"Is "She is in hospital" incorrect? "
That depends. To me, yes it is incorrect, but it seems to be quite acceptable to some of our Australian couterparts (I think it was the Australians that said they had no problem with this). We've had discussions about this before.
"She is in hospital." means "She is sick and is being treated there"
"She is in/at the hospital" merely denotes the building she is in, but not the reason she is there.
Now, this only holds true for British, Australian, NZ etc. English, but NOT for North American English, where you usually use the article.
However, most Canadians I know do distinguish between "She is going to church" (to pray) and "She is going to the church" (perhaps to photograph the icons there or to help with the cleaning). This distinction is always made in British English. How about US English?
Age (or age group if you don't want to put your real age): 26
Location where you grew up, or location where you learned English:
London, UK
1. Do you distinguish pronunciation between:
pen and pin -- yes
caught and cot -- yes
Mary, marry, merry -- yes
draw and drawl --no
2. Do the following sentences sound okay to you? (Don't worry about "technically" correct grammar, just tell me if these sound allright in your opinion, or if you use them.)
I might could do it tonight. -- no
Do you want to come with? -- yes
We stood on line for two hours. -- no
She is in hospital. -- yes
We seen the movie yesterday. -- no
The car needs cleaned. -- no
We are in five. -- no
3. Write the word that you use to refer to these:
source of water over the sink or tub -- tap
a carbonated drink -- soft drink
center of a peach -- stone
plural form of 'you' -- you lot, you guys, you all
tiny candies put on top of an ice cream cone or cupcake -- hundreds and thousands
the night before Halloween -- no name for it
small glowing insect visible after dark -- fire fly
I've lived in Canada my whole life and have never heard anyone say "She is in hospital"
Either "she is in the hospital" or "She is hospitalized" the latter always mean that she is in treatment.
I agree with ved about the church thing.
I just thought: whilst "she is in hospital" is used in UK English, the same preposition isn't used for other comparable sentences, for example you'd say "he is at school".
"However, most Canadians I know do distinguish between "She is going to church" (to pray) and "She is going to the church" (perhaps to photograph the icons there or to help with the cleaning). This distinction is always made in British English. How about US English?"
Ved, this distinction exists in US English.
Emma, do you really say "I'd vanilla with hundreds and thousands on top"? In US english at least, you can say "he is in school" too.
I wouldn't say that, but more because of the "I'd vanilla" bit, which I don't understand. I might say "the icing had hundreds and thousands on it" - it sounds a bit wordy but that's just what sprinkles are called here. Although:
multi coloured sprinkles: hundreds and thousands
chocolate sprinkles: vermicelli (like little noodles)
Yes, like I said, "in hospital" is not used in North America.
Another distinction of this sort that I've just remembered is "in gaol/jail" vs. "in the gaol/jail".
Again, works in British and I think also in Canadian and US English. Native North Americans, please confirm.
I meant "I'd like vanilla" Sorry!
Yes saying someone is "in jail" means he or she has been convicted and is serving time. This is often said. However, saying someone is in the jail sounds strange to me. Rather, I think our equivalent is "went to the jail" which would mean someone just went there. However if someone "went to jail" (no article), it would mean they have been convicted and locked up.
Age (or age group if you don't want to put your real age): 19
Location where you grew up, or location where you learned English: Illinois, USA
1. Do you distinguish pronunciation between:
pen and pin YES
caught and cot YES
Mary, marry, merry YES
draw and drawl YES
2. Do the following sentences sound okay to you? (Don't worry about "technically" correct grammar, just tell me if these sound allright in your opinion, or if you use them.)
I might could do it tonight. NO
Do you want to come with? YES, I think it's a midwestern thing...
