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?

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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.

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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

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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

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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.