a big guide :how to learn amererican english in 7 steps

 
1. Don’t speak just one word at a time:

Many people who learned printed English do this, rather than stringing their words together as Americans tend to. You end up sounding mechanical and foreign.
2. Mimic dialogue from American movies:

Read it out loud, record it and play it back to yourself. I started out this habit by doing some favorite lines from The Godfather to make people laugh. But it turns out it really helps you develop more of an American accent.
3. Try to hang out often with native speakers:

If you have had a hard time with finding American-born friends, try getting a volunteer position at an organization where people only speak English.
4. Listen closely when people around you are speaking English:

Listen to how they stress certain words in certain situations. Have you ever heard random people arguing about something? Listen to their intonation and watch their body language when they talk. But try not to be too creepy in your eavesdropping!
5. Never stop working on your intonation:

I personally find this to be the hardest part of mastering a language. Without intonation, your speech sounds flat, mechanical, choppy and unemotional. Even if the words you’re saying are technically perfect, your speech will still be very confusing to native English speaker. If English is your second language, intonation cannot ever be fully mastered, but you can always go deeper and deeper and discover more. For example, when I commute on buses in Seattle, I notice when Americans talk they don’t move lips like the rest of the world. Americans create most of sound in throat by using their tongues very actively.
6. Mind your manners:

I bumped into a very interesting book in local library, titled “Emily Post’s Etiquette, 18th Edition” which I found to be a must-have. It is well written and easy to read for immigrants who are interested in understanding local American etiquette. The authors provides invaluable advice on situation you might think of, including how to deal with salespeople, small talk, official protocol, sending cards and replying to invitations, job interviews, celebrations like baby showers, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, services of other faiths, weddings, and more.
7. Use American idioms… carefully:

“Put the word out,” “xoxo,” “play favorites,” “run errands,” “sure thing,” “the squeaky wheel gets the grease,” “play hooky.” These American idioms remind me of similar idioms in my native language, Pashto. Learn to play with idioms, but use them sparingly – overdoing it will sound awkward. Get yourself an American idiom dictionary like “A Dictionary of American Idioms” written by Adam Makkai. It contains more than 8,000 idiomatic words, phrases and informal English expressions.

Getting proficient in American English will make a big difference in your life. Challenge yourself to experience that change!

GENERAL RULES FOR STANDARD BRITISH DIALECT




Before getting into the actual pronunciation of words, we need to focus on the general RHYTHM of British dialect. In general, the British emphasize fewer words and syllables than we do-superlatives such as "very, really, so" are unstressed, as are negatives ("not")-so it's important to remember not to OVEREMPHASIZE certain words or syllables just to "show off' your accent. Don't put your "British" sounds in bold type for the audience to hear, or it will sound fake.

Pronunciation rules:

1. "R" is only pronounced before vowels, either in the same word or in the following word (in which case you use the R to"link" the words). Do NOT pronounce any R's before consonants ("worst", "party") or at the end of words ("car", "dear").

2. Articulation is clearer and more precise than in most American dialects, which tend to get a bit sloppy and lazy-mouthed. Medial 'T's really sound like T's and not D's ("better", ..seventy"). Final consonants are clear and strong (.'gifts", "sounds", "things"). Again, though, don't overemphasize speak clearly but remain relaxed.

3. Prefixes and suffixes are always weak (unstressed) and usually take the vowel sound "ih".
--endings such as -y become "ih" with no stress at all: (really, silly, happy)
--endings such as -ary, -ory receive no stress on either syllable and often lose the second-to-last syllable entirely: (military, ordinary, ceremony, solitary)
--prefixes such as be-,re-,pre- become "bih", "rih" and are unstressed (believe, rehearse)

4. High front vowels such as EE, ih, eh, 1, A tend to be "brighter" -lips more smiling and jaw less open than in American dialects
(he, his, remember, presence, switch, still, will, high, hate, fright, spider, take)

5. "AW' sounds are much "darker" -lips more rounded, more forward
(call, awful, thought, draw, brought, water, daughter, walk, talk)

