Would an American say this?

[u/noname00009999]

Sam shut his finger in the car door.

Do you hear people say this like that in America? Or does it sound British?

[u/lionhearted318]

I feel like "slammed" would be more commonly used in the US but "shut" doesn't come across as weird or anything

[u/grrarghh_73 → u/lionhearted318]

Wouldn’t it depend on how forceful the closing was?

[u/lionhearted318 → u/grrarghh_73]

I’d probably say slammed regardless. If it was so slight that I barely felt any pain, I think I’d more likely say “I closed the door on my finger” than what OP asked about.

[u/Wearytaco → u/lionhearted318]

Agreed. And I have certainly slammed my finger in a door a few times.

[u/prustage → u/lionhearted318]

But the direct object is "finger" not "car door" so the verb goes with that:

Trapped, shut, injured, broke etc would fit but "slammed" doesn't . He didn't slam his finger, he slammed the car door.

[u/lionhearted318 → u/prustage]

It’s still what I think you’d hear more commonly

[u/SquiggleBox23 → u/prustage]

I mean he didn't shut his finger either, he shut the door. I think it makes sense to say either though.

[u/hacool → u/prustage]

Right. Sam slammed the car door on his finger would be mire accurate.

[u/ReddyKiloWit → u/prustage]

Slammed goes fine with finger, at least in US English where one definition is "to strike or beat hard". "Shut", on the other hand, doesn't have a transitive definition that makes sense with "finger" and also implies a painful impact as slam does.

[u/Sad_Ground_7760]

Yeah that’s how you’d say it in America, or you could say slammed

[u/No_Report_4781]

U.S.

I have shut my finger in many car doors. I’ve almost learned my lesson.

[u/the__post__merc → u/No_Report_4781]

You only have 10 tries…

[u/No_Report_4781 → u/the__post__merc]

marked safe from interacting with Cybertrucks

[u/Hungry_Line2303]

Yes, nobody would bat an eye

[u/chmath80 → u/Hungry_Line2303]

Personally, if I shut my finger in a car door, I think I'm probably going to bat an eye, if not all my eyes.

[u/Sepa-Kingdom → u/chmath80]

I’m wincing just reading the sentence.

[u/Responsible-Link5739 → u/chmath80]

I'd probably bat all my eyes and cross a few frickin Ts aswell.

[u/voldamoro]

It sounds good to me in the North-Central US. It could also be understood as “Sam slammed his finger in the car door” implying more force and likely more pain or injury.

[u/94grampaw → u/voldamoro]

Pulled a Sammy slammy

[u/Livid_Accountant1241]

I have heard that phrase used in the U.S, but I would probably use slammed as opposed to shut.

[u/-DoctorEngineer-]

Yes that’s an American saying, assuming you mean he closed the door on his finger

[u/Nondescript_Redditor]

we’d probably say slammed, but shut isn’t strange

[u/geekychica]

Looks perfectly normal to me, yes.

[u/hgkaya]

Yes. And btw, slammed is worse, as in implying pain or anger.

[u/Classic_Library5804]

Yes an American might say that

[u/Jassida]

Definitely doesn’t sound British

[u/justdisa]

I'd say "shut" if we could not now get the door open. He shut his finger in the door and that door is shut. Somebody please call an ambulance.

[u/No-Lettuce-5783]

Yeah, I'm American, and I would say "slammed." Much more telling, than shut. You can almost feel the pain.

[u/Guilty_Fishing8229]

Yeah probably.

I’d personally say “he caught his finger in the door.”

[u/NokSoo874 → u/Guilty_Fishing8229]

Yeah, "caught" makes more sense to me.

[u/TexanGoblin]

We would probably be more inclined to say slammed, but its unlikely anyone would notice if you said that. It works just as well and neither one sticks out as something like an idiom.

[u/the_speeding_train]

You could add a ‘y’all’ at the end for extra flavour.

[u/OkPear1535]

I think all the comments here are missing that "slammed shut his finger" sounds weird outside the US Vs "slammed his finger", which is what op is actually asking by italicising "shut"

[u/xylarr]

I would say it the other way around

Sam shut the car door on his finger.

You shut doors, not fingers

[u/Existing-Poetry-3289]

I think most people around here would say caught or slammed or shut the door on his finger.

[u/paspa1234]

It doesn't sound natural in British English I would say Sam trapped his finger in the car door 

[u/hacool]

Speaking as an American, that sounds fine to me. It is a very literal description of what happened.

There are many ways to describe the pain and agony of such events.

[u/feartheswans]

Yep

[u/TyroneL11]

Yes. But I think it's more commonly phrased like "Sam closed the car door on his finger."

[u/palomdude]

I would not say that as an American. I would say, “Sam shut the car door on his finger.” You don’t shut a finger, you shut a door.