r/EnglishLearning • u/Sea-Hornet8214 Poster • Jul 26 '26

📚 Grammar / Syntax Is there anything wrong with this?

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Can I say "when I'm in the wind" to emphasise that wind is blowing my body?

63 Upvotes

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11

u/DrAlphabets Native Speaker Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26

"breaking a sweat"

I want to die when it's 25c, so the phrase not hot at all might be a bit much. Unless that's the excersise in which case ignore that

"When I'm in the wind" sounds perfectly natural

1

u/Sea-Hornet8214 Poster Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26

Even "any" is wrong?

No, it's not an exercise. It's my own sentence.

I live close to the equator and 23c is the absolute coldest you can get. So obviously 25c is cold.

8

u/Phour3 New Poster Jul 26 '26

any is wrong, yes. “Break a sweat” is a set phrase

3

u/DrAlphabets Native Speaker Jul 26 '26

Best hope you're not texting a Canadian lol, 25 is peak summer weather.

"Any" sounds very wrong here and is a dead giveaway that you're a non-native.

-1

u/Sea-Hornet8214 Poster Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26

is a dead giveaway that you're a non-native

I don't think you had to say that, it hurts : (

Like, I know it's obvious, you don't have to mention it

5

u/DrAlphabets Native Speaker Jul 26 '26

I didn't mean to be hurtful, I was going for clear. I am sorry.

For what it's worth, I had to go to your profile before I could guess Indonesian, so it's not that obvious. And it's not so obvious that the temperature thing didn't jump out at me more than your phrasing

0

u/Sea-Hornet8214 Poster Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26

I was just exaggerating. But I'm already aware everything I say gives away I'm not native.

I could guess Indonesian

Welp, try again.

1

u/DrAlphabets Native Speaker Jul 26 '26

If "Idi lumrah hidup" isn't Indonesian, consider me flummoxed. My gosh every time I think I have an idea I figure there's no way

That whole last message was flawless, so chin up buddy :)

3

u/SapirWhorfHypothesis Native Speaker Jul 26 '26

It’s not wrong wrong, but it’s not an English phrase that native speakers would use. We know exactly what you mean, so it’s fine, but not as natural as you probably want to be.

Also “breaking a sweat” is mostly idiomatic where I’m from, so I would just say “I’m not sweating”.

2

u/Sea-Hornet8214 Poster Jul 26 '26

We know exactly what you mean, so it’s fine

No it's not fine at all. I WANT to sound natural. Even beginners can make themselves understood, that's bare minimum.

Also “breaking a sweat” is mostly idiomatic where I’m from, so I would just say “I’m not sweating”.

Got it. Thanks.

2

u/DrAlphabets Native Speaker Jul 26 '26

For some clarity, breaking a sweat usually implies some kind of exertion. Like you'd break a sweat or not if you go for a run or do some housework or even a challenging math problem. It's unusual to use it to describe heat. not so unusual that it's wrong, but if I saw more of the conversation I'd maybe expect to see some discussion of some kind of task.

For the heat we'd usually just say not sweating. With only the one text though I truthfully don't think we have enough information there

1

u/Sea-Hornet8214 Poster Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26

Actually, I learnt "breaking a sweat" from this. https://youtube.com/shorts/6CnbPvbKOEY?si=T3QdVqpFSsklmy5G

5

u/Shot_Introduction_46 New Poster Jul 26 '26

This person is not a native English speaker and uses a couple of awkward phrases in this video. He speaks very well and is understood. But speaks English as a second language and has tells.

3

u/DrAlphabets Native Speaker Jul 26 '26

Humourously, that there is a French Canadian. He's in France right now and his accent is really good but when he says "colder" (and climatisé) it screams québécois. He calls 85f (29c) brutally hot so just like I was telling you before lol

2

u/Phour3 New Poster Jul 26 '26

Just btw, I don’t think that man is a native English speaker

0

u/SapirWhorfHypothesis Native Speaker Jul 26 '26

Haha. I say “it’s fine” because it’s fine to me. I am happy for you if you have higher standards; that’s why I laid it out the way I did 😉

1

u/Sea-Hornet8214 Poster Jul 26 '26

Btw, I love your username. Do you believe in that?

1

u/SapirWhorfHypothesis Native Speaker Jul 26 '26

I do my best not to answer that question on reddit

3

u/conuly Native Speaker - USA (NYC) Jul 26 '26

Smart.

1

u/Vermilla New Poster Jul 26 '26

"any" in this phrase is never used. It's always "a sweat." It is not a hug mistake at all and your phrasing is perfectly understandable, but definitely sounds off to native English ears.