6. The British "OH" is made without rounding lips, sounds like eh-oo
(no, go, own, cold, phone, nose, broken, suppose)

7. "00" and "oo" as in "food" and"foot" are made with more rounded lips
(00-true, threw, who) (oo-would, could, put, good, woman, look)

8. "UH" of "cup" is more open, tongue relaxed and flat, feels "wider" in the mouth
(cup, love, one, once, wonderful, bloody, duck, nothing)

9. The short "a" sound of "cat" is more open, tongue relaxed and flatter than American sound
("Harry" vs. "hairy", can, thank, carry, fancy, angry, chat)

10. There is a special short British "o" sound that is not found in American dialects. This sound is very short with lips slightly rounded, slightly "darker" than the American short "o"
(not, hot, obviously, job, honest, Tom, soft, long, strong, forgotten, knowledge, sorry)

British English/American English Vocabulary

Here are some of the main differences in vocabulary between British and American English. This page is intended as a guide only. Bear in mind that there can be differences in the choice of specific
 

terms depending on dialect and region within both the USA and the UK.

British EnglishAmerican English
anti-clockwisecounter-clockwise
articulated lorrytrailer truck
autumnautumn, fall
barristerattorney
bill (restaurant)bill, check
biscuitcookie
block of flatsapartment building
bonnet (clothing)hat
bonnet (car)hood
boottrunk
caravantrailer
car parkparking lot
chemist's shopdrugstore, pharmacy
chest of drawersdresser, chest of drawers, bureau
chipsfries, French fries
the cinemathe movies
clothes pegclothespin
coffincoffin, casket
crispspotato chips
crossroadsintersection; crossroads (rural)
cupboardcupboard (in kitchen); closet (for clothes etc)
diversiondetour
drawing-pinthumbtack
drink-drivingdrunk driving
driving licencedriver's license
dual carriagewaydivided highway
dummy (for baby)pacifier
dustbingarbage can, trash can
dustmangarbage collector
engineengine, motor
estate agentreal estate agent
estate carstation wagon
filmfilm, movie
flatapartment, flat, studio
flat tyreflat tire
flyoveroverpass
gearbox (car)transmission
gear-levergearshift
Girl GuideGirl Scout
ground floorground/first floor
handbaghandbag, purse, shoulder bag
high streetmain street
holidayvacation
hood (car)convertible top
jamjam, preserves
jugjug, pitcher
juggernaut18-wheeler
liftelevator
lorrytruck, semi, tractor
madcrazy, insane
main roadhighway
maizecorn
mathsmath
motorbikemotorcycle
motorwayfreeway, expressway
motorwayhighway, freeway, expressway, interstate highway, interstate
nappydiaper
naughts and crossestic-tack-toe
pants, underpantsunderpants, drawers
pavementsidewalk
pet hate pet peeve
petrolgas, gasoline
The PloughBig Dipper
pocket moneyallowance
postmail
postboxmailbox
postcodezip code
postmanmailman, mail carrier, letter carrier
pubbar
public toiletrest room, public bathroom
railwayrailroad
return (ticket)round-trip
reverse chargecollect call
ring roadbeltway, freeway/highway loop
road surfacepavement, blacktop
roundabouttraffic circle, roundabout
rubbereraser
rubbishgarbage, trash
rubbish-bingarbage can, trashcan
saloon (car)sedan
shopshop, store
silencer (car)muffler
single (ticket)one-way
solicitorlawyer, attorney
spannerwrench
sweetscandy
taxitaxi, taxi cab
tea toweldish towel
telly (informal), TVtelevision, TV
third-party insuranceliability insurance
timetableschedule
tincan
toll motorwaytoll road, turnpike
torchflashlight
trouserspants, trousers
tube (train)subway
underground (train)subway
vestundershirt
waistcoatvest
walletwallet, billfold
wellington bootsrubber boots, rain boots
whiskywhisky/whiskey
windscreenwindshield
zipzipper

how to learn english : the best tips ?

