Question
Updated on
13 Mar 2015
- Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)
- Simplified Chinese (China) Near fluent
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English (US)
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Spanish (Spain)
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English (UK)
Question about English (US)
Even though his boss did badly by him, as always, he couldn't screw up the courage to quit his job. Does this sound natural?
Even though his boss did badly by him, as always, he couldn't screw up the courage to quit his job. Does this sound natural?
Answers
13 Mar 2015
Featured answer
- English (US)
Unnatural
Even though his boss did badly by him, as always, he couldn't find the courage to quit his job.
Even though his boss treated him badly, as always, he couldn't find the courage to quit his job.
To 'screw up' is to do something poorly or incorrectly. To 'screw up' is slang and informal.
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- English (US)
Unnatural
Even though his boss did badly by him, as always, he couldn't find the courage to quit his job.
Even though his boss treated him badly, as always, he couldn't find the courage to quit his job.
To 'screw up' is to do something poorly or incorrectly. To 'screw up' is slang and informal.
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- English (US)
A little unnatural
This is correct as-is, only a little unnatural because it's a more British way of wording things. An American would say something like ^^^ above.
I might say:
Even though his boss treated him poorly, he never had the courage to quit his job.
Highly-rated answerer
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- English (US)
Unnatural
In the US, using poorly instead of badly is better as well. Badly would be improper but it would be understood.
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- English (US)
Unnatural
Instead of 'screw up' you could also use 'build up' or 'muster up'.
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- Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)
- Simplified Chinese (China) Near fluent
Thank you all for correcting me. I really appreciate your suggestions on how to phrase in a more colloquial American way.><
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