I don't fully understand what a contraction is. So if I put an 's, 'll, 'd, 've, etc after any word does it make it a contraction? Only in spoken English. But in written English, some contractions are not usually written that

this is a rant, and also a reach out for help. i've been living in the US for almost 9 years now, came when i was 14. I was born in croatia (native tounge) and live in germany for 7 years ( second language) then came to the US. I never had a

Wow, what a lot of nonesense. Is American English simply lazy English with disregard for the fundamentals of the language, or is it a valid simplification of an overly complex and irregular language? Huh? What are you talking about? I was

To tell you the truth, I've never heard any foreigner (unless they learned English when they were very young, or had lived in an English speaking country for at least a decade, and had extensive, and personalized accent coaching) ever be able to

Hi Cool Breeze, You wrote: What is difficult about English are the countless idioms and spelling. By the way, when I am abroad I try not to sound British or American even though I have been told that I am able to mimic the American accent

Englishuser wrote: A non-native speaker who has immersed himself or herself with highbrow literature written in a foreign language could very well have a more vivid vocabulary and a better knowledge of the grammar of the language than the

You know, there is no SINGLE American accent. I've heard people who sound like a squawking goose lodged in their throat who are born-and-bred American speakers, and many more people with lovely enunciation. The same with British English.

I prefer British accent & spelling, it sounds more formal. Conversely, American accent sounds freer.

A couple of points. 1) I have a suggestion as to the reason why people from the u.s. think they have an enormous variety of accents, but no-one else does. This could be due to the typical u.s. insular, isolationist attitude which means they are

Pieanne! is it due to american accent of that sort that the spelling changes