 
1-Dictation is a great way to improve your listening skills and your spelling. Ask a friend to read a few paragraphs of a book or newspaper . Write what you think you hear . Compare what you wrote with the original text .

 2-  
Learn English by reading, listening, studying and asking questions , practice what you learn in speaking and writing .
    
If you are young , live for one year in an English speaking country . It's much cheaper if you do an exchange ( accept someone come to your home while you live with them).


    
If you can dream in English , this means that you are fluent , but not that your English is perfect.


  3- Get anglophone friends.
    
If you are targeting the United States , locate literacy programs available in your area (they are often free ) , learn a trade and do your best to have English-speaking friends . Americans love people with the mindset " I can do it! " . In Britain , modesty and practical skills will be more assets.


    
Learn about the culture of Anglo- Saxon countries.


    
Find an English-speaking person who not only speaks English, but can also teach . Learn grammar and vocabulary using visual, auditory and vocal methods . Vary the cycle and hold interest.
    
Children can enjoy learning in the kitchen while drinking a chocolate after school.

How and When to Pronounce 'R' in British English


Many students of English find it hard to pronounce British 'R'. When they have mastered the pronunciation, they discover that British 'R' is often a silent letter. The pronunciation of British English 'R' differs from American English in which all letters 'R' shown in the spelling are actually pronounced.
When studying pronunciation, you pay attention to what you hear not what you see. In other words, you must ignore the spelling. Only the sound is important.
Look at these three words: live – two – listen
  • live has 4 letters when you see the spelling, and 3 sounds when you listen to the pronunciation; l – i –v
  • two: 3 letters, 2 sounds
  • listen: 6 letters, 5 sounds (some people pronounce only 4 sounds, they skip the sound in between t and n)
Another word for sound in this context is phoneme. I will use the word sound, but you are not studying phonetics. You just want to know how and when to pronounce 'R' in British English.

How to Pronounce R in English

The letter 'R' is a difficult letter to pronounce for many students of English. The Dutch and Germans pronounce the 'R' at the back of the throat. Spanish speakers roll their 'R'. There are as many different ways to pronounce 'R' as there are languages.
My Special Tip:
Treat the letter 'R' as a completely new sound, unconnected with the letter 'R' in your own language.
Pronunciation of English 'R'
  1. Round your lips
  2. Say zzzzz, lengthen the sound
  3. Raise the tip of your tongue
  4. Retract the tip a little
  5. The result is the correct pronunciation of English R

When to Pronounce 'R' in British English

For most students of British English, it is difficult to remember not to pronounce every 'R' shown in the spelling. In American English and many country dialects in Britain, the letter 'R' is pronounced whenever indicated in the spelling.
In British English, 'R' is pronounced
  1. before a vowel sound
  2. never before a consonant
No 'R' in farm and far, but 'R' is pronounced in far away, because of the vowel sound in the next word

Rule for the pronunciation of British R

  • Pronounce 'R' before a vowel sound in the same word
  • red, rose, train, green, merit, theory
  • Pronounce 'R' when it is the last sound (not letter) in a word followed by another word beginning with a vowel.
  • here and there, a present for Anne
  • In all other cases 'R' is a silent letter and not pronounced
  • arm, learn, girl
You have now mastered the pronunciation of British 'R'. Take the test British Pronunciation of the letter R and see how many right answers you can give.

Compound Nouns




 
Definition:
A compound noun is made up of two or more words used together as a single noun

The words tooth and paste are each nouns in their own right, but if you join them together they form a new word - toothpaste.

The word black is an adjective and board is a noun, but if you join them together they form a new word - blackboard.


Here are more examples:

 

One Word

basketball, filmmaker, drugstore, doghouse, grasshopper, grandson, Passover, Greenland, Iceland

Separate Words
fire drill, chain reaction, Thomas. A. Edison, House of Representatives, North Americans

Hyphenated Word
self-control, fund-raiser, eighteen-year-olds, mother-in-law, out-of-doors, president-elect

Note: When you are not sure how to write a compound noun, look it up on the dictionary.

