Why do Americans say off of when they tell someone to get off them?
47585
How can I explain to people that the phrase off of is grammatically incorrect?  I‘ve heard this phrase used a lot, especially by Americans (though they aren't the only ones).    In my understanding, off of should usually be replaced by off, as in,     I took the book off the shelf   as opposed to     I took the book off of the shelf   Am I wrong?  Or is there perhaps some simple way I can explain this to most people?
27289
I was wondering if any American writers could give me some advice as to whether the following expressions/vocab are used and understood in the US:  (words in bold are the ones I'm asking about. Some words are also in inverted commas)   The living room of a house -- is this expression ok? Do you ever say "front room" or "sitting room"? If it's a massive house with a huge entertainment area, can you say "living area"? I was tickled -- is this expression ok? It means happy. "My college mate wants to hang out at my digs" - meaning my place, or college dorm. Would digs be used? Is college mate an ok expression for someone you go to college with? In the real world, do people stop on the shoulder or the hard shoulder of a highway or is either fine? Is median strip used for the partition between 2 lanes of a highway going in different directions? "He takes the piss out of every banker he meets" -- meaning he mocks them. Is this used? Can you say "I'm pissed off at him" (angry) or does it have to be: "I'm pissed at him." "I called my parents' landline (fixed home phone)." Is landline ok? "I tried on the jeans in the changing room." Is this ok or does it have to be fitting room or something else? Is the word "thingamajig" used in American English? "I can't walk on my ropey leg" -- meaning damaged or injured or tired. Can ropey be used? Security guards are surveilling the place. This verb is showing up as misspelt but I see it sometimes. Is there another spelling or verb?   13.In the real world, do people in the US use MPH or KPH as the unit of speed when driving?   Is the expression "Calm my jitters" acceptable? (calm my nerves) If you pull up to a mansion surrounded by a fence with very thick metal bars all around it, is the word "fence" appropriate or is there a better word. I think that gate would only be for a door in a fence or something? Is the expression "It cost a pretty penny" ever used in the US? Is the expression "It took every ounce of strength" used in the US? Can the word "skiff" be used in the US for a sort of flat-bottomed row boat?   Thank you so much to anyone willing to give advice about these points. Though I appreciate any input, I think it would be most useful to hear from actual American writers to avoid possible confusion.   Many thanks!  Follow up questions:  Thanks to all those who gave their very useful opinions. I have a couple more questions for anyone willing to give advice:   What do you call the area (let's say on the 10th floor) in front of an elevator door? Is there a specific word like "the landing"? When you enter a house (without a mud room), there is a space just past the front door which is not really a room, but it's like the entrance way/hallway between the front door and other rooms like the living room, study. Is this called a "hallway"? It's not a lobby, obviously as that would be for a hotel or something. Can it be the "entrance hall"? If you are using WASP-y as an adjective, do you have to write it like "WASP-y" or "WASPy". I'm guessing "waspy" hasn't become a thing yet?   Thank you!
52730
Rarely do we hear "should have gone" in common speech.  Some background: My father immigrated to the US in the late 60s. He learned English first overseas, British English. Then he studied extensively in America.   He always corrected me and my brothers on us saying "you/I/they should have went".  And after the 2,762nd time, finally I say "should have gone"  The reason I think it's a valid question is that go/gone/went are pretty ABC words. My guess is that the contraction "should've" is partly to blame - i.e. we speak so fast that we pick the more natural-sounding thing.
37411
English is not my native language, so I'm wondering, should I say:     I'd better go away now.   or:     I better go away now.   or even (I think I've heard this one):     I better go now.   Thanks in advance!
20259
I have been reading Men With Brooms for a few days. I read a sentence which did not make any sense to me, so I landed here to get some help on it. I have pasted the sentence from the novel. Please go through it and let me know your valuable feedback on it.  An excerpt from the novel (Men With Brooms: A Sweeping Epic, paperback 2002, a novelization by Diane Baker Mason):     Gordon was about to walk away from the Impala when he saw it stop and his son get out. So it was real the boy had come.   As per my opinion it should have been:     Gordon was about to walk away from the Impala when he saw it stopped and his son got out. So it was real the boy had come.   I have two questions here:   Why did the writer use stop and get instead of stopped and got? As she is telling us a story which happened in the past. Let's say the writer is telling us her mind's situation and she used the present tense for it but why did she use stop and get instead of stops and gets?
60106
There are some people, who always need to do something. They can't just sit and relax. If they are on the job, they constantly try to change something (e. g. propose new approaches to existing tasks). If they go on vacation, they visit all possible places.  These people are mentally healthy, even though sometimes you may suspect them having ADHD or being in a maniac phase of manic-depressive disorder.  Note that most of the time their active nature is beneficial (stuff is get done, innovation happens), but can also have negative consequences (e. g. they may bully everyone to start a project at work, which doesn't make sense economically).  Also, they are very active not because they have to, but because it seems to be part of their nature.  What do you call such people?  In Russian there is an idiom of people having an awl in the anus (шило в попе), which makes it hard for those guys and gals to sit still. I'm looking for something similar in English.
113608
Bad guy: Come on, Tin Man, just pull the trigger.   Pull it.   You can run.   Go on.   Run.   Run!   There you go.   Run. Run!      --Robocop 2014   I have come across numerous "There you go." in movies. I have looked it up in dictionaries, but I couldn't well fit the meanings to the scene.  Would you explain how and when this idiomatic expression is used in daily conversation.
3776
Is it good English to say "They have just left", when talking about a single person (perhaps someone you don't know the gender of)?  (I am a native English speaker, I'm looking for the view held by lexicographers).
90103
We've recently moved from New Zealand to New York City, and have noticed that many people (most of whom have good English) pronounce "ask" as "aks". For example:     Could you please go aks her tomorrow?   Sure, I'll ax her! :-)  What's the origin/etymology of "aks"? It seems to be more common among African Americans, but it's definitely used by others too.
28350
When someone is telling you a very long and detailed story he usually wants to hear some "confirmations" (or response) that you are listening to his story. In Russian we often use something like "tak" (which has a meaning of "ok" and "well, proceed further"), "a-ha" or "uh-huh".  What word serves the same purpose in English and American English?
110803
I don't understand what  is saying:      We use come to describe movement between the speaker and listener, and movement from another place to the place where the speaker or listener is. We usually use go to talk about movement from where the speaker or listener is to another place.      When we talk about another person (someone who is neither the speaker nor the listener), we can use either come or go, depending on whether the speaker sees things from the receiver’s viewpoint (come) or the doer’s viewpoint (go).      [doer]Yolanda came to [receiver]her mother for help.      We use come when we see things from the receiver’s viewpoint (in this   case the mother).      [doer]Melissa went to [receiver]her mother for help.      We use go when we see things from the doer’s viewpoint (in this case Melissa).   Could you explain it clearly?
77883
Could anyone give me an explanation of the meaning of "get one's finger in the air" and the usage of it?
43580
What does this phrase mean? And in what cases is it appropriate to use it?
98168
I sometimes see cases where off is followed by of, and it sounds awkward to me. For example, I would prefer     This story is based on a true story.   to     This story is based off of a true   story.   What do native speakers think/prefer? Should I avoid that kind of usage?
59859
Watching Kipper with my son tonight, I was struck by the phrase "Ready, steady, go!"  I don't often hear this sequence.  In my upbringing, it has been mostly "On your mark, get set, go!"  I had thought the difference might be between British English and North American English, but when I search for "Ready Steady Go," I get a whole lot of unrelated hits related to music.    Is there a regional preference in the usage of these phrases to start a race, or are they perhaps associated with particular sports?
44673
Watching , I noticed that Melanie Griffith twice asked    I recognise this as an American construction which sounds strange to me — Brits invariably say either "What have you got?" or "What do you have?". But I'd be interested to know if it's considered "normal" by most/all Americans, or if it's regionally or otherwise restricted.
70857
The President also knows that we have to stop blaming victims for these crimes.  No one ever asks the person who got robbed at gunpoint in the street -- why were you there, what were you doing, what were you wearing?  What did you say?  Did you offend someone?  We encourage people to come forward.  We don't have to explain why someone took our money.     I think the "No one ever [...]" claim is literally false, and actually obviously so. So, I understand it to mean:          The President also knows that we have to stop blaming victims for these crimes.  No one in their right mind ever asks the person who got robbed at gunpoint in the street -- why were you there, what were you doing, what were you wearing?  What did you say?  Did you offend someone?  We encourage people to come forward.  We don't have to explain why someone took our money.      Supposing that I am right, what is this kind of rhetoric called?