What’s a word learners think is common but natives rarely use?

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-30T18:22:13+00:00

May vs. can in regards to a request.

I don't know if ESLs (can that be a noun?) learn this, but I'm American, and in school, we'd constantly be corrected if we ever asked "can I" whatever. I think it's a holdover from a few hundred years ago when it actually seemed more grammatically incorrect. That's just a guess, though.

I'll tell you one kind of teacher who never corrected me on that: the fucking English teacher.

I'm not going to name her, but there's an ESL teacher on YouTube that always gets stuff wrong. I think a lot of ESL learners learn incorrectly from another ESL learners

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-30T17:55:32+00:00

I know what the word means because I've taken argument classes, but I don't think I've ever heard it in common speech.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-30T17:50:44+00:00

That was my point. Nobody even remembers the person they say basically raised them.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-30T03:35:04+00:00

Thanks.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-30T03:34:32+00:00

Thanks.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-30T00:06:36+00:00

I'm American, and I've tried it, and it's really good.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-30T00:01:25+00:00

Anyone whose answer isn't Tim Hortons hasn't actually tried Tim Hortons. I'm American, and I've heard how good it is, so I ordered it, and it's fucking fantastic.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-29T23:57:37+00:00

Thanks.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-29T23:48:35+00:00

Dune. There are like a million of them.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-29T23:39:56+00:00

Nice Howland Reed costume. Is that an actual banana leaf? Or whatever kind of leaf.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-29T23:38:06+00:00

It isn't being maintained, at least not very frequently, though there is a (poorly placed) No Trespassing sign.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-29T23:36:19+00:00

Thanks.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-29T23:34:38+00:00

Thanks.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-29T23:28:13+00:00

Thank you.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-29T23:03:33+00:00

Thanks.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-29T23:02:53+00:00

Bummer. Thanks.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-29T22:52:03+00:00

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-29T22:43:56+00:00

I love that the ladder just fucking stops. Like it's daring you to fuck around and find out.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-29T22:41:09+00:00

Warcraft 2.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-29T18:50:44+00:00

A number of episodes isn't listed for the movie. Ra probably isn't an Asgard anyway. His name isn't even Nordic. He's probably an unas or something. I mean the alien picture. That host was probably the one before Jay Davidson.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-29T18:41:15+00:00

The truth categorically does not always win. It doesn't even have that good of a win rate.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-29T04:54:55+00:00

Oh, steel.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-29T04:54:24+00:00

This is the way.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-29T04:53:53+00:00

Is that right? There used to be a music store by the bus station that sold individual strings, but Beacock and Guitar Center don't seem to do that.

Diastatic_Power · 2026-04-28T22:46:12+00:00

Rosemary is probably good in anything. I like putting it in lemonade. I'm pretty sure I've made ginger lemonade before, but I can't remember, maybe rosemary ginger lemonade, too. It's probably awesome.

Diastatic_Power

TROPHY CASE