Identifying Compound Nouns


Directions:  Circle the compound noun in each of the following sentences. 

Example:  Did you know that the most famous alphabet used by people with visual



 
                impairments was invented by a  fifteen-year-old?


1.     Louis Braille was born in 1809 in France.

2.    His father was a saddlemaker who often let Louis play with pieces of leather.

3.    In 1812, when the three-year-old tried to punch a hole in a piece of leather, the tool slipped and injured his left eye.

4.    Infection from the wound spread to both eyes, and Louis completely lost his eyesight.

5.    Louis left for Paris in 1819 to attend the National Institute for the Blind.

6.    By 1824, Louis made real his daydream to develop an alphabet for the blind.

7.    His first version used both dots and dashes, but that system had drawbacks.

8.    As a young teacher at the National Institute for Blind Children, Louis Braille perfected an alphabet of raised dots.

9.    Now a machine called a braillewriter is used.

10. Braille died in 1852, and although his alphabet is widely used now, it never was during his lifetime.

List of Descriptive Adjectives



List of Descriptive Adjectives
Adjectives are used in a language to describe something or someone. Descriptive adjectives form a prominent part of this broader category. In this article, you will find the list, types and usage of descriptive adjectives.
The eight parts of speech, viz., Noun, Verb, Adjective, Adverb, Pronoun, Conjunction, Preposition and Interjection, form the backbone of English grammar and composition. Adjectives are used extensively in regular conversation and writing, specifically when we are describing something. Adjectives are one of the eight parts of speech that express an attribute of a place, thing, an event or a person. In simpler words, adjectives describe, qualify or modify nouns. Adjectives precede the noun in a sentence. There can also be more than two adjectives qualifying a single noun. Adjectives in English are categorized into two types: limiting adjectives and descriptive adjectives.

 Descriptive Adjectives


The group of descriptive adjectives is the largest among all the types of adjectives. They describe the noun in detail by assigning an attribute to that noun. The list of descriptive adjectives is considered nearly unending, as there are words to describe nearly all nouns.

The following are lists of adjectives, categorized according to ones that describe qualities, personality traits, colors, sizes, shapes, sounds and feelings. These can also be used to describe quality of something, or even to describe a person's character.

Adjectives Describing Appearance

E.g. Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were. But it was an arresting face, pointed of chin, square of jaw. Her eyes were pale green without a touch of hazel, starred with bristly black lashes and slightly tilted at the ends.
- Gone with the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)

Appearance of a person can be described in numerous ways. Now, take a look at the aforementioned example. Here, the highlighted words are adjectives describing appearance of the character. The word Beautiful is commonly used to describe a woman. Similarly, the other words, arresting, pointed, square, pale green, etc., describe different facial features.




Adorable
Attractive
Alluring
Beautiful
Bewildered
Boorish
Bright
Confident
Cheerful
Cultured
Clumsy
Drab
Dull
Dynamic
Disillusioned
Elegant
Energetic
Fair
Fancy
Filthy
Gentle
Glamorous
Handsome
Homely
Hurt
Ill-mannered
Jolly
Lovely
Magnificent
Neat
Nervous
Pleasant
Perfect
Plucky
Prim
Smiling
Splendid
Self-assured
Snobbish
Thoughtful
Tense
Timid
Upset
Vivacious
Wonderful
Worried
Wild




Adjectives Describing Personality

E.g. The unique, the complex, the extraordinary and irreplaceable Diana whose beauty, both internal and external, will never be extinguished from our minds.

-The Tribute by Earl Spencer, the brother of Princess Diana, at her funeral.
The words, unique, complex, extraordinary and irreplaceable are used to describe the personality of the Princess. While the words, internal and external are other types of adjectives.



