple nine” when spelling a number? [duplicate]
I hear from indian colleagues
my TeamViewer password is six, nine, double-eight (to say 6988)
or
my telephonenumber is three, five, four, triple-nine, six, double-eight, two,
one (to say ...
3
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3answers
176 views
Do native English speakers still refer to their teachers by the old-fashioned terms “sir” or “miss”?
In the Indian subcontinent (and some other surrounding areas), there's this practice of putting the titles "sir" and "miss" (not ms.—mind you) after the name of school-level teachers. For ...
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1answer
39 views
This June - position within a sentence [closed]
India rejected an Australian request to join maritime exercises along with the U.S. and Japan this June, and Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba said quite plainly last month that there was no plan to “...
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0answers
36 views
Annexure usage in Writing
I have been seeing the use of Annexure and Appendix for quite a while. My understanding of Appendix is that it's the information the writer forgot or discovered after writing about a topic and using ...
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0answers
37 views
What does the headline sentence “Top Judges Meet Today On Appointment Rejected By Government” convey? Is there a better way to rephrase this?
A leading Indian news website has this headline today - "Top Judges Meet Today On Appointment Rejected By Government"
How would a reader, who lacks context, interpret this?
The top judges are going ...
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1answer
198 views
Meaning of these phrases
What is the meaning of "long way out" and "long way yet"?
Like in a sentence ::
We are all aware that our country has achieved self sufficiency in food but we have to go a long way _____ in order to ...
3
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2answers
234 views
Why do Americans prefer to use the term grade instead of class?
I have noticed that Americans ask kids " Which grade are you in?" while Indians ask "Which class are you studying in?" .
The typical Indian reply would be say for example :" I am a 12th class ...
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1answer
93 views
Spot the error in the sentence below
The long-awaited moment at last came and we set out for the station as merry a band of children as I have ever seen before or since?
I think it should be in "before or since", but I am confused.
3
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1answer
200 views
The word Hindu in American English
I, as an Indian, am often surprised when the Americans use the word Hindu, when they actually mean
The country of India
The Indian subcontinent
The Hindi language (possibly)
whereas it should ...
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2answers
90 views
Is criminalisation the right word to describe the involvement of criminals?
In the Indian media and public discourse, the phrase 'criminalisation of politics' is often used to indicate one or more of the following:
The nexus between organized crime and politics
High, and ...
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1answer
83 views
Gerund, participle, or present continuous verb
In the following sentence,
I did quite well in the examination, without having to burn the midnight oil.
What is "having" -- a gerund, a participle, or just a present continuous verb?
I tried Wren &...
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1answer
148 views
How can I rephrase this sentence without “itself”? [closed]
I would like to know an alternative to using "itself" in this sentence, not forgoing the emphasis on today - which was added by including it.
"There is nothing that I have, which needs to be ...
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6answers
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We Indians often say “I finished my homework today itself”, which I know is wrong. Which is the correct way to say it?
We use 'itself' to emphasize that the homework was done today, not yesterday. Nor was it delayed till tomorrow. What is the correct way to emphasize the fact that the homework was done today?
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1answer
559 views
Usage of word “friends” [duplicate]
This is from a news article:
"Mr. Trump’s desire to be friends with the “short and fat” ruler of North Korea"
My doubt is that, can we use friends here because friend seems better here. Other ...
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1answer
673 views
different meaning of humble [closed]
As i am new with english can someone explain the meaning of this line ?:
Who that has prided himself on his spiritual strength has not seen it
humbled to the dust?
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1answer
313 views
Usage of verb according to subject [closed]
Is the given sentence gramatically correct? I am a beginner in english.
Being born in the christian faith, I has often to go to the church.
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1answer
68 views
Usage of none the worse [closed]
The sentence is
I was none the worse for abstaining from exercise.
Is the sentence grammatically correct? If yes , whats the meaning of this sentence in simpler terms
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1answer
514 views
Why is “dare” used in “One of you dare not fight with him”?
The sentence is :
One of you dare not fight with him.
One of you dares not fight with him.
I have read that we should use singular verb with "one of +plural noun+ singular verb" but here dares is ...
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2answers
2k views
Usage of word “treat” in context of “a party”
Many times I hear people saying, "we want a treat" on the occasion of a person's birthday, for which they mean, "a birthday party".
