Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Username

Loumi

Member Since

April 29, 2013

Total number of comments

2

Total number of votes received

2

Bio

Latest Comments

@Warsaw Will and
@Hairy Scot
English in the British Commonwealth (also used in Canada, Australia, New-Zealand, etc. has adopted the French spelling of many words (Ex.: Manoeuvre as opposed to US 'maneuver' It would explain the use (although by a minority) of 'take a decision' (FR: prendre une décision). However, in Canada (maybe because of our proximity to the US) the common expression is 'make a decision' even though English spelling thought in schools is British: labour, honour, neighbours, etc. It is very easy to get confused between the British and US spellings. This forum is very helpful and we can learn every day.

My mother tongue is French but I've always lived in a French-English environment. In English I've always heard and used 'make a decision'. It is true that in French we use the expression: 'prendre (take) une décision'. Personally, I would never rely on newspaper articles wherein numerous grammatical errors can be found.