Aggressive
Ambitious
Amused
Brave
Barbarous
Cruel
Combative
Co-operative
Cowardly
Dangerous
Diligent
Determined
Disagreeable
Evil
Erratic
Frank
Fearless
Friendly
Generous
Gifted
Helpful
Harmonious
Hesitant
Instinctive
Jealous
Knowing
Kind-hearted
Loner
Mysterious
Naughty
Pleasing
Placid
Punctual
Quiet
Rigid
Successful
Sedate
Sincere
Selfish
Talented
Thrifty
Truculent
Unbiased
Voracious
Witty
Wise
Warm
Zany



Adjectives Describing Feelings

E.g. She wasn't bitter. She was sad, though. But it was a hopeful kind of sad. The kind of sad that just takes time.
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky)

Here the words bitter, sad are adjectives that negatively describe one's feelings. On the other hand, hopeful is a feeling that describes optimism. These type of adjectives are used to describe people.



Afraid
Angry
Anxious
Bad
Bored
Berserk
Calm
Confused
Comfortable
Creepy
Depressed
Disturbed
Dominating
Deceitful
Envious
Elated
Faithful
Fine
Frustrated
Good
Gloomy
Grieving
Horrible
Happy
Hungry
Ill
Jovial
Kind
Lively
Mature
Nice
Proud
Peaceful
Protective
Sorrowful
Silly
Somber
Sore
Tired
Troubled
Testy
Unwell
Unhappy
Vengeful
Wicked
Weary
Wrong
Zestful




Adjectives Describing Shape

E.g. The two Bludgers are round, jet black balls, made of iron
- Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling)

These adjectives are usually used to describe a thing. Round is a descriptive adjective that tells us more about the shape of the ball; while jet black, another adjective, describes its color.



Broad
Crooked
Circular
Distorted
Flat
Hollow
Narrow
Round
Square
Skinny
Steep
Wide






Adjectives Describing Size

E.g. They would not allow me to be a dwarf, because my littleness was beyond all degrees of comparison; for the queen's favorite dwarf, the smallest ever known in that kingdom, was near thirty feet high.
- Gulliver's Travels (Jonathan Swift)

These adjectives are also commonly used to describe things. Here, smallest is a superlative degree (degree of comparison) used to describe the size of the dwarf.



Big
Colossal
Great
Gigantic
Huge
Large
Miniature
Mammoth
Petite
Tall
Thin
Tiny




Adjectives Describing Time

E.g. Let others praise ancient times; I am glad I was born in these.
- Ovid

You may not be aware, but, there are many adjectives that are used to describe time, other than early and late. Here ancient describes time. The aforementioned and the following examples can be used.



Ancient
Annual
Brief
Early
Fast
Late
Modern
Old
Rapid
Swift
Slow
Young




Adjectives Describing Quantity

E.g. The world is full of abundance and opportunity, but far too many people come to the fountain of life with a sieve instead of a tank car... a teaspoon instead of a steam shovel. They expect little and as a result they get little.
- Ben Sweetland

Many is another common adjective used to describe the quantity or number of something. Similarly, little is the adjective here that describes the amount of expectations of people.



Abundant
Bountiful
Considerable
Empty
Extra
Few
Heavy
Myriad
Many
Multiple
Numerous
Substantial




Adjectives Describing Sound

E.g. I detest heavy perfume and shrill voices.
- Renee Vivien

In this example, the adjective shrill expresses the type of voice. Heavy is another adjective used in the sentence that describes the nature of the perfume.



Blaring
Cooing
Deafening
Loud
Melancholic
Noisy
Soft
Shrill
Squeaking
Silent
Thundering
Whispering


Adjectives Describing Taste

E.g. But all that being said about modulation, if you're serving people delicious food, they won't complain.
- Sally Schneider

The following adjectives are used to describe different types of food. The adjective, delicious, used here is one of the most commonly-used attribute for food.



Bitter
Delicious
Fresh
Hot
Icy
Juicy
Spicy
Sweet
Sour
Salty
Tasty
Tasteless




Adjectives Describing Touch

E.g. Ignorance is like a delicate fruit; touch it, and the bloom is gone."
- Oscar Wilde

These adjectives are used to describe things. In the above example, delicate describes the nature of the fruit. If you take a look at the following examples, you will find that these adjectives can be used to detail many types of nouns.



