Some stuff, AmE point of view

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Kooyeen

#387713 Wed, 04 Jul 07 12:32 AM

Hi

1) When you want to make your kind of messy room a little less messy, what do you do? What's possible or common in AmE, Clear up or Tidy up your room? My dictionary says "tidy" is mainly British, but only the adjective...

2) I can't say "there's a lot of sun", but I can say "It's very sunny", and "there's a lot of wind", right?

3) I say "Look at that!", but "Look there!", not "Look at there!", right?

Thank you Smile [:)]

Kooyeen

Joined on Thu, Dec 22 2005

Italy

Senior Member (3,962)

If you don't have a sense of humor already, it's about time you buy one.

CalifJim

#387723 Wed, 04 Jul 07 01:00 AM

1) Straighten up your room.

2) There's a lot of sun isn't totally awful.

There's a lot of [sun / wind / rain / fog / mist].
It's very [sunny / windy / rainy / foggy / misty].

The second pattern seems to me to be more common.

3) Look at that! Most common.
    Look there!     Once in a while maybe. More likely Look! There!
    Look over there!   Much more likely than the previous.
*?Look at there!   Very unlikely. there includes at unless another preposition is used.
    Look in there!   OK if there is a container or enclosure.

CJ

CalifJim

Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004

California

Veteran Member (16,928)

"There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

Prepositions

Kooyeen

#387929 Wed, 04 Jul 07 02:35 PM

Perfect, thanks! Smile [:)]

But... Is "tidy up" not used then, and "straighten up" is the most common one?

Kooyeen

khoff

#388054 Wed, 04 Jul 07 06:52 PM

Yes, in the U.S. we would "straighten up" or "clean up" a room. If I asked my kids to "tidy up" their rooms, they would think I was trying to sound like a character in a British movie. ("Just tidy up your rooms, and then we'll all have a spot of tea and crumpets!")

khoff

Joined on Sun, Mar 6 2005

Denver, Colorado, USA, Earth

Senior Member (2,566)

Native speaker of American English (but not a grammar expert)

CalifJim

#388091 Wed, 04 Jul 07 08:54 PM

That's right. You can't say "Tidy up" in the U.S. unless you're holding a cup of tea and your pinkie is raised!

CJ

CalifJim

Clive

#388096 Wed, 04 Jul 07 09:04 PM

Hi Jim,

Gee, all these years as your neighbour in Canada, and I didn't know that. Smile [:)]

Are you sure? I googled a bit, and found some stuff, eg http://www.tidy-up.com/wst_page5.html is a company in Washington, DC, that's actually called 'Tidy Up'. But I know Washington people are probably not the heartland!

Clive