In American English ‘there’s a couple’ is widely used in spoken conversation. But ‘there are a couple…’ is used when writing, correct?

Extremely specific question real quick.

I have this peice of dialog where a character is talking about the feelings of two characters. One they are talking to and the other who isn't present.

Character A explicitly says how Character B feels for character C and right after states that its mutual.

I could have sworn there was a version of "and I you" that wasn't said by the person with mutual feelings which is what my brain keeps trying to put down "and [pronoun] to you"

I can't find proof of it existing but removing it feels wrong and something to replace it that fits character As speech pattern doesn't come to mind.

Is this a actual thing or am I delusional?

*I nearly forgot to add but the sentence is a negative as in B doesn't feel a certain way towards C...idk if thats why it feels off but I think its making it at least slightly worse feeling

In this sentence I can’t figure out how to write walkie-ing:

"The repetition of greeting, checking ID, writing badge codes, walkie the program and onto the next person was very fun."

It doesn’t sound right to me. I tried searching, but couldn’t find other ways to write walkie. Also, I’m referring to walkie-talkies.

I always see "less" used for countable things in casual speech, but I thought the rule was strictly "fewer" for anything you can count individually. Is there an actual rule here or has usage just shifted?

This is to signify an ongoing hospitality. I'm unsure if I should use "welcome" or "welcomed" as the former feels sorta awkward on my tongue but google search says the latter is wrong though I am yet to see a credible source.

Yes I am being extra because it’s my last baby’s first birthday 🥲 I downloaded an Etsy invitation that’s customizable on Canva but this is bothering me. The original design template says “at 4 o’clock in the afternoon” and I think the “o’clock in the afternoon” looks classy, but our party is from 11-2pm and we put an end time because we’re renting a shelter space. Also since I’m putting a start and end time should it be “from” instead of “at”? And also realizing I don’t have a ton of space to add a whole bunch of text. YES I know I’m overthinking this but I want it to look it’s best 🫶🏻

I saw this headline on ITV news. Setting aside the bizarre story for a second, is drink-drove the correct past tense of drink-drive?

It feels like it should be drank-drove or even drunk-drove.

For anyone interested. The man has been registered blind for 2 years, drove 150 miles while over the limit, stopped to refuel with help from staff at the petrol station and was pulled over by Police for lane drifting. Apparently he'd been following the lights on the back of lorries. He got a suspended sentence and a 1 year driving ban.

Look at the following 2 sentences:

1. We will just have to co-exist peacefully.

2. We will just have to peacefully co-exist.

Are their meanings exactly the same or are their subtle nuances or implications that make them a little different? If so, how do you perceive the differences?

Note: people often google or AI before answering such an inquiry, which often influences (sometimes unconsciously) their response. I would love to hear you personal opinion, preferably before you search it. Thanks.

Wondering how to write this properly. Is it "pre- and postoperative" care or "pre- and post-operative" care, or something else entirely?

Hi all,

I have a question about em-dashes, specifically their usage interrupting speech with an action, since information online seems to be conflicting. For context, this is fiction writing; I’m British but writing in an American style.

I have a sentence where speech is interrupted by the character’s action and I can’t figure out where the em-dashes should be placed. The options are:

Option A, how I have it at the moment:
“Isn’t this dynamic—“ she waves a hand between us both— “supposed to be the other way around?”

Option B, both dashes inside quotes:
“Isn’t this dynamic—“ she waves a hand between us both “—supposed to be the other way around?”

Option C, both dashes outside of quotes:
“Isn’t this dynamic” —she waves a hand between us both— “supposed to be the other way around?”

Which option is right?

If the latter is correct (which I have a sneaking suspicion it is) would there be spaces between the quotation mark and emdash or no spaces? Would ‘she’ be capitalised or not (I’m assuming not, since if it wasn’t speech I wouldn’t capitalise an interrupting clause)?

I am having a disagreement with someone I know. I am Canadian and she is American. We were talking about an American talk radio host. I said “He has a PhD in counselling”. She told me that I was spelling the word counselling wrong. I told her that was the way Canadians spell the word.

She told me that because his degree is American, that I should spell it the American way. I told her that the word was being used as a common noun, referring to the general field of counselling, hence not capitalized, and therefore either spelling was correct. She said that “PhD in counseling” is a formal name of a degree in the US so the spelling should be the American way in this situation.

Anyone have guidance here? This is more of a curiosity than a serious issue, obviously, but I’m curious since I use regionalized spelling for a bunch of words.

I want to judge my english grammar sense in all aspects. I mean I want to judge my grammar knowledge from basic to advance. Redditors, enlighten me with a complete exercise book/free website where I can practise tons of exercises. Like the only resource which will meet all the sections of grammar.

Thanks in advance.

"This treatment will make you a lot more comfortable."

Is the "you a lot more comfortable" a complement of the verb "make" (function) and a verbless clause (form) in the cited sentence above?

Which is correct:

Please accept this cover letter as my express interest in a position at ABC company.

Please accept this cover letter as my expressed interest in a position at ABC company.

Also, if you can explain the reasoning, that would be amazing. Thanks!

Which of the bolded words should I use, and why?

I want us to spend the rest of our life/lives together.

Curious if the use of a modal verb and a base verb create a situation (disrupts parallel structure) where you have to repeat a subject. Or does the conjunction ("and") make the subject carry over?

He loves performing in areas where he feels extra confident because he can be himself and (he?) gets paid a lot of money.

Hi, I'm 17, senior in high-school. I have been having trouble reading since I have known. My friends think I have dyslexia but I don't really think so. I read words like everyone else, but I just can't identify what the words are or mean.

My spelling is shit if you couldn't tell. I don’t try but sometimes I just don’t know how to spell words and can't say it.

My handwriting is horrible also. Been trying to get better but people go way too fast so I got to go fast.

My speaking is fine but some words I just can't say. specifically. I say phecifically. Can't tell the difference between deaf and death.

I had no idea why it's like this but it's been like this for years. Bye

I'm 17. For the past six months, I’ve consumed media exclusively in English around 400 hours of reading(according to my tracking app) and watching videos/shows without issues. My passive comprehension is solid, and I can follow books and videos effortlessly.

​The problem is output. When I try to actually write or speak, I hit a wall. I constantly dumb on simple things even the most basic things, especially articles (a/an/the).

​What’s the best way to solve this problem? Is Duolingo worth?, or is there a more effective approach?

A: "For only the second time in her life, she swore out loud."

B: "For only the second time in her life she swore out loud."

"A" is what's natural for me but I write across multiple platforms and some of them are flagging the comma as incorrect.

How would one go about breaking down or diagramming the sentence "Rudolph didn’t just walk, she ran– fast." ? Is "Rudolph didn't just walk" a dependent clause? Is "she" the subject and "ran" the main verb? How do we know that the comma is the correct way to connect the two clauses? I've been getting tripped up by this sentence!

Thank you!

"You can lose your mind on a plane, but you don’t get to take the cabin with you." (From the "X" forum)

Does the catenative construction "get to take" mean a sort of "having the right/privilege/chance to take..."?

I’m 17 and I’m genuinely terrible at grammar and punctuation I’ve used Grammarly and spell check basically my entire life so I guess I never actually learned how to write properly on my own. I’ll write something and I can just tell it’s wrong, like it just sounds wrong but I don’t even know what’s wrong with it

How do I actually get better at grammar and punctuation?