Questions tagged [north-american-english]
Questions about English used in the United States and Canada, but usually not Mexico.
213
questions
-2
votes
0answers
33 views
Same here - should I use this word with my friends and boss? [closed]
Hey i came from google I was surf in google and found this american English slang word:
Same here - I agree
my question is: is correct to say this expression in american USA with your friends ...
0
votes
2answers
49 views
What is the negative connotation of 'great'?
We call a well known actor, a 'famous' actor.
Yet a well known criminal is called a 'notorious' criminal.
In similar vein, a popular leader would be called a 'great' leader.
But what would you call ...
0
votes
0answers
23 views
Is this a compound or sentence fragment?
Given the following sentence:
"As if she lived in a castle and her favourite princes and princesses had just dropped by to visit"
Is this a compound or sentence fragment?
1
vote
2answers
109 views
I will show them the 'job of Bronx' [closed]
Rocco Commisso is the Italian-American owner of the New York Cosmos and Fiorentina FC.
Italian journalists made fun of his funny Italian accent, and he responded saying this:
I know that lots of ...
0
votes
2answers
74 views
You will vs you must
With it being a direct order with out a choice.
Is it written
You will pay for your sins.
Or
You must pay for your sins.
Will seems stronger as You will no matter what.
Where you must just ...
1
vote
0answers
60 views
Is “this is different than before” valid US English for “this is different from before”? [duplicate]
I have many times heard James Rolfe and Mike Matei (the video content producers), who I believe both grew up in New Jersey or in the city Pennsylvania, say things such as:
Blablabla. This is ...
1
vote
2answers
84 views
Is it “bad” to try and learn southern American English? [closed]
I have always been really interested in south American life style, culture, and specially language, a while back, I asked a professional American English teacher, about if it was OK to try and learn ...
-1
votes
0answers
31 views
arbitrary and capricious
The fixed phrase arbitrary and capricious (sometimes arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion) is a cliché of US law; you're likely to find it in any litigation to undo an administrative act. ...
2
votes
1answer
51 views
American English: Gliding of the long “ee” sound: [i] to [ɪi]
I have noticed that Americans have (broadly speaking) two ways of pronouncing the long "ee" vowel as in "fleece".
A simple [i] that ends with the same quality it starts with: listen to user ...
-2
votes
1answer
119 views
Meaning of “that's fine” in modern American English when used as an answer to a question
I'm trying to understand (spoken) modern American English. Here's an example of my exchange:
Me: Thank you for your payment. Would you like me to email you receipt?
Respondent: All right. That'...
3
votes
2answers
87 views
First use of American football fields as measurement
In some books and documentaries, American football fields are used as units of measurement for length (100 yards) and sometimes area. For example, a book might say
The iceberg was the size of six ...
13
votes
8answers
6k views
'Cheddar goes “good” with burgers?' Can “go” be seen as a verb of the senses?
I know that the adverb modifies a verb except for in some limited cases such as verbs of the senses or copula.
"It tastes good.", not "It tastes well."
"It looks good.", not "It looks well."
...
2
votes
1answer
683 views
How to use “get to” and “got to”?
This question is related to these two posts (please read those answers too):
"Get to do something"
What is difference between GOT TO and HAVE TO
For example: "I got to spend time with my ...
-1
votes
1answer
45 views
Usage of Comma to remove ambiguity
Soon after the military operations, an 11 member committee headed by Mr. ABC was set up to suggest measures that would enhance the combat capability of the armed forces and to also, balance defence ...
0
votes
2answers
46 views
Still usage and despite suggestion [closed]
I have this sentence: I fell in love with coding, but still I was not able to decide whether it is something possible as a career. Is the structure correct?
3
votes
2answers
250 views
What’s wrong with saying “he has his mind in the right mindset?”
My friend says its gramatically incorrect, what do you guys think?
1
vote
1answer
3k views
Is this correct in American English: It has helped me developed
I've come across a brief overview about a Canadian sales representative that says :
I grew-up in a family business specializing in short-term rental
accommodations. Our resort, Tyrolean Village ...