Hard
Loose
Rough
Smooth
Slippery
Sticky
Sharp
Scattered
Soft
Tender
Uneven
Wet




Adjectives Describing Color

E.g. Autumn seemed to arrive suddenly that year. The morning of the first September was crisp and golden as an apple..."
- Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling)

Using colors as adjectives is one of the most common forms of describing nouns (appearance of things, people, etc.) Here the word golden describes an apple, an indirectly, it describes the autumn. Crisp is the other adjective used here to describe the apple.



Azure
Aqua
Blue
Black
Crimson
Cyan
Gold
Green
Magenta
Orange
Pink
Turquoise



Usage of Descriptive Adjectives
If you wish to use more than one descriptive adjective, you need to follow certain rules of usage. The descriptive adjective follows the opinion adjective. To understand this, consider the following example.
E.g. A beautiful, green emerald.
In the above example, both 'beautiful' and 'green' are descriptive adjectives. But, the adjective 'beautiful' is an opinion or a general adjective that may differ from person to person. On the other hand, 'green' is a specific adjective that defines an emerald. Therefore, when more descriptive adjectives have to be used, they should follow the manner illustrated below.
E.g. A black, wooden door.
E.g. A magnificent, huge bungalow.



Descriptive adjectives are primarily differentiated into simple adjectives and compound adjectives.

Simple Adjectives
Simple adjectives are single words that are commonly used to describe a noun. These are commonly used in verbal communication when describing a thing or a person.
E.g. good, happy, bad, thin, lovely, picturesque

Compound Adjectives
Two or more adjectives, used consecutively to describe the same noun, are known as compound adjectives. They are hyphenated in order to avoid confusion. The most common compound adjectives are the ones formed when adjectives precede nouns like 'blue-sky', or when adjectives are preceded by verbs as in 'feel-good'. When two or more colors are used as adjectives, there is always a hyphen between them.
E.g. middle-aged, short-sighted, bluish-green

If there is no hyphen between two adjectives, there can be an ambiguity in the meaning of the sentence. The following example will be helpful to illustrate this.
E.g. A man-eating tiger.
As the adjectives are hyphenated, it is clear that they describe the noun, 'tiger'. Now, consider the following example,
E.g. A man eating tiger.
Here, as there is no hyphen between the two words, it is difficult to interpret the two words, 'man and eating', as a compound adjective (man-eating). The sentence clearly means that a man is eating a tiger.

To understand the usage of adjectives clearly, they are also further classified into the following sub-types.

Predicate Adjectives
Predicate adjectives affirm an attribute of the subject. In simpler words, these adjectives modify the subject in the sentence. There is always a linking verb that connects the subject to the predicate adjective.
E.g. The cake is tasty.
Here the predicate adjective 'tasty' describes the subject 'the cake'.

Adjective Degrees
When an adjective describes a single noun, it is the positive degree of adjective; whereas when the adjective denotes comparison between two nouns, it is the comparative degree of adjective. The superlative degree of adjective is used when the comparison is between many nouns.
E.g. A is a tall building (positive degree)
E.g. B is taller than A (comparative degree)
E.g. C is the tallest building (superlative degree)



Participial Adjectives
When participles express a quality of the nouns, i.e. when they function as adjectives, they are known as participial adjectives. There are two types of participial adjectives; the ones ending with 'ing' and the ones ending with 'ed'.
E.g. The program was boring
E.g. We were bored at the program.

Note: If you want to know more about Participal Adjectives and its usage click on the following link:



Limiting Adjectives
Limiting adjectives are used to specify only certain nouns. They are limited to the noun that they describe, and hence, are known as limiting adjectives. The types of limiting adjectives are possessive adjectives, demonstrative adjectives, numerical adjectives, interrogative adjectives, and proper adjectives.
E.g. His book (possessive adjective)                 E.g. Shakespearean drama (proper adjective)