We stood on line for two hours. NO
She is in hospital. NO
We seen the movie yesterday. NO
The car needs cleaned. NO
We are in five. NO
3. Write the word that you use to refer to these:
source of water over the sink or tub FAUCET
a carbonated drink SODA, or occasionally pop
center of a peach PIT
plural form of 'you' YOU
tiny candies put on top of an ice cream cone or cupcake SPRINKLES
the night before Halloween ???
small glowing insect visible after dark LIGHTNING BUGS, or occasionally fireflys, when I'm thinking about it
Age 32
Location South Australia
1. Do you distinguish pronunciation between:
yes, yes, yes, and yes
2. Do the following sentences sound okay to you?
I might could do it tonight. no
Do you want to come with? no - although I know people who use it
We stood on line for two hours. no
She is in hospital. yes
We seen the movie yesterday. no, although I know people who use it
The car needs cleaned. no
We are in five. no
3. Write the word that you use to refer to these:
source of water over the sink or tub tap
a carbonated drink softdrink
center of a peach pit
plural form of 'you' you
tiny candies put on top of an ice cream cone or cupcake sprinkles, or hundreds-and-thousands
the night before Halloween don't have a name for this .. Halloween eve?
small glowing insect visible after dark firefly
Age (or age group if you don't want to put your real age): 20
Location where you grew up, or location where you learned English: Midwestern USA
1. Do you distinguish pronunciation between:
pen and pin yes
caught and cot yes
Mary, marry, merry no
draw and drawl yes
2. Do the following sentences sound okay to you? (Don't worry about "technically" correct grammar, just tell me if these sound allright in your opinion, or if you use them.)
I might could do it tonight. no
Do you want to come with? this one isn't too out of line, though I would never use it myself
We stood on line for two hours. no
She is in hospital. no
We seen the movie yesterday. no
The car needs cleaned. no
We are in five. no
3. Write the word that you use to refer to these:
source of water over the sink or tub faucet
a carbonated drink SODA (a constant controversy at my school, which is located right on the border between soda and pop )
center of a peach pit
plural form of 'you' you
tiny candies put on top of an ice cream cone or cupcake sprinkles
the night before Halloween ...nothing special...
small glowing insect visible after dark fireflies or lightning bugs... pretty much interchangeably
Age : 21
Location where you grew up, or location where you learned English: Cleveland, Ohio
1. Do you distinguish pronunciation between:
pen and pin- yes
caught and cot- yes
Mary, marry, merry- no
draw and drawl- yes
2. Do the following sentences sound okay to you?
I might could do it tonight.- No
Do you want to come with?- No
We stood on line for two hours.- No
She is in hospital.- No
We seen the movie yesterday.- No
The car needs cleaned.- Yes
We are in five.- No
3. Write the word that you use to refer to these:
source of water over the sink or tub- faucet
a carbonated drink- pop
center of a peach- pit
plural form of 'you'- you
tiny candies put on top of an ice cream cone or cupcake- sprinkles
the night before Halloween- I've seen "The Crow" a lot, so I call it "Devil's Night" and my mom calls it "Beggar's Night"
small glowing insect visible after dark- Lightning bug
Beg to disagree on "She's in hospital"... in the part of Canada where I grew up it is used. In fact, my mother used it.
Age: 19
Location where you grew up, or location where you learned English: Scotland
1. Do you distinguish pronunciation between:
pen and pin Yes
caught and cot No
Mary, marry, merry Yes
draw and drawl Yes
2. Do the following sentences sound okay to you? (Don't worry about "technically" correct grammar, just tell me if these sound allright in your opinion, or if you use them.)
I might could do it tonight. No
Do you want to come with? Yes
We stood on line for two hours. No
She is in hospital. Yes
We seen the movie yesterday. Yes
The car needs cleaned. Yes
We are in five. No
3. Write the word that you use to refer to these:
source of water over the sink or tub Tap
a carbonated drink Fizzy
center of a peach Stone
plural form of 'you' All of You
tiny candies put on top of an ice cream cone or cupcake Sprinkles
the night before Halloween The Night Before Halloween lol
small glowing insect visible after dark Glow bug of Fire fly