Questions tagged [british-english]
This tag is for questions related to English as used in Great Britain, and sometimes Ireland.
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What did Tolkien apparently have against commas?
While reading his books in English for the first time a while back, I was shocked by how ultra-concise the language was in the original language. Perhaps the most frustrating part was his extremely ...
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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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Does /ʍ/ occur in British English?
Does /ʍ/ occur in British English? I see it under the section of "UK" in Wiktionary, but with text "(without wine-whine merger)". It is depending on place or speaker?
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In Northern England, what vowel phoneme is used in “can’t”?
Which vowel phoneme, START or TRAP, do people in the North of England usually use in can’t?
(Obviously the northern START is pronounced like a longer version of TRAP, which is not the case in the ...
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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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How common is “you lot” for a group of exactly two persons and under what circumstances can it be used as such if any?
Something about “you lot” tells me that it can't really be used with a group of two persons and requires a somewhat bigger group being addressed as a unit, to what extent is that correct and if not ...
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Comma uncommon usage
At the beginning of The Magician's Nephew, CS Lewis wrote:
In those days Mr. Sherlock Holmes was still living in Baker Street and
the Bastables were looking for treasure in the Lewisham Road. In ...
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Adjectives derived from proper nouns are not always capitalized [duplicate]
I have had a hard time teaching the rule that proper adjectives are capitalized on the Continent (one student even proudly declaimed that proper adjectives just don't exist in England). I taught this ...
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correct usage/type with conjunctive adverb [duplicate]
a) Our vacation was wonderful, however, it was too short.
Is a) incorrect or acceptable use? I understand it should have a semicolon with a comma or start a new sentence, but some resources conflict ...
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Meanings of “catch one up” in British English
I know that it’s common in British English to say things like
You go on ahead. I’ll catch you up.
That usage is never encountered in American English. We would say, “I’ll catch up with you.”
In ...
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The meaning of schneid (not sure of the spelling) in colloquial British English (London centric)
The word schneid is used commonly in London (UK) slang to mean that someone is devious and not to be trusted - like a spy for example. It is highly derogatory. I have read that on this site that the ...
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"Ill" word meaning in 17th century 1608
I'm writing a script set in 1608 in British English from the 17th century. I want to know the exact meaning that the word "ill" had at that time?
We appear just as ill. (We look just as ...
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Is 'bunch' meaning 'protuberance, swelling' used in British English?
Looking up 'bunch' with reference to a question on ELL, I noticed that Merriam-Webster's first definition is protuberance, swelling. I don't see a similar meaning given by other online dictionaries, ...
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Perchance and Mayhap
I'm writing a screenplay set in England 17th century 1608. Which was more common "Mayhap" or "Perchance". The meaning is "maybe". Ex: Perchance/Mayhap we will live a long ...
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"Hence" Multiple usages in Old English
I´m writing a script using 1608 17th century british english language. I would like to know if the meaning of hence can be used as follows.
Hence, he needeth me. (For this reason, he needs me.)
Get ...
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