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Question for you Americans

skippymac

skippymac

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 9, 2010
592
3
Hampshire, UK
Hi there,

I've been watching Breaking Bad and someone used the phrase "a little ways down the road", also seen it other places like HIMYM off the top of my head.

Now I know what the phrase means but here in the UK I'm pretty sure we'd say "a little way down the road". What's with the s? really confusing me :p

Cheers
 
skippymac said:
Hi there,

I've been watching Breaking Bad and someone used the phrase "a little ways down the road", also seen it other places like HIMYM off the top of my head.

Now I know what the phrase means but here in the UK I'm pretty sure we'd say "a little way down the road". What's with the s? really confusing me :p

Cheers
Click to expand...

Simple answer...if you Brits would only learn to speak English properly, you'd know that the way American's speak the language is the right way!

Actually, the way Americans do anything is the right way!!!

:rolleyes: :D
 
mobilehaathi said:
Not everyone adds the s. It is a local dialect thing...
Click to expand...
I'd say its less local, though I'm sure not everyone uses the S.

Where I'm from, we seem to say a little ways down the road yet Breaking Bad is set in the west coast (I believe I really haven't watched it).
 
maflynn said:
I'd say its less local, though I'm sure not everyone uses the S.

Where I'm from, we seem to say a little ways down the road yet Breaking Bad is set in the west coast (I believe I really haven't watched it).
Click to expand...

I will say "a little ways" at times myself; not sure why. Yes Breaking Bad is set in the southwest, filmed in New Mexico.
 
skippymac said:
Ah I see, cheers.



Haha, I had a friend at school who said math, he used to get a lot of crap :p
Click to expand...

At 3 AM, while vacuuming the house, mowing the lawn, or rebuilding the engine in your car, it really doesn't matter whether you say math or meth......... :D
 
Shrink said:
Simple answer...if you Brits would only learn to speak English properly, you'd know that the way American's speak the language is the right way!

Actually, the way Americans do anything is the right way!!!

:rolleyes: :D
Click to expand...

Sadly people where I live believe that. In fact, I know a person who thinks Americans invented English...yep...thats Pennsylvania for you.
 
maflynn said:
I'd say its less local, though I'm sure not everyone uses the S.

Where I'm from, we seem to say a little ways down the road yet Breaking Bad is set in the west coast (I believe I really haven't watched it).
Click to expand...

Well I don't know the particular localization or how widespread it is...I just know I've heard it both ways.:)
 
I've grown up in Texas and Arkansas, and it's always been "a little ways" for me and everyone I've known. In fact, I probably use that phrase a bit too much.
 
Shrink said:
Simple answer...if you Brits would only learn to speak English properly, you'd know that the way American's speak the language is the right way!

Actually, the way Americans do anything is the right way!!!

:rolleyes: :D
Click to expand...

It's true, we are terribly backwards over here.
 
I'm from the South and it is not uncommon to hear a little ways. I use it ocassionally along with a "Y'all."
 
The op seems to completely ignore that the UK also has various accents with many local phrases and strange words. Im not sure why its a surprise america might have them too across the different states, or why a country all the way across a damn great ocean might have some small differences in language to us in the UK.
 
TedM said:
What's wrong with math?
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with it in my eyes, but some are very agaisnt it :p

Shrink said:
I believe that those benighted add-extra-letter-for-no-reason, funny talking folks in the UK call it "maths".

Listen, I think those folks are still smarting over that little set-to in 1775, and talk funny just because they're cranky about it.

:rolleyes::D
Click to expand...

Hahah that we do. Although it is the shortened form of "mathematics" so I believe both maths and math are valid :p

----------
Kissaragi said:
The op seems to completely ignore that the UK also has various accents with many local phrases and strange words. Im not sure why its a surprise america might have them too across the different states, or why a country all the way across a damn great ocean might have some small differences in language to us in the UK.
Click to expand...

Accents and dialects in the UK are generally speaking completely separate from spelling and grammar. Whilst it is true that there are a large number of words that are exclusive to certain regions, standard words are always spelt the same across the country. Also, it is generally true that whilst people may not speak with perfect grammar, written forms of the language are expected to be grammatically correct.

Also generally in American English, although I may not use a particular word or spelling, I can see where it comes from, eg. elevator or sidewalk. The point of this thread was that I can't see why people not only say, but also write down "a little ways" with the s, because as far as I can see, it's grammatically incorrect. I welcome being corrected on this point, as I'm just looking for an explanation :)
 
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