In Idioms^x, Grammar^x

1 1D the only correct solution not 1C 2 The correct idiom is had better The American Heritage Book of English Usage http www bartleby com 64 C001 029 html 3 See the discussion here http thegrammarexchange infopop cc eve forums a tpc f 340600179 m 4581087053

Grammar Geek wrote Ann around here if you hook up it tends to mean you enjoy the uh benefits of marriage on a FAR more temporary basis Thank you for illuminating the meaning of this idiom for us

Hi nona the brit You wrote A piece of writing could be either by a native speaker or a non native with a high level of English and you have no way of knowing which it is Non native writing of a good level can still stand out through unatural word choices creep from their own native grammar and...

no thanks rather a pointless excercise Sorry if my statement was confusing I meant You can t necessarily tell if someone is a native speaker A piece of writing could be either by a native speaker or a non native with a high level of English and you have no way of knowing which it is You CAN tell...

MrPedantic wrote Hello Julie But on the whole non standard natives make different mistakes from non native standards NSNs may be unusual in grammar but they re usually strong in idiom And a very good NNS will often hyper correct in the use of the subjunctive for instance or the past perfect I...

Julielai wrote Just out of curiosity Mr P how do you distinguish a native speaker who s learned a non standard form of English from a decent non native speaker e g How can you tell if a speaker born in India Singapore or other Asian countries is native Hello Julie I m not sure I always could...

Just out of curiosity Mr P how do you distinguish a native speaker who s learned a non standard form of English from a decent non native speaker e g How can you tell if a speaker born in India Singapore or other Asian countries is native MrPedantic wrote 1 Discrepancies of register A non native...

MrPedantic wrote I agree about the effect of second language proficiency upon your first language Well upon the language you learnt first yes But like I said I suppose a person can become more proficient in a language they learnt at a later stage in their lives than they are in the language they...

MrPedantic wrote 5 Rhythm Non native speakers often bring a little of their native rhythm into English The clauses may be not quite the right length the pauses may sound mannered 6 Grammatical regularity combined with inappropriate idioms Grammar is the weakness of native speakers idiom is the...

Hello EU Here are some things that occur to me 1 Discrepancies of register A non native speaker s English may be impeccable for the most part but slight failures of tone or register are most noticeable in impeccable English For instance the non native may use a word which a native speaker of that...