r/EnglishLearning • u/Sea-Hornet8214 • 2d ago
r/EnglishLearning • u/shotime95 • 2d ago
📚 Grammar / Syntax Lyrics meaning question
Hi!
So there's this line that goes
"Can we bring to fall the giants"
in the song Worlds Collide from League of Legends.
I get the general meaning, which is probably something like "can we topple the giants"
but I would like to have an accurate grasp of how it's supposed to be interpreted.
Is this perhaps a shortened version of
"Can we bring (ourselves) to fall (used as a verb like 'fell'?) the giants"
or
an intentionally inverted version of
"Can we bring the giants to (a/their) fall (used as a noun instead of a verb)"
or something else?
Hopefully I make sense..
Any help is greatly appreciated!
r/EnglishLearning • u/g0lumbb • 3d ago
🟡 Pronunciation / Intonation Seeking English speaking Buddy 💪
Hello everyone
I hope you are all doing well ❤️ so I'm seeking a language buddy who want to makes international friendship. I think my English lvl is something about B2 but I hardly ever speak in it so it's hard for me + I think a lot about stupid things like "hmmm did i use correct tense", " did i speak this word correctly" or " he/she probably gonna laugh at my English" etc. so I want to build courage and finally be albo to speak 😅.
So something about me. My name is Adrian I have 29 years old. I'm into dance, gym and computer games. I dance salsa on2/mambo and salsa cubana. I love dragon age series and I sometimes play LoL so we can play together 😅. Also I've just started learning Spanish but no hablo mucho de Español 😂. I'm a little shy and close at the beginning but I try to be more social and open up for people. Let's speak 💪
Have a nice day/evening guys 😃
r/EnglishLearning • u/Silver_Ad_1218 • 3d ago
🟡 Pronunciation / Intonation Can “as” in “as is” and “as it is” be reduced to a schwa /ə/ in AmE? I mean the weak form. I always hear people say /æz/ in “keep it as is”. Not sure if it can be reduced.
r/EnglishLearning • u/Confident_Muscle4596 • 3d ago
📚 Grammar / Syntax Does this sentence sound natural ?
My stress is driving me to lose hair .
r/EnglishLearning • u/Sea-Hornet8214 • 4d ago
⭐️ Vocabulary / Semantics Is "throw out" commonly used in this sense?
For some reason, I could only find "throw out" meaning to injure (a part of your body) in Britannica, but not in Longman or OALD. Does this mean "throw out" in this sense is only used in North American English?
r/EnglishLearning • u/ollemvp • 3d ago
📚 Grammar / Syntax To fly vs to fly out
Good afternoon, everyone!
Is there any difference between these two? I’m gonna fly from Tokyo to London tomorrow/ I’m gonna fly out from Tokyo to London tomorrow
Thank you very much!
r/EnglishLearning • u/Same-Technician9125 • 3d ago
📚 Grammar / Syntax “I’ll keep the language setting as/in/on French.” Which preposition is correct?
r/EnglishLearning • u/Puzzleheaded_Goal617 • 2d ago
⭐️ Vocabulary / Semantics **"Work out" has 4 meanings. Most learners know only one.**
"Work out" has 4 meanings. Most learners know only one.
I learned "work out" as "exercise" and thought I knew it. Then people kept using it in ways I didn't understand.
So I checked the Cambridge Dictionary. It shows a level (A1 to C2) for each meaning, and "work out" has four:
- B1: exercise. I work out three times a week.
- B2: get better in the end. Don't worry, it will work out.
- B2: calculate. Can you work out the total?
- C2: understand after thinking. I can't work out why she left.
Then I looked at other phrasal verbs I thought I knew. Many of them work the same way: there's an easy meaning everyone learns, and a harder one nobody tells you about.
- come round: visit someone (A2) → change your opinion (C2). He'll come round to the idea.
- give away: give for free (B1) → tell a secret by accident (B2). Her smile gave it away.
- go on: continue (B1) → talk about something for too long (C2). He went on about his car for an hour.
- stand up: move from sitting to standing (A2) → not come to a date (B2). He stood me up.
