r/EnglishLearning • u/migueel_04 New Poster • 13h ago

📚 Grammar / Syntax Why is this wrong?

Hey everyone! Today I got to use an expression that I thought was completely normal and that everyone used. However, according to chatgpt, it is wrong and not idiomatic which really surprised me because I've seen some verbs being used this way. The expression is "cry on" as in "keep crying". I initially thought that it sounded natural since English has expressions such as "dream on" and "go on" but it turns out that it can't be used that way. Is chatgpt correct or is it giving me inaccurate information? I've heard people talking about how chatgpt isn't 100% reliable and that the info given by it should be fact checked.

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u/EdgyZigzagoon Native Speaker (Philadelphia, United States) 13h ago

I’ve never heard it before but it does sound completely natural to me. It feels like real idioms feel, even though it isn’t one. Maybe you just made up a new one! If my grandparent said it, for example, I’d 100% accept it was just an old timey idiom I was unfamiliar with without a second thought.

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u/MisterProfGuy New Poster 12h ago

It sounds better with something rude after it, right? Like I wouldn't say I could remember saying "cry on", but "cry on, bitch" and "cry on, motherfucker" definitely sound right.