Community Discussions
What is the difference between 'break a bank' and 'cost an arm and a leg'?
https://www.reddit.com/r/EnglishLearning/comments/1hyp935/what_is_the_difference_between_break_a_bank_and/
Why does britney say Break the ice as “Break THE ice” not “Break THI ice”? Doesn't “The” pronounce “Thi” if the word after it starts with VOWEL?
I CRAZILY MESSED UP WITH MY PREVIOUS POST LOL HELP- I'M SO EMBARRASSED, IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE VOWEL NOT PLURAL HAHAHA 😭😭😭😭
Not learnt commas
Hello, I have a strong feeling that while I was learning English, all the teachers never said anything about putting commas after the words 'however', 'nevertheless' or 'therefore' when they are at the beginning of the sentence. Today when I write something in English, all the tools, which help to write, seem to convince me to put the comma in these sentences. Can you guide me what is correct? e.g. However, we did not like them. Therefore, he has decided to make different decision. With or without comma?
What gives it away?
Hi, Hello, Welcome I come from a non native English speaking country and by those around me I've been told that I speak English well. My whole life I've believed that I had a non discernible English accent, however one go of the **Oracle Accent** and suddenly I'm questioning all of that. Id like to have a non discernible English accent. There isn't much of a deep reason behind that. I think it would be cool. So if you can, help me understand what gives it away, and how I can improve upon my accent so that it doesn't sound discernible. I listened to the audio, and oh boy there's a lot of lip smacking. Sorry about that. [https://voca.ro/1ojeaYFiuAm6](https://voca.ro/1ojeaYFiuAm6) here's a clip of me talking Thanks in advance! **Transcription:** \[Lip smack\] Hi, Hello, Welcome \[Audio strangely decreases\] I'm new around here. I tried accent oracle the other day. Its uh... thing where you *sss*ay a sentence and then an AI guesses where you're from. I was crushed... It guessed first try exactly where I was from **just** from my accent. And I thought I had a pretty good- \[relives pain\] -non discernible English accent. So it crushed me a bit... Uhhmm, I'm hoping that someone... uh (well) to see if... \[Nervous exhale\] anyone can explain to me what it is that's discernible about my accent and if anyone can even guess, where I'm from based of my accent. I hope to learn what **exactly** is giving it away. \[Lip smacks\] Now I'm gonna read some things here! \[Obligatory throat clear before reading\] *A wizard is never late. Nor is he early. He arrives* ***precisely*** *when he means to. - (Gandalf, Fellowship of the ring.)* *Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. - (Gandalf, Also Fellowship of the ring.)* *All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. - (Gandalf, also also Fellowship of the ring.)* \[Pause\] There you go, my mouths a bit dry I hope that doesn't... Impact anything. **End of transcription**
Please judge my accent
Although I've been practicing English for quite some time now, I find it extremely difficult to lose my accent. So I'd like to know how thick it sounds to native speakers and whether it's hard to understand what I'm saying in the recording below: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hz2L2lmuudBtRqOIDvXEBz2MOoqgtgkI/view](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hz2L2lmuudBtRqOIDvXEBz2MOoqgtgkI/view)
To all English learners, can you share the story of saying something wrong that was funny or caused misunderstanding? My 2 stories are in the description:)
When I came to US 20 years ago, I had a very rudimentary knowledge of English: few words, some grammar understanding. One day, I didn't show up for work, and the next day, talking to my boss, I said: "You can throw me up, if you want to!" He laughed... and I kept my job:) (throw up = vomit; what I meant, of course, was "throw me out" = kick me out, fire me). During some other conversation, I was explaining that "I was *contracepted* in the dead of winter, and born in the dead of summer"... of course, what I meant to say was "conceived.” I will never forget the look on my interlocutor's face:)
Is the second usage understood or used in the US and Canada? I just heard it on a British drama. “How are you fixed for tonight?” “I’ve got something on.”
https://i.redd.it/n9hjzcgpqfae1.jpeg
Can “take off” be used in the imperative like “clear off” “go away” “piss off”?
https://www.reddit.com/r/EnglishLearning/comments/1hqtw2n/can_take_off_be_used_in_the_imperative_like_clear/
Which part of the world do you think my accent is from?
I'm just curious, a couple years ago I spent so much time and effort working on "minimizing my accent" it was basically more focused on trying to make my pronunciation clearer and easier to understand. Once I reached that goal I stopped trying to actively get rid of my first language's influence on my speech. I focused more on practicing a lot and learning to have good conversations. But now I'm starting to feel a little self-conscious again that my English is too bad for someone who's been learning it for so long. I try to remind myself that it's normal though This is me reading paragraph from a book (I might sound a bit nasally but that's probably because I'm a little sick not an aspect of my accent), I know obviously I sound like a non-native speaker, I wonder if it's easy to pinpoint my native language/ region. https://voca.ro/1hvo4prUw7ZC If you are a native English speaker/someone interested in accents and pronunciation, although I'm aware that I don't sound like I grew up speaking English I can't figure out exactly what my problem areas are. What are the letters /sounds that give it away? It was much easier to work on my weaknesses at the beginning because they were a lot more prominent. This audio might be too short to know all the weaknesses but I appreciate any feedback:)
Use of "Nasty"
In this video, a lady is saying how good these two other singers are. But at about 0:19, she says "She is a nasty singer" about the first woman. Why would be call her a *nasty* singer here when she had just finished saying how good she was? Video: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DELIL_VRjVQ/?igsh=d3Jld2s0MGswamJx