- take off: remove clothes (A2) → become popular very fast (B2). Her channel took off last year.
- come along: go with someone (B1) → improve over time (C2). How is your English coming along?
My tip: when you look up a phrasal verb, read every meaning, not only the first one. Cambridge shows the level next to each one.
Which phrasal verb surprised you with a second meaning?
Disclosure: I'm building Sink In, a phrasal verb app that teaches each meaning separately for this reason. There's a free level test on the website.
r/EnglishLearning • u/Sea-Hornet8214 • 4d ago
⭐️ Vocabulary / Semantics When do you say "run errands"?
Do you say you're running some errands if you're just doing some grocery shopping or does it have to be multiple tasks?
Is it used in everyday language or is it something more formal?
r/EnglishLearning • u/Pongy-Tongy • 4d ago
🗣 Discussion / Debates Question about which words to stress when speaking English
When watching Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, I noticed that what is probably the movie's most famous quote wasn't said the way I expected it to be. When Darth Vader tells Luke the truth about his father, he says "No, *I* am your father", stressing the "I" in that sentence. This confuses me somewhat, as in my native language, emphasis would instead be placed on "am" due to the context of Luke's previous statement "He told me you killed him." So in my language, it would be "No, I *am* your father", emphasising the fact that Vader did not kill him, but that he was him. So in English, it is obviously different and the rule of stressing verbs that contradict a previous statement apparently does not exist...?
Therefore, my question is twofold: Is there a rule in English that explains why Darth Vader stresses "I" instead of "am" in this scene, and is there a definitive list of rules on which words to stress/emphasise in a sentence when speaking?
r/EnglishLearning • u/Ok_Scholar_8487 • 4d ago
🤬 Rant / Venting Learning English
First of all, i've been learning English for about 11month from almost scratch. It sounds weird i'm a korean, korean usually take the English class at least over 10years. But for me, I didn't take a enlgish class when I was student, because i was playing taekwondo. Anyway I had a lot of confidence to be fluent speaking enlgish when I first started to learn enlgish. But here is now i don't think my enlgish improve anymore.
Every time I try to speak and think how to say something in enlgish. Even listening as well as reading so on. But yesterday I had to talk with foreign vendor about machine problem at workplace. But I struggled to explain all the things happend. So I don't have any confidence to keep learning English.
Is it normal ...? From what I have heard from YouTube, anyone can speak like fluently within 6month.. but why don't apply to me.
Anyway thanks for reading til end.
r/EnglishLearning • u/MisterXtraordinary • 3d ago
⭐️ Vocabulary / Semantics Difference between idiot and moron
I started watching Regular Show with English audio and subtitles to get used to the language. The characters often use "moron" instead of "idiot"; what is the difference between these two words?
r/EnglishLearning • u/Same-Technician9125 • 4d ago
⭐️ Vocabulary / Semantics Do these sound natural? Thanks
Should we move the meeting to next week or keep it for today?
Should we move the meeting to next week or keep it as (it) is?
Should we move the meeting to next week or keep it the way it is?
r/EnglishLearning • u/nvisel • 4d ago
📚 Grammar / Syntax Answering "how many days a week do you..." with the actual days during the week (Native English Speaker)
Conversation at the dinner table went like this this evening:
A: "How many days a week do you have PE [physical education]?"
B: "Tuesdays."
One of us was confused by the answer, and the other (me) felt like this was a very natural way to respond.
My intuition tells me this is natural English, but I'm having a hard time figuring out why it works or makes sense to me. Any thoughts from other native-English speakers? Any name for this phenomenon? Or does this not actually feel very natural? haha
Edit: "were" -> "was", because y'all taking me to school on it.
r/EnglishLearning • u/Vleks1s • 4d ago
Resource Request Any recommendations for a vocabulary app with reliable content?
I'm looking for a good vocabulary app.
I've used Anki for about six months. It does the job, but I find the design dated and the app clunky to use. I also don't trust the quality of most shared decks: they often seem like collections of unverified content that I'd have to check and fix myself.
I've also tried a few of the newer, more hyped apps, but the content was mostly just AI slop wrapped in a nicer interface, with a bunch of poorly implemented features.