I am concerned about the use of word "treat" in this context. Is ...
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2answers
313 views
'Anytime' and 'ever'
Actually I am a non native English speaker, of course I may come across many confusion but I don't care of those much,but curious some times to know about the things.
I know the meaning of 'Ever' ...
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1answer
4k views
Does the phrase “pass out” also mean “to graduate”?
I'm from India and the phrase Pass Out is widely used here to imply graduation. Googling as well as asking teachers keeps giving me mixed opinions.
So, Is this usage really correct?
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3answers
1k views
What does drenched book mean?
The first printed page in the scanned online version of Analytical Solid Geometry by Shanti Narayan says, "the book was drenched". I'm positive it doesn't have anything to do with wetness. So what ...
2
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1answer
436 views
What is the difference between Anti-national and Anti-nationalist? When is one used over the other?
Merriam-Webster dictionary shows slightly different definitions of both the terms.
However, Urban-dictionary shows the definition of Anti-nationalist similar to anti-national in Merriam-Webster ...
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3answers
1k views
Can “triage an issue” mean “debug an issue”?
In the context of my office environment (a tech giant), I often see folks using the word triage as a substitute for debugging an issue. Statements like
We are still triaging the issue...
is ...
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1answer
3k views
Native and fluent in english [closed]
I've practised listening to english native speakers from around a year for at least 90 minutes everyday and I've practised speaking since 1 month for 1 hour every everyday and I'd like to know when ...
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2answers
272 views
Is “ but ” a conjunction here? [closed]
We failed to make a thorough search of the house; but no trace of
her could be found.
[Cf. English for S.S.C. Bank & Other Competitive Exams by Dr. Shambu Sharma (P.D.F)]
Is the ...
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1answer
52 views
What to respond with so that a narrator understands that you are following him? [closed]
In the following video,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wHh7cDQi48
we see that the listener is responding by saying "Okay" periodically. But, I don't think, this is the standard form of expression....
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9answers
5k views
What does “small small” mean in Indian English?
There is a type of 'double adjective' expression in colloquial (mainly spoken) Indian English, which is a reflection of usage in many (Indian) subcontinental languages, example: "small small".
For ...
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0answers
1k views
Difference between nouns , subjects and objects in a sentence [closed]
I am always confused about 'objects', 'subjects' and 'nouns' in sentences.
Is a noun used in a subject or object or is it rather that a noun is the subject or object in a sentence.
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3answers
589 views
What is the difference between “I have a doubt with …” & “I suspect there is a problem”? [duplicate]
In Indian English, it is widely used as "I have a doubt with .....".
While in America English, it is used as "I suspect there is a problem with...".
What is the conceptual difference between these ...
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1answer
86 views
Please Help Me to Understand This Sentence [closed]
Development engineers will embrace the emphasis on early demonstrations and ability to assess and evaluate performance tradeoff in subsequent releases
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1answer
289 views
Does this piece of text comply with English's grammar and fluency concepts? [closed]
I'm at odds about whether the following text is grammatically correct. While it obviously uses quite 'extravagant' words that one wouldn't use in everyday life, I actually think that the text lacks ...
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2answers
153 views
What is it called when you feel funny before visiting an old friend or relative [closed]
Imagine that you haven’t seen your relatives for ten years, and then you buy a ticket and fly over to them. You have a funny feeling: someone said it could be stress; someone else said it’s anxiety. ...
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1answer
633 views
What is the shortcut style of writing used by Indian English speakers called?
One of the things I do is teaching people how to code and I love it. However, something I do not like, is that often (twice a week or so), people start conversations like this:
hi sir
how r u ...
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1answer
67 views
Usage of 'couple' [duplicate]
When to use 'of' with 'a couple' and when not to?
Like we say 'I ate a couple of bananas today' and 'Give me a couple more minutes'. So is there any specific rule which we have to keep in mind?
Thank ...
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1answer
285 views
Why do Indians use “refer (object)” instead of “refer to (object)”?
I've noticed this being done by all my offshore Indian colleagues. They say and write things like, "Please refer attachment" or "Refer the documentation page", instead of "Please refer to the ...
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0answers
1k views
American English v/s Indian English [closed]
Why do people from America find it difficult to understand Indian English?
I am not referring to the accent. Often times I have seen, people on IG or YouTube replying to my comments, "try to speak ...
