Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[missdaredevil]

1
Does this shirt come in green?
What are other ways of asking that question?

2
She "rolls with the floor"=She gets along well?

3
understaffed=shortstaffed?

4
He doesn't speak French very well, but he "lets it out" so he sounds he speaks it well.

5
How would you describe that?

Thanks a million to you all out there.

[CP]

1. Does this shirt come in green? What are other ways of asking that question?
--Do you have this shirt in green?

2. She "rolls with the floor"=She gets along well?
--Are you sure it isn't "rolls with the flow"? That means she takes life as it comes, not fighting fate but bending to it, not breaking. Other expressions: rolling with the punches; ride with the tide, go with the flow. But as for "rolls with the floor," I don't know.

3. understaffed=shortstaffed?
--Yes.

4. He doesn't speak French very well, but he "lets it out" so he sounds he speaks it well.
--I suppose this means that he is not afraid to speak up, whether his grammar is right or not. He keeps talking, so it sounds like he knows what he is doing.

5. How would you describe that?
--Describe what? You lost me . . . .
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[missdaredevil]

What would you use instead of *let it out*, let it roll?

Thanks

[kerstin]

[iitimone7]

not exactly...maybe a better explanation would be 'to go along with' , but 'let it roll off your tongue' would mean an entirely different thing. 'let it out' would not really work here, either - it has a completely different meaning. the slang phrases that native English speakers use are very confusing, i know, and it's difficult to offer an exact meaning, as the meaning changes slightly throughout time.

'let it roll off you tongue' refers to the way one speaks, similar to the way you speak your first language. you know the language so well, that the words 'roll off your tongue' and you don't have to stop and think about what to say and how to say it because it is quickly understood by the listener.

does that help a little? kerstin and missdaredevil always have such great questions!! keep up the great work! iitimone7

[ad-miral]

instead of let it out, I would also say: "wreak it on sb."

Yeah you are so right! Where do they get those questions?
_________________
If I say "I love you" to someone, then I also have to say "I also love everyone else inside you, I love the whole world because of you, I also love myself inside you." -- Erich Fromm, the Art of Love

[missdaredevil]

He doesn't speak French very well, but he "wrecks it out" so he sounds he speaks it well.
Is the the suggested change?

Thanks

[CP]

Admiral's suggestion was "wreak out," not "wreck out." But it is not a good choice. (No offense to Admiral, for whom English is either his second or third language.)

To wreak, a transitive verb, can be defined:

1. To inflict (vengeance or punishment) upon a person.
2. To express or gratify (anger, malevolence, or resentment); vent.
3. To bring about; cause: wreak havoc.
4. Archaic. To take vengeance for; avenge.

There is no phrasal verb to wreak out.

A better choice: He doesn't speak French very well, but he just blurts it out, so he seems to know what he is talking about.

By the way, "so he sounds he speaks it well" is not quite right. Try "so he sounds like / he sounds as if / he sounds as though he speaks it well."
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb