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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Why do Americans not say "and" when saying particular years? [closed]
Why do Americans not say "and" when saying particular years?
For example, here in the UK, for 2010, we'd say "two thousand and ten", but in the US, they would say "two ...
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Is a statement considered false or nonsense (invalid), if it consists of a verb applied to a false statement? [closed]
Consider the statement:
[1] It's funny that Amy is jumping
If Amy isn't jumping, is this sentence considered false or nonsense (invalid)?
The following statement is clearly nonsense (invalid):
[2] ...
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Quotation Marks on Names [closed]
American English -
If I'm writing about dogs, "The Big One" became "Rowdy." Would I put the names in quotations or only the nickname?
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To which object in a previous sentence does "those" refer?
For example, in the sentence:
The cats rarely have fleas. Those that are there are orange.
Those is intended to refer to the fleas, but is that incorrect? Can those only refer to the cats?
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When can we omit the article in front of a countable word in singular? [migrated]
In the sentence below, there is no "the" in front of former President. I am wondering what is the grammar rule for that?
Under Smith and his successor, Douglas, Canada sought closer trade ...
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Is "bet" only used by vulgar people? [closed]
My cousin says "bet" is only used by vulgar people, and that "wager" is used by gentlemen. I disagree. We're talking about risking money on an outcome.
I wonder if the fine people ...
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Why do some people pronounce "familiar" with an /ɚ/ in the first syllable?
In American English, the word familiar is normally pronounced as /fəˈmɪl.jɚ/. Recently, though, I've noticed more people pronouncing it as /fɚˈmɪl.jɚ/ ("fermiliar"), an alternate ...
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synonym for "wondrous" or "awesome" but with a negative connotation?
I want a word similar to the vibes of awesome as it was used pre-contemporary times (e.g. "a terrible and awesome power"). It will be used as a contrast to the word "wondrous." Any ...
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What’s the meaning of the "floating sheds"?
Boats rocked in the floating sheds of the yacht harbor.
Does "floating shed" refer to the cabin of the yacht?
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"Wish in one hand, tacky in the other. See which fills up first". What's the meaning of "tacky" here?
I am reading a contemporary American novel. In a dialogue, one of the characters quotes a proverb her mother used to say: "Wish in one hand, tacky in the other. See which fills up first".
I ...
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English Translation from the german word "IT Systemhaus"
I am new to this site. I hope I am on the right one, as it looks like it has more than just one for English.
What I am looking for is the correct translation of the German term "IT-Systemhaus.&...
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Are there any other out-loud-slashers here?
Native speaker (American English): I say "slash" out loud sometimes in place of "and" or "or," and an example sentence that is natural in my idiolect is "When slash ...
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dialect/idiolect quirk? "for whom" instead of "whose"
I'm a native (American English) speaker and I've noticed that this is a weird feature of my idiolect. Here is a direct quote:
To the person for whom I spilled apple cider, if you're watching this, I'...
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American English: intervocalic rhotic lost after an alveolar flap/tap
Is there a phonological process by which a word such as federal is informally pronounced bisyllabically as /ˈfɛɾəl/?
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What's a word for feeling or being invisible (maybe in person or socially) but obviously or physically there
I'm not good at describing stuff, so I'm sorry. But is there a word that means something like feeling socially invisible yet you're not really? Like being invisible to other people despite being ...
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