Community Discussions
How do I retain my English level?
I've recently passed the Cambridge C2 proficiency exam and scored 220 on it. My main concern before taking the test was that I won't pass, but now that I have, I don't know what to do. Now all of a sudden, I have no goal and am just mindlessly consuming content in English in order to somehow remain relatively proficient in it. Lately, I've been noticing changes in my speaking (been having troubles with my accent slipping up) and writing abilities and it feels as though I'm putting in too much thought and effort into finding words to express my thoughts. It scares me, so I'd really appreciate all the help I can get, thanks!
As a native speaker, how did you manage to memorize all these preposition pairs
Did you learn any rules behind it like when to use for , at and etc, like be capable of and be clever at, while there seems to be no universal rule for each one of them.
Chat? Why's "an" here? Shouldn't it be like that only if the next word's first letter is vowel?
Translated from Russian. I thought we use "an" only if the next word's first letter is vowel (like a, o, i, e, y, etc). Is it translator's problem or I'm stupid?
Learn to insult like a native!
Saw
Is the word "men" here a common slang to say instead of "guys"? Do native speakers say that?
I know that it's common to informally adress your friend or acquaintance as "man", but I have never seen and heard it said in its plural form to address a group of friends/colleagues. Do native speakers say so at all? Source/Book shown in the screenshot: "American Psycho" by Bret Easton Ellis.
Could you evaluate my English name from the perspective of a native speaker?
Like many others in this subreddit (I'm not sure whether to call it a "section" or "community"), I'm actively learning English. As I'm considering studying abroad in the future, I wanted to ask: Does my chosen English name "Lyrion" sound weird? I'm aware some names like Apple or Banana can feel quirky. For context, this name was suggested by ChatGPT when I requested something less common than traditional choices like John or Tim.
What is the hardest English dialect for you to understand?
I am curious, what dialects/accents do English learners find the most difficult to understand? I am a native speaker but the Baltimore accent is difficult for me to understand. What about you guys?
will you literally say 99.99% word by word？Or there is a usual abbreviation ？
For example, In this picture, Will you really say: I would say there is a Ninety-nine-point-ninety-nine-percent chance that this was an honest mistake........
What is this called? (a skillet? a pan? a frying pan? something else?)
https://i.redd.it/1ekuzbpzj3je1.jpeg
Any viable alternatives for “have a good appetite”?
As someone in whose native tongue a single word is used as a meal-related courtesy — “have a good appetite” sounds unbearably bulky. I speak two more languages, and in both of them it’s either a single word, or two short words — not four with one of them being a-ppe-ti-te. Google set me up with stuff like: - *happy eating!* – too childish, - *chow down* – rude?, - *eat hearty* – sounds like something grandma would say, - *savor your food* – instruction to a child?, - *enjoy your meal* – acceptable. Are there any other alternatives?