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American English Grammar Meaning Abbreviations

08/04/19

Is it colloquially acceptable to use ETA in place of "estimated time to completion"?

Literally, ETA means "estimated time to arrival". It is often used when traveling, like you want to know your ETA to your destination, or the ETA for the package delivery.However, often I find... more

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American English Grammar British English

07/31/19

Conjunction Reduction British English vs American English?

I am finding there is a difference in what is acceptable between American and British English. I posted this question on Facebook:"Grammar friends, I need your help! Is omitting the pronoun the... more

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American English Reading Nouns Meaning In Context

07/31/19

What does "bite" and "quarter-backing" mean in this context?

It's from the first few lines of the foreword to Karl Llewellyn's "The Bramble Bush":> These lectures grew out of an attempt in 1929 and 1930 to introduce> the students at Columbia Law School... more

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American English Grammar Usage Formality

07/29/19

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... more

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American English Esl/esol Speech Word Usage

06/27/19

Usage of too while comparing two places?

While in a conversation about a place `xyz` which is facing water scarcity, if another place `abc` is also having water scarcity, which sentence would be correct:- I know `xyz` has water scarcity,... more

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American English Esl/esol Speech British English

06/26/19

what does "withhold no sacrifice" mean?

Reading Churchill's speech, I don't think I understand the following "withhold no sacrifice, grudge no toil, seek no sordid gain", what does this statement mean?

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American English Esl/esol Speech Cinema

06/25/19

What does "Come on, let's wrangle up the cattle" mean?

Andy said this to Woody in Toy Story 1. Is this idiom?

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American English Esl/esol Speech

06/24/19

Take my word for it or take my word for this?

Me and a friend got into an argument. He says that you can say "Take my word for this". I say that the proper use is "Take my word for it". Could someone elaborate on each of those and tell us who... more

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American English Grammar Usage Colloquialisms

06/24/19

Should I vs. "Shall I" vs. "Do I" in AE?

In colloquial prose, is there some difference to saying "Should I/we", Shall I/we", "Do I/we" to ask someone's advice?E.g.> Should I call the police?Sounds like I'm asking someone (or myself) if... more

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American English Esl/esol Speech

06/24/19

Who is this for? vs "Who does this belong to?"?

Yesterday I asked an Australian friend "Who is this for?" in reference to a wallet on his desk. He laughed and thought my sentence didn't make sense in the context of the situation. Instead, he... more

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American English Esl/esol Speech British English

06/23/19

Slang word for transferring money from one card to another?

Ok, so there is an Online Money Transfer Service. It allows for quick money transfer from one card to another. The advertisement of this service describes how it is convenient for parents to... more

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American English Grammar Esl/esol Speech

06/20/19

What does "I have no shame when it comes to ignorance" mean?

Does it mean one chooses to be ignorant regardless of shame, or submit to shame while admitting ignorance? **Interviewer:** Tell me about your first felony arrest? **Candidate**: I have no shame... more

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American English Esl/esol Speech

06/19/19

Why do americans put "my" in front of everything?

I watch a lot of youtube, but I've also noticed this in movies. North americans tend to put the word "my" in front of stuff they tell you about e.g. "So I've got **my** grill fired up, I've got... more

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American English Grammar Writing

06/17/19

Is this grammatical?

> Could you tell us what's your favorite Google Chrome extensions? , The ones that you are using regularly and the ones that are cool no matter how much you use it or how popular it is.

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American English Latin Esl/esol Speech

06/17/19

Which are the most common Latin words/phrases used in spoken English?

Please, specify American/British Engilsh! I think these below are very common but I have no idea if they are commonly used in spoken English. ad hoc per se a priori de facto ergo et... more

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American English Esl/esol Speech Adverbs

06/17/19

Is there a term for the linguistic phenomenon where a word in a sentence describes the sentence itself instead of just the elements in the sentence?

I'm thinking specifically of they way words like "frankly" are sometimes used in modern English. Take the sentence: "His speech was uninhibited, unprepared, and *frankly* insulting to half of his... more

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American English Grammar Esl/esol Speech

06/02/19

Can we say "There should be any problem for Adam to eat that apple"?

> There should be any problem for Adam to eat that apple. Is this a proper sentence? The use of *any* here seems to be an issue. For example it seems fine in sentences like: - I couldn't... more

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American English Esl/esol Speech British English

05/30/19

Determiners in English sentence vs. plurals, singulars and zero determiners. Is it ok to say?

Do I need any determiners in the sentence below in general statement? - Strong winds destroy homes. Is it ok to say in English in specific situation? - The strong wind destroyed the homes in... more

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American English Grammar Esl/esol Speech

05/29/19

difference between "be free" and "get free"?

What is the difference between the two? And if I want to meet a friend what would I say "I'll be free soon " or "I'll get free soon "

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American English English Books Old English

05/03/19

Has the English language changed since 1854?

I've started reading a book named Walden, published in 1854. I am not a native English speaker, I am Persian, and I want to read this book for two reasons:to improve my English and because I think... more

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American English Writing

04/24/19

AmE/Writing: AN _hors d'oeuvres_ tray, or A _hors d'oeuvres_ tray?

The general rule I was given as a youngster was that if the initial sound of the noun is that of a vowel, the correct indefinite article is “an”, while if it started with a... more

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American English Esl/esol Speech Numbers

03/31/19

American vs. British English: meaning of "One hundred and fifty"?

I've noticed that Americans do not say "and" when speaking numbers: for example, 150 would be pronounced "one hundred fifty". I and most other British-English speakers would pronounce it "one... more

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American English Esl/esol Speech Meaning

03/31/19

I realized now how far important this information was?

Is this sentence grammatically OK? > I realized now how far important this information was.

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American English Vocabulary Esl/esol Speech

03/30/19

How can I improve my speaking?

When I speak I use a small vocabulary, even though I know a lot more than that. Those words tend to be vague and boring. I know other alternatives for those words, although it doesn't come out... more

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American English Writing British English Dialects

03/28/19

Which variant of English should I use when my target audience is the world?

I know that all variants of English ([American English](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_English), [British English](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_English), etc.) can be generally... more

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