1
vote
1answer
94 views
“laying it out there”
"The child is not mine. I found out through one of her friends."
"Why hasn't she told you?"
"I don't know. I guess she just felt more comfortable not laying it out there."
"You must be angry."
"I ...
0
votes
1answer
132 views
Why is there a US idiom of using China to mean far away?
I live in the UK, and a lot of US culture reaches us in the form of film and TV.
There seems to be a trope of referring to something as being in China to mean it's a long way away. Things like:
"I'...
3
votes
1answer
243 views
Why do some Americans pronounce K and B after vowels sounds like G and P
For example, ‘speaker’ sounds like ‘speager’ and ‘Stop it’ sounds like ‘stob it’.
0
votes
0answers
287 views
Final /s/ vs /z/ sound at the end of verbs/nouns issue [duplicate]
So, I've seen this rule at several English books about how if a word has a voiced final sound (e.g. r, voiced th, l, m, n..) then added 's' is pronounced more like /z/. If the final sound is voiceless ...
1
vote
3answers
77 views
Why do U.S. Americans say “a good value” (using indefinite article “a”)
Take this example from the Airbnb website: "What would have made this listing a better value?"
This souds absolutely horrible and incorrect to my Australian ears (I would omit the "a"). I've also ...
1
vote
1answer
34 views
What's this “Jl. Sg.” appended to a name in the Social Register?
Screenshotted from the (fictitious) "1929 Social Register" in the opening sequence of the film Down to Their Last Yacht (1934).
"Miss Linda Colt-Stratton" I get, but what's the "Jl. Sg." after her ...
-3
votes
1answer
77 views
What are the feminine equivalents of “Running mate”?
From Wikipedia:
In the United States, "running mate" refers not only to a candidate
for vice president (federal), but also to a candidate for lieutenant
governors of those states where the ...
1
vote
4answers
243 views
What is/are the synonym/s for 'to move to sit closer to someone'?
I have a couple of things in mind, but I'm not sure if they can be applied to sitting position.
For example, if I'm sitting on the other end of the couch, and then I move to sit closer to someone ...
2
votes
3answers
48 views
Expressing “with a higher variance” as an adjective
Is it possible to express
has a higher variance
in the sentence
Dataset A has a higher variance than dataset B
as an adjective? Would
Dataset A is more variable than dataset B
be the ...
0
votes
1answer
71 views
Stove, Cooker, Range, Oven, Hob
Whenever we go to Canada, we go self catering. Usually the cooker (English word for the combination of an oven with gas or electric burners on top which can be used when cooking with saucepans) we had ...
0
votes
1answer
21 views
“Stay on us for this” [closed]
In response to "Thank you. Much appreciated"
Reply was
"Please stay on us for this"
What is the exact meaning of this response.
0
votes
1answer
49 views
Co-pay vs copartnership: Prefix hyphenation in AmE
In AmE, we tend to close up prefixes like co-, re-, pre-, post-, etc. unless the first letter of the main word is the same vowel as the last letter of the prefix. But I see some exceptions like ...
1
vote
0answers
395 views
over the years/thoughout the years/for years
What are the cases in which each of those is used? Can you give more detailed examples and differences in meaning and usage than the ones I found below if there are any?
Here's what Google says:
...
14
votes
7answers
5k views
What is a small tent kind of shop on the side of the road called?
What is a small tent kind of shop on the side of the road called?
It can sell stuff like newspapers, snacks, coffee, and other small things. The only two things that come to mind are "a hot dog stand"...
1
vote
1answer
639 views
Does “throw a leg over” means “riding a horse” or “sexual intercourse”?
Now anyone reading this article - http://mentalfloss.com/article/31841/why-new-york-city-called-big-apple and especially this line from that: "The Big Apple. The dream of every lad that ever threw a ...
2
votes
1answer
68 views
Why it is “the Grinch” but not just Grinch as it's his personal name
We don't use the definite article with personal names, however here....why is it so?
Yeah, I know sometimes we can use "the". When it's a person everybody knows about or smth like that.
