As a learner of English as a foreign language, I believe from what I learned that “you Chromebook” is not grammatically correct in “standard” English (as spoken in formal situations in the UK, US etc). I’m not familiar with the less prestigious dialects of English, however, and I heard that English dialects can vary greatly … Read more
The terms “before the fact” and “after the fact” are usually used in a legal sense, as in, accessory before the fact, (and similarly, accessory after the fact), to indicate a person aiding or abetting a crime before it is actually committed. My question is, can these terms be used in a non-legal context, as … Read more
In the following article from English today there is a survey about the usage of the erroneous, but apparently rather commonly used expression “have went” in place of “have gone”: … several speakers, all of them American teachers aged between 55 and 64, informed us that they regularly ‘hear[d] people say have went, not have … Read more
I am trying to see if the colloquial usage of night and day is non-standard and is improper register, or if it is simply an ommitted definition in the dictionaries: night and day: Describing a contrast between two completely different things, often one that has resulted in improvement. Often preceded by “like.” The context is … Read more
Ok, this is a somewhat nonstandard English question. In the Southern US, or at least in Central Virginia, there is an idiomatic use of the phrase it is that is equivalent to the expression there is, as in It is not enough gas in my tank to make the trip. Not being from the South … Read more
In the following utterance: “You know all you’re getting off it then is maybe the CD-ROM which surely that’s not worth grabbing”. I’m trying to say that they use non standard grammar by using the demonstrative “that” (in the bold) which would normally not be there. But what is the precise standard ‘rule’ that is … Read more
I am watching a video of one of the Apostles of the Mormon Church, Elder Holland, which is entitled: “An High Priest of Good Things to Come” The video contains this line: “Speaking of Jesus’ “more excellent ministry” and why He is “the mediator of a better covenant” filled with “better promises,” this author—presumably the … Read more
By analogy with Portuguese tomar banho [de chuveiro/ducha], which along with tomar uma ducha/chuveirada (Br.)/duche (Port.) means, take a shower, are there any parts of the English speaking world in which one can hear phrases like take a bath and/or bathe, be commonly (not to say idiomatically) used to mean, take a shower, in such … Read more
Does using vastly to mean to a [very] great degree; extremely in contexts not involving measurement or comparison, now sound common and idiomatic to British ears, or is it still likely to be considered objectionable, or at least controversial, by a majority of educated native speakers of British English? vastly Per Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English … Read more
As far as AmEng goes, is there any difference in using either homework, schoolwork, or assignment to call schoolwork given to students to be done at home? Can these be used just about interchangeably? ASSIGNMENT vs. HOMEWORK assignment An assignment is a task that someone is given to do, usually as part of their job. … Read more
