American English

Enlightened

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"Off of" translates to "from."

"Off" is "removed," "imperfect, weird/strange or abnormal," or "opposite of on." Your example is interesting. From the door or removed off the door can both work, but I would use "clean off."

Really (equated to actually or genuinely) is an adverb; real (true) is an adjective. I'd use really in both sentences. I'd use real for something like.... He's the real deal (no substitute).

I think both backward and backwards are correct; the shorter, in my opinion, is preferred in America. I believe the same is true of afterward and afterwards.

Couple vs. couple of.... Both are correct. For dialogue, I think one can sound best, depending on the sentence. Will Smith's Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song: "When a couple of guys, who were up to no good...." If in rhyme, it may sound better than "couple guys." This one is tricky. Try both, in a sentence. Which reads best to you?
 
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Enlightened

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For me, it has to sound good. Below are examples I would use.

1. Give me at least a couple days, before you report the matter to security.
2. A couple of guys were seen peering into sorority-house windows last weekend.
 

Conrad Adamson

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I live in the northwest and I would use the following:


off of (vs. off): "I make money off of YouTube" / "He broke the handle clean off of the door" (vs. I make money off YouTube / He broke the handle clean off the door)

In a formal context "off of" is more likely, but in a relaxed conversation "off" is more likely.

real (vs. really): "Isn't that song real old?" / "His brother was trying real hard to please the shrink." (vs. Isn't that song really old? / His brother was trying really hard to please the shrink.)

People with the predominate northwest speaking manner would generally say "really," but someone that speaks with a rural or black urban manner would tend to use "real."

-ward (vs -wards): "They worked backward from six-thirty." / "I can ride home with the others afterward." (vs. They worked backwards from six-thirty. / I can ride home with the others afterwards.)

Without the "s" is more often American, with the "s" is more often British; I've looked this very thing up and it has been true in my experience.

couple (vs. couple of): "We can play guitar for a couple hours." / (vs. We can play guitar for a couple of hours.)

"Couple hours."
 

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These are really regional rather than "American." I've lived all my life in the Northeast, and I hear both forms you've listed all the time.

The only one that really grates is "couple hours," which IME is a midwesternism. Here, it's "couple of hours" at least for written English. Dialogue, of course, is another thing entirely.

Basically, I think you can get away with any of these constructs. It's more idioms and paticular word choices that are likely to trip you up.
 

shortstorymachinist

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These are really regional rather than "American." I've lived all my life in the Northeast, and I hear both forms you've listed all the time.

The only one that really grates is "couple hours," which IME is a midwesternism. Here, it's "couple of hours" at least for written English. Dialogue, of course, is another thing entirely.

Basically, I think you can get away with any of these constructs. It's more idioms and paticular word choices that are likely to trip you up.

This. I could see any of these being spoken by an average American, maybe dependent on region, but not enough that I'd worry about it.
 

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Different characters will use each of those constructions differently. The geographic region you described contains lots of dialects and common usages, but even a guy and his sister might, for instance, use backward / backwards differently.

You might listen to YouTube videos of people in whichever towns your characters are from to get a handle on how each of them speaks. Town hall meetings are good for that, since they naturally weed out the tourists. Most areas also have online newscasts. Just be aware that the anchors and reporters may not actually be from the area.
 

Richard White

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Being originally from the Midwest, the "of" in a couple of hours tends to get slurred into the couple -- it sounds like "coupl(a) hours)" or a "coupl(a) trips to the shed". Where I'm writing (a), should really be the schwa sound (the unaccented vowel or the upside down e in the dictionary.). Sorta like people say "Missouri (with a long E sound at the end) or Missouri (with an "ah" sound at the end - again, the unaccented vowel effect.)

For writing purposes, I'd say "couple of", unless i was referring to a specific couple, "The couple headed down the sidewalk toward her car." ... something like that. There are easier and clearer areas to slip in a few regional dialects than that particular hilltop.
 

blacbird

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My story's set in the US,

Where in the U.S.? This matters a lot, in the same way it would if you were setting a story in the highlands of Scotland vs. the pleasant hills of Kent. People native to the Appalachians of eastern Kentucky speak differently than do natives of Maine or northern Minnesota or south Louisiana or west Texas. Those differences include many many "regionalisms" in words and word choice, as well as in spoken accent.

caw
 

Chase

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Where in the U.S.?

Lots of sense in this and other comments from speakers in a multi-faceted U.S.

