Two idioms I heard the other day

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Wassup bros,

My name is Antonio, I hail from Cádiz but currently studying English in the magnificent USA. In my mind, English is the best and more influential language on Earth. Peeps from all over the world can communicate through English. There is no other language that matches its domination. This is why I want to learn as much as I can with special care on vocabulary and idioms. I would say grammar but many locals that I have met commit errors while speaking, and some of them are quite basic imo. Anyway, my question is about two idioms (I have bolded them) that I heard the other day. Please revise my sentences and tell me if I have utilized them appropriately. Here are the sentences I invented:

1. Last night I was talking to my sister about the way his boyfriend has been treating her. I knew/could tell there was something wrong by the tone of her voice. Throughout the conversation, I asked her on several occasions what was wrong but she kept beating around the bush, it was like she was hiding something from me.

2. When I received the invitation to Michelle's dinner, I felt ecstatic. She was the girl I have always been in love with. This was my opportunity and I had to seize it eagerly. Regrettably, due to ironies of life, I couldn't attend the social gathering and I missed out my chance.

Btw, can I respond to other people's post here?

Yours,

Antonio
 
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jutfrank

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1. That's not a good example of beat around the bush. In this situation, it seems as if your sister was being evasive. We use beat around the bush when somebody is being hesitant to do a task that they need to do. We usually say something like "Come on. Stop beating around the bush and get on with it."

2. What's the idiom here?


Next time, put the idiom that you ask about as the title of the thread. Try to stick to only one idiom per thread.
 
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1. That's not a good example of beat around the bush. In this situation, it seems as if your sister was being evasive. We use beat around the bush when somebody is being hesitant to do a task that they need to do. We usually say something like "Come on. Stop beating around the bush and get on with it."

2. What's the idiom here?


Next time, put the idiom that you ask about as the title of the thread. Try to stick to only one idiom per thread.
Dear jutfrank, thank you for your comments. I was convinced seize an opportunity is an idiom. Ok I Will ask one question per thread in my future posts.
 

Charlie Bernstein

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Hello!

My name is Antonio. I hail from Cádiz but am currently studying English in the magnificent USA. In my mind, English is the best and more influential language on earth. Peeps from all over the world can communicate through English. There is no other language that matches its domination. This is why I want to learn as much as I can, with special care on vocabulary and idioms. I would say grammar, but many locals who I have met commit errors while speaking, and some of them are quite basic, in my opinion. Anyway, my question is about two idioms (I have bolded them) that I heard the other day. Please revise my sentences and tell me if I have used them appropriately. Here are the sentences I invented:

1. Last night I was talking to my sister about the way her boyfriend has been treating her. I knew/could tell there was something wrong by the tone of her voice. Throughout the conversation, I asked her on several occasions what was wrong, but she kept beating around the bush. It was like she was hiding something from me.

2. When I received the invitation to Michelle's dinner, I was ecstatic. She was the girl I had always been in love with.

(In this situation use either she is the girl you have been in love with or was the girl you had been in love with, depending on whether you're still in love with her.)

This was my opportunity, and I had to seize it eagerly.

(That's fine. It would mean the same thing in fewer words to say either "I had to seize it" or "I seized it eagerly.")


Regrettably, due to the ironies of life, I couldn't attend the social gathering, and I missed out my chance.

By the way, may I respond to other people's posts here?

Yours,

Antonio
Hi, Antonio. Welcome!

Your use of those two expressions seem fine to me. Words like wassup and peeps are perfectly good slang, but this isn't a perfectly good place to use a lot of slang. You won't be taken as seriously as you probably want to be. Likewise, it's better not to use text-speak here. And remember that both men and women answer questions here.

Yes, it's fine for you to comment, as long as you always make clear that you're not a teacher and English isn't your native language.
 
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Dear Charlie, thank you very much for correcting my errors and my sentences. I really appreciate that. Thank you, Piscean too.
Whoops. I wasn't aware there are female administrators in here. I hope I haven't alienated them with my bros expression. I apologize.
 
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Yes, it's fine for you to comment, as long as you always make clear that you're not a teacher and English isn't your native language.

So, can I say any of these two sentences?
I am not a native English speaker nor (am I) a teacher.
I am neither a native English nor a teacher.
 

Charlie Bernstein

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Yes, it's fine for you to comment, as long as you always make clear that you're not a teacher and English isn't your native language.

So, can I say any of these two sentences?
I am not a native English speaker nor (am I) a teacher.
I am neither a native English nor a teacher.
They're fine. Remember to keep it simple for students who are just beginning.
 

Charlie Bernstein

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Dear Charlie, thank you very much for correcting my errors and my sentences. I really appreciate that. Thank you, Piscean too.
Whoops. I wasn't aware there are female administrators in here. I hope I haven't alienated them with my bros expression. I apologize.
No problem! It might be more of an issue in English than in languages where everything is a he or a she.
 

emsr2d2

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I don't feel alienated, I can assure you. I would, of course, have changed "Whassup bros" to "Hello everyone". I actually have more of an issue with "Whassup" than "bros". I realise that it's the written version of the badly-pronounced '"What's up?" but I really dislike it!

Off topic - actually, when I saw "bros", I immediately thought of the 80s pop duo "Bros"!
 

TheParser

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Wassup bros,



NOT A TEACHER


'Sup, Antonio?

As you have learned, abbreviations are very common in American English.

One day an elderly man went to a store where an associate (clerk) greeted him with 'Sup? So the elderly man looked up at the ceiling. He did not know that the greeting was a short way of saying, "What's up?"

This is a true story.




Have a nice day!
 

probus

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Another true story: about twenty years ago I walked into an American motel and the clerk greeted me with "Yo, wassup." I was taken aback, having expected something more like "Good afternoon." But time passes and we get used to things.
 
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Those stories are amusing LOL.
 

emsr2d2

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Those stories are amusing. LOL.

Bear in mind that what we teach on this website is correct, standard grammatical English. Once learners have mastered that, and particularly if they start living in an English-speaking country, we sometimes get into the realms of slang and non-standard communication.
 
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That is reasonable.

Based on the few threads I have posted, what level would you say my English is at?
 

Tarheel

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That is reasonable.

Based on the few threads I have posted, what level would you say my English is at?

If all your sentences are like that then I would say perfect or nearly so. In which case, why are you bothering with this forum?
;-)
 
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