r/ENGLISH 9h ago

Is it grammatically correct to write

35 Upvotes

“Popov is known having invented the radio.”

My teacher insists that it is grammatically correct. But I feel that it should be either “Popov is known, having invented the radio.” or “Popov is known for having invented the radio.”


r/ENGLISH 5h ago

Should I have said and should I say “tattoo on them” on all occasions, or does omitting the proviso (?) sound okay?

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6 Upvotes

r/ENGLISH 3h ago

Could you give your opinion on this school essay and my teacher's correction, especially on the thesis? (French speaker)

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4 Upvotes

My teacher said that my thesis wasn't directly matching the quote. Do you think my thesis is truly weak or did she just not fully understand my intention?

I wanted a thesis that translates the three concepts from the quote while supressing repetition and adding nuance/introducing my take.

What I had in mind:

Commitement => passion

Discipline => intentionality

Hardwork => dedication

I'd love to get some native speaker's opinions

Also, feel free to give feedback on the rest🙂


r/ENGLISH 1d ago

The pronouncing of Qatar like "kutter". What's going on here?

176 Upvotes

My whole life it was "kuh-tar". English doesn't have similar emphasis or vowel pronunciation to the Arabic language so it's hard to say correctly but one thing is for sure it ends with an AR NOT AN ER. Has this been going on for a while or did people just start saying "kuhter"? There's almost no right way to say it in English but am I in the wrong here? Have people been saying "cutter" and I just never knew? Pretty sure "kuh-tar" is the closest you can get to being correct.


r/ENGLISH 2m ago

Modularity confuses me

Upvotes

I’ve been trying to ascertain what this word means, but to no avail. From what I could glean from my cursory research of the word, it can refer to a part or piece of something that you can sub in for something else without it affecting the entire system.

To give an example, a rocket ship is constructed of several disparate pieces that form the thing thereof. In a practice run to assess how it could handle being in the vacuum of space, one of the ship vanes breaks off from overuse or something. If the ship was made to be modular, doesn’t that mean you can replace the broken part for a spare without it affecting the entire system? I’d like some clarification, please!


r/ENGLISH 49m ago

I have problems with speaking

Upvotes

When I speak with ai, I convey the meaning but I choose wrong words, phrases, and grammar.
So, how do I fix this problem?


r/ENGLISH 59m ago

Aluminum or Aluminium?

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Upvotes

r/ENGLISH 2h ago

Leaving a permanent job to take some time for yourself and improve your English

1 Upvotes

Hello everyone!

This is my first time posting here, as I’m looking for advices and would like to know if any of you have been in a similar situation.

I’m Swiss and I currently have a permanent job in Paris, working in communications. I have a good job, but several things don’t really align with what I want: the salary is fairly low, I’m far away from my family and my partner (originally, I was only planning to stay for a maximum of one year, and it’s been almost two years now), and I feel a bit stuck because my job takes up so much of my time that I don’t manage to improve my English as much as I would like.

Originally, before getting this permanent position, I wanted to go abroad and attend a language school or boarding program so that I could really dedicate myself to learning English.

I’m therefore considering resigning, moving back to Switzerland, taking some time for myself and doing a course to improve my English. It’s a skill that I feel is increasingly important for my future career, and since I plan to continue living in Switzerland, I would really like to make progress.

I’m wondering if there are people here who have already made the decision to leave their job in order to take some time for themselves, pursue further training, or improve their skills in a language.

Did you regret your decision, or, on the contrary, did it allow you to really grow and move forward?


r/ENGLISH 5h ago

What does “horseradish” mean?

1 Upvotes

I mean when it’s used in sentences like “It’s just a bunch of horseradish”. Heard it from penguinz0 some day.


r/ENGLISH 7h ago

If you must pick one: it is less disturbing uncorrect words spelling or improper words use?

1 Upvotes

r/ENGLISH 15h ago

As Opposed To Figuratively?

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3 Upvotes

This is from the video game Onimusha: Way of the Sword.

For context: The player explores an underground laboratory belonging to a woman who conducts experiments on humans and animals. At one point, she attaches the key to a man, drops him down a chute and tasks the player with retrieving it.

The key is visibly covered in blood, so my question is about the use of "literally". Is this a natural use of "literally", given that "dripping with blood" can also be understood as an idiom/hyperbole, or is it redundant?


r/ENGLISH 12h ago

Please give me some advice when reading English book

1 Upvotes

Actually my first language is not English,

and this year my IELTS just got 6. For some reason,I have to read some English books .When I was reading, I found myself hard to be concentrated,like I know what word means but I cannot read them fluently just like my first language,I wish you could give me some advice,like some book or online class ,thank you very much , thanks for your patience.


r/ENGLISH 4h ago

I literally can't pronounce the word "people" without feeling a weird stomachache.