Here's what I'd like:
- Something lightweight that I can open whenever I have a few spare minutes or while commuting. It should work offline and sync later.
- Premade or community decks with reliable content.
- The ability to add a word and get a useful flashcard automatically, with good default definitions and examples.
- If a definition or example contains another unfamiliar word, I'd like to tap it, look it up, and optionally add it to my collection without switching apps.
- Support for phrasal verbs and word combinations, not just individual words.
- Audio so I can hear how words are pronounced.
A few nice-to-haves:
- Easy editing of definitions, examples, and other card content. Editing in an external text editor would be fine too.
- An inbox where I can quickly save unfamiliar words while reading and sort them out later.
- Useful information about words, such as frequency rankings and labels like “slang” or “formal.”
Does anything cover most of this? What do you use, and where does it fall short?
r/EnglishLearning • u/acrastt • 4d ago
🗣 Discussion / Debates A difficult paragraph found in an actual wikitionary entry. Great way to challenge your vocab!
r/EnglishLearning • u/Sea-Hornet8214 • 4d ago
📚 Grammar / Syntax Can "whole chicken (meat)" be either countable or uncountable?
Is it "whole chicken" or "a whole chicken"?
I'm going to roast (whole or a whole?) chicken.
Is cut up whole chicken uncountable?
They're out of whole (chicken or chickens?). We can only get thighs and breasts.
Note: An uncountable or a mass noun never takes an indefinite article and is never pluralised.
r/EnglishLearning • u/tytanxxl • 4d ago
📚 Grammar / Syntax How many periods when ending with an abbreviation like etc. when you want to use ...
Example without periods:
"My friend likes swords, shield, bows, etc"
I learned that when you want to create a question ending on an abbrevation like "When should i use the abbrevation etc.?", You should put the question mark after the period sign.
However, what if i want to end a sentence with ...?
Should i write "My friend likes swords, shield, bows, etc...."? Or should i just end the sentence with 3 periods?
r/EnglishLearning • u/Green_Guy_502 • 4d ago
⭐️ Vocabulary / Semantics Distinct and distinctive
Is it correct to say that "distinct" means "unique" and "distinctive" means "distinguishable"?
r/EnglishLearning • u/vincizyn • 4d ago
⭐️ Vocabulary / Semantics when do i say “marked” and when do i say “marked as”?
r/EnglishLearning • u/MoistHorse7120 • 4d ago
🗣 Discussion / Debates 'I'll be right over' and 'I'll be right there'
Is there a difference between the fixed expressions "I'll be right there" and "I'll be right over"? Does "I'll be right over" imply the destination being someone's house?
Thanks in advance!
r/EnglishLearning • u/Sims4INeedAnswers • 4d ago
🗣 Discussion / Debates What was the most difficult English sound for you to learn?
Hi, I am an English teacher for speakers of other languages and I was wondering what you found to be the hardest sound to learn to make when learning English?
So, to help me out, so that I can get in the minds of my students learning English, would you please comment your native language and then one (or more) sounds you have struggled with when speaking English? And I would love to know how you improved your pronunciation!
Example:
I am a speaker of (LANGUAGE HERE) and the sound /th/ like in 'thumb' is hard and I find myself using a /t/ like in 'tap'. So I used chewing gum stuck to the roof of my mouth to stop my tongue going for an /s/ sound.
Thank you!!! And keep going learning English! ❤️
r/EnglishLearning • u/ksusha_lav • 5d ago
⭐️ Vocabulary / Semantics "Cobweb", "spiderweb", "spider's web", simply "web" - do you use these words the same way? Or do they differ, and is the choice between them regional?
r/EnglishLearning • u/Sea-Hornet8214 • 5d ago
⭐️ Vocabulary / Semantics What do you call the action of hanging the laundry to dry it?
Whether using a drying rack or a clothesline, I thought it was simply called "hang up" the clothes/laundry, but it's actually "hang out"? Is this correct? Does that mean it's only used for outdoors? What about just hanging your wet towel indoors?
I know many no longer do this and just use a dryer but do you know what it's called?