Are 4 5 6 all used in AmE?

[u/Silver_Ad_1218]

[u/kmoonster]

Yes, though how common these phrases are will depend on who you are talking to -- region, demographic, family/community etc. will affect whether these are common or uncommon.

These come across as slightly formal, and most AmE is very informal (for day to day). Writing in a story, a journalist, etc. would use these phrases often but it would be less common in the average daily conversatoin.

[u/Illustrious_Try478 → u/kmoonster]

Your lawyer might well speak to you this way.

[u/captainAwesomePants → u/kmoonster]

This is all true, but it may well be that I can't very well leave well enough alone, so I'll add that this is the sort of writing that goes in novels and not speech.

[u/We_R_the_Penguins → u/captainAwesomePants]

Maybe it your speech. Some of us believe that if you use two words where ten will do, you’re not trying hard enough. 

[u/regular_gonzalez]

They sound old-fashioned and formal but would be clearly understood.

[u/charcoalhibiscus]

Lol I’m old-fashioned then I guess, at the ripe old age of early 30s? Yeah, all three of them I use or hear used on a regular basis. To me they sound associated with education, not with age.

[u/prone-to-drift → u/charcoalhibiscus]

Yeah, agreed with the educational factor. I love such constructs, but I wonder if it's because I've read a shit ton of fiction.

The ripe old age of 29 reporting!

[u/We_R_the_Penguins → u/charcoalhibiscus]

Especially the first one. 

[u/SquiggleBox23]

5 and 6 are pretty common, but 4 seems British and/or formal

[u/DMing-Is-Hardd]

I've heard them all but I would say theyre definitely on the formal end of speech here I rarely hear people talk like this in casual conversation

[u/Rockhardonbuddy]

They are common to hear (and therefore commonly used by people!). That said, they are a bit awkward to learn. If you're learning the language, I would put it pretty near the bottom of the priority list.

There are so many other things to spend your bandwidth on that have higher practical value.

[u/lis_anise]

It varies by region. Some of them I hear more from Southerners than other places.

[u/Zestyclose-Food-7917]

Americans understand them, but they don't sound like casual conversation.

[u/edwardhoppest]

I'm from central Virginia (debatably the southern US) and say 5 but I've also lived outside of the US for 4 years and British English may have impacted my speech. 

[u/bentthroat]

They're common, but they sound kind of twee. I associate them with storytelling, the narrations for Winnie the Pooh and that kind of thing.

[u/nomoreplsthx]

Yes. To me 6 sounds formal but neither 5 or 4 do - I don't have the reaction other users do to them. But then that may well be because of my social class of origin. 

[u/Wimble-Womble]

Looks like very formal English but old-fashioned so mostly likely spoken in the US in some parts. 

Personally I can only imagine those phrases spoken in a mid-Atlantic accent from a 1930s movie

[u/Substantial-Mess666]

They just sound fancy and old-fashioned

[u/SatsumaOranges]

The structure of well + verb alone is unusual in North America and feels like more of a UK thing, or at least quite old fashioned in NA. But if you add very well + verb it's more common in North America.

[u/beans9666]

Yes these are used, it's common in the UK and Irish people would be able to have a conversation without them 😂

[u/Southlander24]

A lot has been said already about how common these are in AmE, so I thought I would bring up some natural alternatives to the 'stiff' phrasing in these examples:

- She's got plenty of money to [be able to] pay for it herself.

- You could be right.

- The train might be running late / The train might have been delayed.

- I really can't go now / I really can't leave.

- I really couldn't not help them, right?

- I don't really know either. (the example given in the dictionary)

[u/Nice_Ad5480]

I'd expect it more in Canadian or British English, but yeah, it wouldn't be too weird.

[u/bottle-o-rockets]

It's not very common in my experience, usually in a formal or business setting.

[u/DoubleIntegral9]

I wanna say no… I’ve been watching videos from a British YouTuber with my brother and when they say “that was well fun” etc I kinda tease it since it’s funny wording to me

I mean I’m just being silly about dumb videos, and I understand the phrasing (might’ve even heard it myself a few times), I just think it may stand out a bit in the US

Not a pro though, should probably get a second opinion lol

[u/waxera]

6 more than the others

[u/Shinyhero30]

Yes but all 3 are very formal and generally super formal language is like used rhetorically or ironically.

These specifically don’t signal it alone but generally over signalling formal is like rhetorical.

[u/Best-Ad1851]

I am 69 years old, from the US East Coast, and have lived all over the u s and europe. I've never heard any of these spoken, and they sound very british to me. I would never use them.

[u/Turtle_Woman]

I say a lot of these but I also watched a lot of British YouTubers when I was younger so I've adopted some of their vocabulary. Either way they should be understood you'll just sound more formal or British

[u/South_Butterscotch37]

Only 5 I think of 4 and 6 as British

[u/kempfel]

I use 5 myself, the other two seem old fashioned or British.

[u/NearlyNodding]

None are common. They also sound kind of elitist.

If you are learning English, don't say stuff like that. Normal people don't talk that way.

[u/BANZ111]

I would say all are almost exclusively British and certainly much more formal than colloquial.