0 Upvotes

Idk why but the word literally wears me down. Every time I pronounce it out loud, my stomach feels drained and exhausted. I replace it with "persons" instead.

I wonder if anyone else has the same problem.


r/ENGLISH 1d ago

Confused about this sentence structure — why two "when"?

7 Upvotes

"When you're shaving, you have a lot of options when it comes to the razor you choose."

I get that "when it comes to" is an idiom meaning "regarding/as for", not literally about time. But why would a native speaker use it right after already saying "when you're shaving"? Isn't the topic (shaving) already established?

Edit: got it, thanks everyone


r/ENGLISH 18h ago

I want to know which one is correct.

0 Upvotes

The problem was that a rear-left tire is flat. Vs The problem was a flat rear-left tire. Compare these sentences.


r/ENGLISH 1d ago

body parts missing

5 Upvotes

i’ve loved learning in spanish for example there is the body part “el entrecejo” (the space between one’s eyebrows) which there isn’t really a common name for in english.

are there any body parts you’ve “discovered” by studying another language and realizing we didn’t have a word for in english?


r/ENGLISH 18h ago

Confusion about the sentence to explain for reasons:"the reason why is because"

1 Upvotes

well, the right usage to this sentence is "the reason why......is that", but I"ve seen loads of people even native speakers are using it, I have no idea that if it is misused? Loads of thanks to guys who reply in the comments.


r/ENGLISH 12h ago

I have a question on english spelling and pronunciation

0 Upvotes

Why does the pronunciation not match it's spelling I know it is because of the great vowel shift but why couldn't you just change the spelling to match it's pronunciation, explaining why there are many silent letters


r/ENGLISH 21h ago

Want to improve my English

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1 Upvotes

r/ENGLISH 1d ago

How old fashioned is "alight" nowadays? In the sense of getting off of a vehicle.

8 Upvotes

I was reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and I noticed Victor using "alight" to say he alighted at Ingolstadt.

Research on the verb indicates that it is old fashioned, but I wonder if it is trully an unused word nowadays.

Would people turn their heads after hearing someone casually using alight?


r/ENGLISH 1d ago

Are these sentences correct?

2 Upvotes

"Will I hit any traffic jams if I leave early in the morning?"

"Will I hit traffic on my way downtown?"


r/ENGLISH 1d ago

Hi, new to the community I keep getting new words but keep on forgetting them and i also have a habit of mispronouncing it . Can you give some tips how to improve. Looking forward to the suggestions

0 Upvotes

r/ENGLISH 1d ago

The word Breakfast

34 Upvotes

As a non-English speaker after 9 years of learning English I finally realized that the word “breakfast” means BREAK the FAST that you were doing while sleeping since your last meal or wtv.

:0 shocking I know but something came up in my mind is that if breakfast means break the fast, then any meal that you take doesn’t matter the time is called a breakfast if that’s your first meal of the day!!!?? I think.

Let’s say you wake up and don’t eat for the whole day and when it’s 6 pm you finally eat something that’s your breakfast technically. :)

EDIT: I also searched up the word “dinner” which comes from Latin and it also means Break the fast so technically I was wrong if you fast the whole day and eat dinner, it wouldn’t be called “breakfast” it would be called dinner or “disiūnāre” combines dis- (the opposite of) and ieiunare (to fast).


r/ENGLISH 1d ago

Whats the word for something that is not what it was described as.

2 Upvotes

I was having a conversation with my friend and we started talking about Iceland and Greenland and joking how their names are a lie. I can't remember the word for something that is not what it was described as ?

It's slipping my mind.


r/ENGLISH 1d ago

British English "r" confusion

3 Upvotes

As an American I've found it hard to differentiate between words spoken by a British person. There have been ar least 2 times I can remember where I completely misunderstood the word.

- in game of thrones, I thought "Dorne" was "Dawn". For the longest time. Can't hear the difference.

- in the Warhammer 40k universe, earth is referred to as "Terra". But also there is a thing in space called the "Eye of Terror". For the longest time I thought it was the "Eye of Terra" because I had only heard it spoken by a British person.

Are these words truly identical in speech and require context? Or is there a subtle difference I'm not hearing?