Community Discussions
Water off a ducks back and fall on deaf ears? Interchangeable or no?
I've been working really hard to get better at using idioms. But I often come across idioms that are very similar and that's when I get confused. The title being an example. Another would be "slip of the tongue and let the cat out of the bag". Really curious to know how natives use idioms so naturally.
In Tom's birthday party, Tom is the __?__ of the party.
Does such a word exist? In Mandarin and Cantonese it is the same word as protagonist, or main character, of a movie or a drama. He isn't the host of the party. He's an invitee.
Questions about the word “Both” in negative sentences
I came across this section in my cousin’s English textbook on how to use the word “both” in negative sentences. Here is the example from the textbook: “Both my brothers don't like birds” I thought the sentence meant “Neither of my brothers likes birds” But apparently it means “One of my brothers likes birds, but the other doesn't.” Some sites even suggest that “both” cannot be used in negative sentences, which makes it even more confusing for me. Which is correct?
How can I pronounce “15” and “50” so that Siri understands me?
Hi redditors! This is my first post in Reddit. I come from East Asia, I want to master essential English for studying in America or the EU. Since I don’t have many opportunities to speak English, I choose Siri as my language partner. I set my Siri language as English (UK), and I try to give voice commands to Siri in English. Currently I am a master student in medicine, I need use timers in my experiments always. But, almost every time I say “set a timer for 50 minutes “, Siri set a timer for 15 minutes instead. This made me crazy! I’ve tried pronounced the last syllable clearly by really highlighting the ‘teeeeeeeen’ sound instead of ‘ti’ sound, but Siri still can’t understand me. This also happens with the number 16, 17, 18, 19. What should I do? How to improve English? Many friends say I sound like Japanese when I speak English.
How do you pronounce 20
How do you pronounce " twenty "? Ive seen a post in the internet and one guy said that he pronounce it like "twenny" so because of that I'm confused now and I don't know how to say it more correctly ( twenty, twendy, twenny, etc.)
How learning english?
Hi i AM brazilian, my english is bad and not can write english perfect but when i read can understand everything,why does this happen? Obs: I wrote with help of google
Where to practice English speaking skills?
Hi everyone! I’m pretty good at reading and understanding English, but when it comes to speaking, I’m totally out of my comfort zone. I want to improve my fluency and pronunciation and I know that I need to practice more. Do you know any apps, tools, or resources that help with English speaking practice? Thanks in advance!
I'm a native english speaker and I have this question on some English homework. I swear either of the options would work. Am I wrong?
As said in the title, I swear that both of these sound correct. I've spoken english for most of my life and this question has stumped me because it seems that both of these options would work.
"You are looking sad" and "You look sad"
My teacher said that "You look sad" is correct and "You are looking sad" is incorrect, but for "You are looking tired," she said that it is correct. I'm quite confused why "You are looking sad" is incorrect. Is "You are looking sad" spoken English, or is it not? Is it grammatically correct?
Do people say something is "too shabby" ??
I've only heard people say "not too shabby" so I'm wondering if that's like an idiom by itself, or is something being "too shabby" a thing??