jus' a question...

[chum]

1. the situation is this: i'm with friends an' we have a problem and we've tried everything but plans failed, so I ask "what are we gonna do now?" in spoken,where almost every sentence gets short, is it possible to say "so...what now?" it's a short cut...does it lose its meaning from the original sentence?

2. We are all standin' in line, suddenly a friend came and wanted to cut in line and I said " please get in line" and then he corrected me by sayin', it's not "get in line' it should be "fall in line"...what's the difference?

thanks!

[Ouisch]

1. the situation is this: i'm with friends an' we have a problem and we've tried everything but plans failed, so I ask "what are we gonna do now?" in spoken,where almost every sentence gets short, is it possible to say "so...what now?" it's a short cut...does it lose its meaning from the original sentence?

As long as everyone was there from the beginning of the conversation, "So, what now?" is fine and is understandable as "What are we going to do next?"

2. We are all standin' in line, suddenly a friend came and wanted to cut in line and I said " please get in line" and then he corrected me by sayin', it's not "get in line' it should be "fall in line"...what's the difference?
thanks!

In AmE, we'd say "get in line." "Fall in line" is more of a military expression. If someone tried to cut in front of you, you might also tell him, "sorry, back of the line!" while gesturing with your thumb behind you.

[RobbieCook]

Hello Chum.

In your first question, "So, what now" is acceptable. It carries the same meaning as "what are we gonna do now?"

In your second question, both "get in line" and "fall in line" are acceptable. "Fall in line" would tend to be used when speaking to a group of people (especially in a military situation) rather than just one person though.

[chum]

thanks to those who responded! GODBLESS!^^