Active and Passive Vocabulary

Status
Not open for further replies.

MikeNewYork

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States

Harry Smith

Key Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2006
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
Armenian
Home Country
Armenia
Current Location
Russian Federation
I wonder how many new words have appeared in AE. Why do Americans say "sidewalk" instead of "pavement"?:?:
 

MikeNewYork

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I wonder how many new words have appeared in AE. Why do Americans say "sidewalk" instead of "pavement"?:?:

The real question is why the Brits call sidewalks "pavement". :-D
 

Harry Smith

Key Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2006
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
Armenian
Home Country
Armenia
Current Location
Russian Federation
The real question is why the Brits call sidewalks "pavement". :-D

And why they call the drug-store "chemist's". How many such words have been renamed?
 

MikeNewYork

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States

Harry Smith

Key Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2006
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
Armenian
Home Country
Armenia
Current Location
Russian Federation
There are many of those "pairs".

Do they teach in American schools that those words have pairs in BrE or not?. While teaching I always tell my students about these pairs and they try to learn them very well.
 

RonBee

Moderator
Joined
Feb 9, 2003
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Do they teach in American schools that those words have pairs in BrE or not?. While teaching I always tell my students about these pairs and they try to learn them very well.

I don't think so, but it's been decades since I have been inside a classroom as a student.

(Tdol, what are Shermans?)

:)
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
It's Cockney Rhyming Slang- Sherman tank = yank. ;-)
 

MikeNewYork

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I don't think so, but it's been decades since I have been inside a classroom as a student.

(Tdol, what are Shermans?)

:)

It's similar to "bloody twits" being Brits. :lol:
 

curmudgeon

Key Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2006
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
It's a complete surprise to the rest of the world that the Americans write the date in the format "month/day/year" instead of "day/month/year" like everyone else. So "9/11" is in fact September the eleventh, and not the ninth of november. Even more ludicrous is the practice of writing the time as "minute:hour:second", this causes enormous problems if you work in an organisation which must function multinationally. So much confusion is caused by the crackpot American date and time formats. :lol:
 

Harry Smith

Key Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2006
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
Armenian
Home Country
Armenia
Current Location
Russian Federation
It's a complete surprise to the rest of the world that the Americans write the date in the format "month/day/year" instead of "day/month/year" like everyone else. So "9/11" is in fact September the eleventh, and not the ninth of november. Even more ludicrous is the practice of writing the time as "minute:hour:second", this causes enormous problems if you work in an organisation which must function multinationally. So much confusion is caused by the crackpot American date and time formats. :lol:

Really? I haven't paid attention. We write day\month\year. It's really intersting. Are there any strange differences like this?;-)
 

MikeNewYork

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Really? I haven't paid attention. We write day\month\year. It's really intersting. Are there any strange differences like this?;-)

Obviously, curmudgeon cannot tell time. :lol:
 

Harry Smith

Key Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2006
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
Armenian
Home Country
Armenia
Current Location
Russian Federation
Obviously, curmudgeon cannot tell time. :lol:

What way of telling the time is popular in the States: Half past seven or seven thirty? :-D
 

MikeNewYork

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
What way of telling the time is popular in the States: Half past seven or seven thirty? :-D

Both. In Europe it is "the sun's shadow crosses the little line between the 7 and the 8".
 

Harry Smith

Key Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2006
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
Armenian
Home Country
Armenia
Current Location
Russian Federation
Both. In Europe it is "the sun's shadow crosses the little line between the 7 and the 8".

And how about the date? Do you really write month\day\year?;-)
 

MikeNewYork

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top