A. Summary: What (on earth) is American English?
You want to enhance your English, right? But do you know what American English is?
Believe it or not! Americans (and their English) like actions very much, so much that you can call them ‘Just-Do-it’ people. Don’t get it? Look at the verbs below:
Grab me a sandwich.
Get me a sandwich.
Which one do you think is more American? Or which one comes with more action?
The verb ‘grab’
But what does this have to do with your office life? Read on.
B. Running (a business)
A common example of American Business English is the verb ‘run’. I am sure you know what ‘run a company’ means. But think about it. The idea is a bit crazy, so crazy that it seems impossible for anyone to run a company on two legs.
But as you already know, you can:
run a company
run a fast food shop
Or, when talking about a company, you can use ‘run’ too:
Company BB is well-run / professionally-run / poorly-run.
C. Running an idea by me (again)
However, you can use ‘run’ to ask your coworker to repeat what he or she has just said:
Can you run the idea by me again?
What does that mean? Well, when you want your coworker to explain something to you again, you can choose to use ‘run’ rather than ‘explain’.
Which verb comes with more actions? ‘Run something by me again’ is an American way of speaking.
D. Discussing at a Meeting
Want more examples on American English? When they discuss things at a meeting, they do it the American way.
When you think someone’s idea is not mature enough, you can use the word ‘bake’, yes, something to do with the action of making bread. So you may say:
Your idea is half-baked.
(If you want more about American Business English, click this to have a preview of a book written by me and Dustin Hunchak .)
