r/ENGLISH

As a native speaker, I don't notice these things, but I have been looking out for them recently. One that I've found is the sentence "There's a whole 'nother thing," where 'another' is shortened to 'nother. However, that wouldn't be grammatically correct (it should be 'other' instead). I find these little quirks amusing, and would love it if you guys could share some.

You know the phrases "That's like the pot calling the kettle black" and "I'm like rubber, you're like glue, whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you."

You know these phrases and I can easily surmise them/ contract them down by saying "pot meet kettle" and "rubber meet glue".

You know what is being said without it being said in full. It is contracted but understandable.

I think I could get away with just saying "pot" or "kettle" to someone and people would understand the meaning.

Like I don't think that I have to explain the story of Pinocchio for someone to understand what I mean when I say "someone's nose is growing."

Please share your favorite "I didn't say that but you absolutely know what I said" contractions.

Edited to add. That last paragraph was a tad wordy, so allow me to contract it a bit. "Wink, wink. Nudge, Nudge. Know what I mean? Know what I mean?"

I haven't watched all of his films. Why did his name attain this meaning?

Why does the phrase "Don't Bogart the..." mean that it is time to share, time to let someone else enjoy it?

Maybe Lauren Bacall knows the answer to this. I've heard that she bogarted Humphrey like no other. Mehh, she did let him ride with the Rat Pack so maybe she didn't bogart him that much.

If you haven’t, try YouTubing or Netflixing him if you don’t mind

He’s like German to me (non-native) without subtitles, do you think this aspect ever affects the career of British entertainers like him in the American market?

Because I’ve read before that Ken Loach’s 1969 movie Kes (Northern England accent) was with subtitles on when it screened in the US

By the way Jimmy Carr is very listenable to me probably bc his routines are more mechanical, also Gervais, Oliver, Corden because they’re articulate enough

Like something that describes the resolve of a soldier who knows he's going to into battle and probably not coming back. Like "into the grey" or "into the jaws of death" (but less obvious, more poetic) or something like that. I know I heard a phrase that encapsulates that sentiment.

Edit: there's no wrong answers here. Feel free to interpret my post any way you want. Everyone perceives English a little differently. I'd like to hear what comes to everyones mind.

Edit: a lot of good answers. I think the Shakespeareian quotes like "into the breach" nail down the feeling pretty well with some poetic resonance.

English is my second language, and I chose it as my major at university. The problem is , I still struggle a lot in punctuation placement while writing ,especially commas and periods, and I'll lose marks during exams because of that. I know the most important rules about about commas , like after introductory elements, between items in a list, around extra information, with direct address, and in dates and places. The same goes for periods, but I still make mistakes consistently. I do not know when to use them, especially when I write long sentences i feel stuck not knowing when to put a comma or a period. And I feel ashamed saying this, but sometimes when I write an essay I would show it to chat gpt to correct the punctuation mistakes I have. I have no one else to ask; other students who also have English as a second language are not better than my writing. I tried asking my professor but he's busy most of the time. I also watched many YouTube videos but I feel like I'm not finding the right ones for my problem. So I'd ask gpt, but I'm tired of going that , especially when I write chat gpt corrected version as my final draft. What can I do?

( sorry for the spelling and punctuation mistakes. I'm trying my best🙏)

Is a routine built, developed, established … ?

I don't want to speak English formally like Shakespeare , and I was wondering if this word is uncommon in the English-speaking countries .

For example ,the UK, the US, Canada, and Australia

Please tell me the answer and I will appreciate it

Thank you

Hi everyone!

I'm Korean and learning English.

I'm trying to say this sentence naturally:

Roughly: "I wasn't really into trying new things, but lately I keep trying new things."

Here's my attempt:

"I never used to be into trying new things, but lately I've been trying a lot of new things"

Does this sentence sound natural to a native speaker?

Is there a better way to express this?

Thanks in advance!

I am learning English through the Cambridge English in Use series (grammar and vocabulary), which are British books. Is it okay if I study the British Cambridge books but listen only to American English? Or do I need to listen to British English because the books are British and the listening and studying should match?

For context, British content is very limited for me and I don’t understand the British accent at all, whereas there is a huge amount of American content and I understand the American accent easily.

Are British and American English mostly the same in terms of grammar and vocabulary, with pronunciation being the main difference?

I keep failing job interviews because of poor English speaking. I understand questions but can’t speak clearly under pressure.

I keep failing job interviews because of poor English speaking. I understand questions but can’t speak clearly under pressure.

Or should it be "coated" instead of "gilded," since gilded means "coated with gold." Or should I go with a simile to keep the word gilded?

In Business English, Is it normal to address a client as "Mr." Or "Ms" if you don't know their last name? Should you only use it to address a teacher or universitiy professor?

And I also wanted to ask how common is using "sir" and "madam" or is it sort of old school?

I’m not talking about accent. I may not be able to tell from their accent until they say “Salt Lake City.” It’s a dead giveaway that they aren’t from Salt Lake. Also, it’s Utah, not Utaaaah. Outsiders take so long to say it. And the national park is not Zi-on, it’s Zi-uhn. How about where you are from?

This sub is a living, breathing example of the Dunning-Kruger effect. I have seen so much actual nonsense in the comments that it actually makes my brain hurt.

ETA: For reference, this is the post that set me off: https://www.reddit.com/r/ENGLISH/s/WsO4Jn57Pr. There are so many comments on there that are misguided or just plain wrong.

I’m from Chicagoland and pronounce it like turn-ih-mint but have heard it pronounced like torn-uh-ment. Same thing with tourist I pronounce like turr-ist but tour is “tor”.