By Contractions, British English

My take. I've tried to go for a natural conversational British English style.Remember that there are usually many different ways of expressing the same thing. Also, contractions are much more natural for spoken language. A: Let's go over there and see whether they rent kayaks. B: It...

Here's the thing, most people use the contraction: "There's" can mean "there is" (present singular) or it can mean "there was" (past plural) while "there're" means "there are" (present plural).Personally, as a native British English speaker I would use the plural form for multiple items even if...

Hi, yes, there are books that deal with stress, intonation, and pronunciation. I've read "American Accent Training" by Ann Cook. There's really a lot of stuff in that book (and on the 5 CDs). I haven't tried any other books anyway, so I can only tell you about that one. It treats American...

Hello ItasanIn British English, I've only ever heard "labour pains"; though it may well be that mothers amongst themselves say "labour" for "labour pains", as GG suggests. (With luck a maternal BrE will pass by and let us know.)"Contractions" = the rhythmic tightening and relaxing of the uterine...

Hi, Pieanne, The first two are easy. The same ideas presented for the affirmative forms I've got a book. / I have a book. apply to the negative forms I haven't got a book. / I don't have a book. The third is even easier. In British English, but not in American, "have" used as a...

From Merriam Webster's: AIN'T Etymology: contraction of are not 1 : am not : are not : is not 2 : have not : has not 3 : do not : does not : did not -- used in some varieties of Black English Usage: Although widely disapproved as nonstandard and more common in the habitual speech of the less...

The idiom is "have got" in both American and British English. It is a purely idiomatic alternate for "have" and is not much used except in the present tense. That is, "have got" is the present tense of this idiom, even though "get" is the present tense form of "to get", and the past is "got". ...

Hiya, Here's a British English perspective!! 1. I would have helped you to move the piano. The context for the above is that they did not ask my help when they moved the piano. So the above sentence is fine. The moving took place yesterday. Today I could tell them the above...