I have counter-questions regarding my attempt to lip-read British subjects in Midsomer, the murder capital of England--perhaps the world. 1. Why don't mouth-forms of speakers match the words printed in subtitles? 2. How come many phrases in subtitles make no sense at all? :greenie
 

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My story's set in the US, and I'm from the other side of the pond (though I've lived there and have American relatives and friends). Most of my characters are American-born, and I'm looking to maintain consistency with certain phrases as used in the US. Can anyone help me out with these? The phrases listed first below are things I would never say because I don't speak American English, so I'm wondering if the alternative (which I would use) is *ever* used in the US, for example by older or more formal speakers, or if I should stick to the American forms. My characters are mostly in their teens and 20s, and from the west - Washington, Montana, California, Arizona.

off of (vs. off): "I make money off of YouTube" / "He broke the handle clean off of the door" (vs. I make money off YouTube / He broke the handle clean off the door)

real (vs. really): "Isn't that song real old?" / "His brother was trying real hard to please the shrink." (vs. Isn't that song really old? / His brother was trying really hard to please the shrink.)

-ward (vs -wards): "They worked backward from six-thirty." / "I can ride home with the others afterward." (vs. They worked backwards from six-thirty. / I can ride home with the others afterwards.)

couple (vs. couple of): "We can play guitar for a couple hours." / (vs. We can play guitar for a couple of hours.)

Americans say off of in the situations you described, though not all do. Some might say "I make money off You Tube" or "I make money from You Tube" as well. Individuals can vary between situations too.

For the second one, saying "real" instead of "really" in those situations is casual vernacular. Most Americans I know say "really" more than they say "real." It sounds a bit dated to me, actually--sort of the way kids talked when they were trying to sound cool back in the days of my own youth.

I use backwards and towards more than I do backward and toward, though I've been told that "toward," at least, is expected and enforced by US editors. I got dinged for "towards" by an editor who looked over some opening pages for me. It still sounds more right to me, but whatever. I think there is some variation over here, or I wouldn't have picked it up. I don't know about backward vs backwards. I think those are more contextual. Backwards is how something moves, but backward is how something is (if that makes sense).

For instance, if you put your shirt on backwards, it will be backward.

Again, this is how this American uses those terms, but there could definitely be differences in regional or individual usage too.
 

Chris P

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I wouldn't think twice about either of your "American" or "British" options being said by an American, although your American options sound like a younger American to me than your British options.

A suggestion based on my writing British characters and from reading Brits writing American characters: get an American beta reader once the book is ready for it, and insist that the beta note every. single. instance. where something sounds off. The differences are too unpredictable and nuanced to be covered by lists of options (although that's a great start!). Too many idioms don't travel well and the writer would have no way of knowing. For example, in one book a child character asked if she could "stay off from school" (Americans say "stay home from school") or that to "dolly" a car is a specific way to "tow" a car.
 
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As I said: My characters are mostly in their teens and 20s, and from the west - Washington, Montana, California, Arizona.

Those are different dialect areas; California is sharply differentiated between Northern and Southern CA, and even in L.A. County, there are some strong differences between, for instance, Los Angeles proper and "the Valley," as well as strongly marked dialect differences tied to local neighborhoods and ethnicity.

Montana is a thing on its own, with sharp divides between Eastern and Western, and Washington state is very much strongly differentiated between Eastern and Puget sound, for instance, and there are marked dialects for some of the Frst Nations peoples.

I've not lived in Arizona, so I can't speak to that.
 

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I have counter-questions regarding my attempt to lip-read British subjects in Midsomer, the murder capital of England--perhaps the world. 1. Why don't mouth-forms of speakers match the words printed in subtitles? 2. How come many phrases in subtitles make no sense at all? :greenie

You get "Midsomer Murders" with sub-titles?

caw
 

Chase

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You get "Midsomer Murders" with sub-titles?

Yep, Without exception, Kay and I own every DVD through the myriad of sergeants and both Barnabys--though even after several viewings, some Midsomer idioms remain part of the mysteries.

If it weren't for the county's extreme rate of foul play, we'd live in Badger's Drift. :greenie
 

Bufty

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Yep, Without exception, Kay and I own every DVD through the myriad of sergeants and both Barnabys--though even after several viewings, some Midsomer idioms remain part of the mysteries.

If it weren't for the county's extreme rate of foul play, we'd live in Badger's Drift. :greenie

I'm amazed there's anyone still alive in Midsomer - but my wife loves the series, too. :Hug2:
 

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Well, that's the problem! Where I come from, we never say "couple" without "of", i.e. "a couple hours" is never heard.

Most Americans I know would say "a couple hours." When I'm in the US, I live in the South.
 
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