But why it'...
2
votes
0answers
58 views
From Black Friday to Cyber Monday!
Sources available on line say that the expression “Cyber Monday” is just a few years old, dating its coinage to 2005:
The term "Cyber Monday" was dreamt up in 2005 by a marketing team at Shop.org,...
2
votes
0answers
63 views
Vowel shift in Michigan accent?
I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Michigan because my grandparents live there. By today’s standards, they have very heavy accents, with full Canadian raising and the northern cities vowel shift. ...
0
votes
1answer
409 views
question about meaning of `off-service`
There is a sentence in an article which says : "Workers are hard-pressed to finish work during a tight off-service window". Can anyone explain my questions :
1. does *tight off-service* mean *tight ...
4
votes
1answer
81 views
Young native-speaking males emphasizing deep voices
Recently a possibly new speech pattern has come to my attention and I am wondering whether it is genuine or whether I am mistaken. It is young, male native speakers emphasizing a deep, "rough" voice.
...
3
votes
5answers
2k views
How infrequent is “a non-zero chance”?
I misinterpreted the expression “a non-zero chance” as an emphatic way to stress that there was no possibility or likelihood of something happening.
there is a non-zero chance that they will pay ...
2
votes
1answer
208 views
Is the voicing voiceless consonants common in the US?
I don't know if I should trust my non-native ears, but I've heard a couple of people (Katie from CollegeHumor is the first one come to mind) who say "thank you" with a voiced "th" instead of the ...
5
votes
4answers
257 views
Idiom for premonition
I am trying to remember an idiom that is used when someone has a premonition about something, often coincidentally i.e. I am thinking about someone and then they call me. I know there is the ...
-2
votes
1answer
43 views
Go and come as verbs and the ommitting of and
I have a question relating to the verbs "come" and "go" plus another verb. Why do americans say come sing with us (for example and not come AND sing with us (as is the norm in English English. Like ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
Is the expression “jam-packed” of American origin?
I came across this expression at random, and when reading its definition and reading it in within context, it struck me as a particularly American thing to say. When trying to confirm my suspicion, I ...
7
votes
2answers
705 views
What are the names of the two phonetic changes in this sentence?
I'm going to be teaching English to French high school students for another year in September, and they all have a hard time with my variety of English (they're used to hearing British English). ...
11
votes
3answers
1k views
The meaning and usage of ‘stiffs’ in “Of Mice and Men”
I would really appreciate it if someone could confirm whether I have interpreted correctly the meaning of “stiffs” in the following excerpt
“I had enough,” he said angrily. “You ain't wanted here. ...
2
votes
3answers
2k views
“The cat that got the cream” - is there any innuendo?
I think this is a British idiom.
The American version would be, "The cat that killed the canary."
I was about to say this to a female friend, intended as a "well done" sort of compliment, ...
-3
votes
1answer
5k views
initialised or initialized which one is correct spelling? [duplicate]
I have often seen initialised in lots of text, but when I want to write it in Microsoft office word, it says it was misspelled and it should be initialized instead of initialised.
so here is my ...
8
votes
2answers
2k views
“There is a woman with a snapper.”
So far, I haven't found a clue to this use of the word "snapper" (1851) to describe an energetic, irrepressibly attractive woman at any of the 19th century slang websites so far.
Here is part of the ...
15
votes
5answers
2k views
Do native speakers of major English varieties actually say “a software” or “softwares”?
So I've looked up the word "software" around, and I've learned that -ware words are uncountable, and there's even a claim at the Wiktionary entry for this word that "a software" or "softwares" are a ...
0
votes
1answer
3k views
“How long do you have” — what does it mean?
"How long do you have?" -- What does that mean?
The conversation regards my potential trip to another country to visit someone.
It means how long I want to stay there? Or How many time I (will) ...
4
votes
1answer
200 views
Accented syllable after a glottal stop in NA English
Does anyone know of any studies on the change in use of accenting after a glottal stop? I am in my late 40s, and first heard this maybe 10 years ago used by an adult. I have a nephew who is 11, and it ...
