barmpot
LOTSW Fanatic
Wow, I think I have just got my amateur sleuth badge!!
British English V American English.
- Thread starter Pearl
- Start date
Wow, I think I have just got my amateur sleuth badge!!
Adanor
Dedicated Member
Here in the States, tarmac refers to airport runways.
me2
Dedicated Member
1.Trademark. a brand of bituminous binder, similar to tarmacadam, for surfacing roads, airport runways, parking areas, etc.
noun 2.(lowercase) a road, airport runway, parking area, etc., paved with Tarmac, tarmacadam, or a layer of tar.
3.(lowercase) a layer or covering of Tarmac, tarmacadam, or tar.
dick
LOTSW Fanatic
While McAdam invented the use of crushed stone for road surfaces, it was a man called Hooley (an engineer for Nottinghamshire County Council !) who discovered by a happy accident that it worked better with a coating of tar. A tar barrel burst on the road one day and a local man with a load of crushed stone slag spread it on the tar . This Mr Hooley noticed ,stayed in position longer than stone on its own, which often gave way into ruts. The scheme was tested on a road in Nottingham (Radcliffe Road ) but Mr Hooley could not get backing for his idea so eventually it was sold to the millionaire owner of what became Tarmac Ltd and the rest as they say is history .
me2
Dedicated Member
In what video did you see that? We would also say shone or 'the sun shines brightly.'
brendalovescompo
Dedicated Member
Beth
Dedicated Member
Yes, it is good to know that sarcasm knows no land boundaries. We are just as sarcastic here. ;DBrilliant!
captain clutterbuck
LOTSW Fanatic
British English v American English
When I was working I took a call from a colleague with the most implausible excuse to pull a sick day ever .He phoned to say that he couldn't come into work because he had his driveway tarmac'd and despite him putting up warning signs his cat had wondered onto the driveway and got tarmac on its paws and he had to take it to the vets to get cleaned up . I couldn't start to tell you the stick he got when he came back to work .
When I was working I took a call from a colleague with the most implausible excuse to pull a sick day ever .He phoned to say that he couldn't come into work because he had his driveway tarmac'd and despite him putting up warning signs his cat had wondered onto the driveway and got tarmac on its paws and he had to take it to the vets to get cleaned up . I couldn't start to tell you the stick he got when he came back to work .
Not, I think, the type of video where subtitles are generated by machine and maybe I was incorrect using the term 'subtitles' anyway. Maybe more a commentary to the images used. See for yourselves:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/zf_0jzPQ8lo?rel=0
Let us see if this is generally concurred. There does seem a potential difference in past participles between the transitive verse 'to shine' and the intransitive verb.
I would say, 'The sun has shone brightly', (intransitive) but 'I have shined our family brasses brightly' (transitive).
I throw this in for Pearl who complained of a headache on another thread.
I would say, 'The sun has shone brightly', (intransitive) but 'I have shined our family brasses brightly' (transitive).
I throw this in for Pearl who complained of a headache on another thread.
Marianna
Dedicated Member
Let us see if this is generally concurred. There does seem a potential difference in past participles between the transitive verse 'to shine' and the intransitive verb.
I would say, 'The sun has shone brightly', (intransitive) but 'I have shined our family brasses brightly' (transitive).
I throw this in for Pearl who complained of a headache on another thread.
In the States, we would use each word exactly as you would. Might use 'shined' for 'shone' if we hadn't been exposed to correct speech from birth. I grew up hearing correct speech from my parents. As I result, some of my otherwise well-educated acquaintances say that I sound stuffy.
Marianna
me2
Dedicated Member
I agree with you. I would have written "And the sun shone brightly." But as Marianna said, people who haven't grown up with correct speech may chose the incorrect form of the word. While correct usage was taught in school, I found most students did not actually change their speaking or their writing.
me2
Dedicated Member
This is a question because I don't know. I was reading a book by a Canadian author and she referred to the sisters as step-sisters. They had the same father but different mothers. In the US we would refer to them as half-sisters.
We call them step-sisters when they have different biological parents but become family when the father of one marries the mother of the other.
This author made other mistakes so I didn't know if this was a mistake or if we have different meanings for step-sister.
We call them step-sisters when they have different biological parents but become family when the father of one marries the mother of the other.
This author made other mistakes so I didn't know if this was a mistake or if we have different meanings for step-sister.
Adanor
Dedicated Member
While we were on a trip to Long Island, my father decided to stop for a yellow light on the Long Island Expressway. The guy behind us did not stop and yes, he ran into us. But the good news was that we were pulling a tent trailer at the time and it absorbed the impact. Luckily, it was a rental.
me2
Dedicated Member
Thanks, Big Unc. I'm always happy to find ways we are all alike.
On my at one time frequent visits to Long Island I found the LIE to be absolutely wild. Used the Parkways (no heavy commercial vehicles) whenever I could.
Adanor
Dedicated Member
As I recall, the only problem with the Parkways is that while there are dedicated gas stations, they're all on the left.