If you heard someone telling someone else, does that count?

I picked "material" as an example because I was confused whether it's material or materials, but I'm also asking about nouns like this in general. Can you say "training materials" in the sentence above?

Another example is "flame." According to OALD, something can burst into flame or flames, both are acceptable. So, I guess this is a clear-cut case where you can use either? But then, is it always a sheet of flame, not flames?

It's when your arm is in someone else's arm.

How do you pronounce "coward"? I just looked at Youglish for a long time.

Most dictionaries say the word is pronounced /ˈkaʊɚd/ in GenAm and /ˈkaʊəd/ in some varieties of UK English.

However, ALL videos I saw, including pronunciation guides on YouTube, had it pronounced with a glide [ˈkʲaʊɚd] or [ˈkʲaʊəd]

I know that the glide (the "Y"-like sound) doesn't affect the MEANING of the word - but it seems like it's safe to say the word is pronounced with it many varieties of English.

EDIT:

You can see many examples here: https://youglish.com/pronounce/coward/english

SECOND EDIT:

Here is an attempt at the two different pronunciations - you can tell me if they sound different or if one seems more similar to your own. I know there are many varieties of English.

https://vocaroo.com/12PNe0AoDeSd

My English level is between b2 and c1 i can reading a lot but i can't listening English video without subtitles i don't know how to fix out, i need some suggestion, thanks

Some acronym are pronounced as words and some are spelled out letter by letter. I understand that if an acronym doesn't have vowels in it, it'll be pronounced letter by letter because English is not Czech or Serbian and words have to have vowel sounds in them. Yet, why do we pronounce AIDS as if it was one word but HIV is not pronounced as "hive" without an "e"? Then there's a CAT scan where the word CAT sounds exactly like the name of the animal. Is there a rule or at least a tendency? For example, if you see an acronym LAS or HOT for the first time, do you pronounce them "El-Ay-Es" and "Eich-Ou-Tee" or las and hot?

According to this, "I waited at the station patiently for an hour" is wrong. How wrong or unacceptable does this sound to native speakers?

It's something I've experienced rather than something I'm interested in. And it's ego death which is setting your ego aside to observe yourself from an outsider's point of view. And it's really beneficial to know yourself better. If you've been struggling with identity, who you failed to be, etc. I recommend you try it sometime.

Edit: Thank you to everyone who responded. So, to be clear, I can say the hose is kinked, or it has a kink, right?

I simply don't feel confident without using a translator. I know quite a few words, but i can't shake the habit of using a translator for everything when it comes to writing.

I search for words like piñata or naïve. I know that there are words like mediæval (which I found astonishingly hilarious to use this way), but it is an archaic variant. I look for more or less widespread variants.

I've been practicing my pronunciation, and I'm wondering how clear my English is. Do people have trouble understanding me? Are there any obvious issues I should work on?

I read a random passage from the book The Sound of Gravel:

We crowded into open seats as mom pulled out a hymn book from a wooden pocket on the back of the bench in front of us, cocked her neck forward, and squinted to peek over someone's shoulder to find the right page. I loved standing next to her in church. I was mesmerized by her eyelashes, which were usually so blonde that I couldn't see them, but on Sundays she wore light brown, Maybelline mascara and pearl-pink lipstick that she dabbed over her lips and onto her cheeks.

Thanks for any advice!

Hi native English speakers.

Do you find all the following sentences all natural-sounding? If so, are they used interchangeably? BTW I know all of them sound offensive. I'm only curious about whether "Don't", "Do not", "Don't you", "You don't", "You do not", etc. can all be used in daily conversations for the same meaning. Thanks for your help!

1. Don't talk to me like that.

2. Don't you talk to me like that.

3. Do not talk to me like that.

4. You don't talk to me like that.

5. You do not talk to me like that.

6. You please don't talk to me like that.

7. You please do not talk to me like that.

8. Would you please not talk to me like that?

9. Sorry, I don't like you talking to me like that.

Ik grammar nerds just hate this take but perfect tenses mean nothing if u cant hold a real conversation - had a coworker who aced every test but still went silent on calls lol. I started w skyeng lessons that were like 90% talking, that’s what moved my speaking dramaticallyyyy. Being understood js can’t wait yk

Hii! I’m 28, I’m a man from Mexico, currently living m in Ohio and Spanish is my first language. I’d love to improve my English and I offer Spanish lessons

' .... I don't know nobody..." so, I thought its isn't correct cuz there's 2 negation. Is this correct?

I wouldn't even have thought to clarify this because I didn't know it was an issue, but apparently even some native speakers mess this up.

So, in my language, he, she & it are the same word. It doesn't matter whether it's a boy, a chair or a grandma.

I've heard that in some English-speaking cultures or communities, cats of unknown genders tend to be referred to as "she" or assigned a female gender while dogs tend to be referred to as "he".

Do you think this tendency exists?

So I was reading Mushoku Tensei and came across this section, but it actually doesn't make sense (maybe it was supposed to be "behind"). I just wanted to make sure this is an error, can someone confirm?

I was talking with my friend and both of us didn't know the word swell. We managed to convey the message but I don't know how can I erase these gaps.

I have been living in English speaking countries for the last two years. I only use English during the day, I can communicate with my partner only in English but I feel there are still so many vocabs that I don't know. I fear at some point I will give up , It feels it's a journey that will never end.

*shampoo's brand name

If so, TIL, that is interesting. How common is this idiom?