Hi Anon You're opening a big can of worms here. This website is global and, as such, is not a Standard English devoted site. In fact, most of the users of this site seem to use American English. As an English teacher, born in England and

Two years too late, the correct way to use the idiom is "all of a sudden." American and British use of quotations is also different. Americans are taught for the most part that a period (full-stop) is used inside the quote, unless used

I know the correct pronunciation of sword. I also know that at least some blacks pronounce the w in it. (Mahalia Jackson certainly does in her marvellous rendition of the song Down By The Riverside.) As the word existed in Old English, it is

Now, as for your second question... Past simple vs. Present perfect. First know this. English only has 2 tenses! even though most people think it has many more. The two tenses are present, and past. The other aspects are created using combinations

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Bert Vaux: Einde O'Callaghan: I wonder how many cities there are where Bert is going to get meaningful data distinguishing dialects of different parts of the city. Asking for a postal code seems way too specific. I had problems with postcodes

The other day, a very good native-speaker friend said "His teacher learned him to ..." I must remember to check this up on google :-) This is common enough in the dialect of uneducated American speakers, but it's not at all standard.

The entry for "could care less" in MWCD11 is evidence ... form "could care less"-speakers will tend to say"could care less." What about the many people in and out of this news group who observe that the phrase "I

I associate that with rural and southern colloquial dialects. I wouldn't consider it acceptable in writing. I wouldn't use it myself, but I've seen it in print, in books published in Florida, USA. I wonder what sort of book are

A nonrhotic person writing to another nonrhotic person can write ... convey certain vowel sounds is misleading in an international forum. It certainly misled me for many years. I had long wondered why in the world someone showing hesitation would