a few sentences

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HiHow do they sound to you:1. They are making really good money on you. They pay you maybe one third of what they get from their clients (maybe: of what they charge their clients at).2. She's sending you her greetings. IS IT THE SAME AS: She says HI to you.3. They are doing cons. --Is it OK to say so?4. She's usually hanging around with her girlfriends. --Are girlfriends OK? I always thought that you say "girlfriend" when you mean a girl you are going out with?Thanks

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Newguest1. They are making really good money on you. They pay you maybe one third of what they get from their clients (maybe: of what they charge their clients at). This is in a very casual style. Both your options are fine. "maybe a third" is more natural
2. She's sending you her greetings. IS IT THE SAME AS: She says HI to you. Yes. Also, the first version could be used in a more formal situation than the second.

3. They are doing cons. --Is it OK to say so? Do you mean, "running confidence games" ?? Why might it not be okay to say so?

4. She's usually hanging around with her girlfriends. --Are girlfriends OK? I always thought that you say "girlfriend" when you mean a girl you are going out with? To the best of my understanding, this is natural. But you wouldn't say, "with the boys, unless it's a girl who's doing the hanging - or in the case of a boy with the boys, he's very young. Girls can say "with the girls," boys can say "with the guys." Back in the 40's a man could have said, "I'm going out with the boys." Never, "with my boyfriends."

Newguest · Answer

Avangi
Newguest1. They are making really good money on you. They pay you maybe one third of what they get from their clients (maybe: of what they charge their clients at). This is in a very casual style. Both your options are fine. "maybe a third" is more natural

2. She's sending you her greetings. IS IT THE SAME AS: She says HI to you. Yes. Also, the first version could be used in a more formal situation than the second.

3. They are doing cons. --Is it OK to say so? Do you mean, "running confidence games" ?? Why might it not be okay to say so?

4. She's usually hanging around with her girlfriends. --Are girlfriends OK? I always thought that you say "girlfriend" when you mean a girl you are going out with? To the best of my understanding, this is natural. But you wouldn't say, "with the boys, unless it's a girl who's doing the hanging - or in the case of a boy with the boys, he's very young. Girls can say "with the girls," boys can say "with the guys." Back in the 40's a man could have said, "I'm going out with the boys." Never, "with my boyfriends."

Hi Avangi

As for the third one; I assume that both are correct, i.e., They are doing cons and They are running cons (confidence games). Right?

As for the last one I understand that one can say: she's going to the cinema with her girlfriends OR boys. Can she also say: She's going to the cinema with her boyfriends (without meaning that these are guys she's dating with )

And a man can say: I'm going out with the guys! Do not wait for me honey!

Avangi · Answer

Newguest As for the third one; I assume that both are correct, i.e., They are doing cons and They are running cons (confidence games). Right? The reason I asked about "confidence games" is that I wasn't sure what you meant by "cons." Running cons and doing cons were each under 2000 Google hits, and extremely few of those had to do with "confidence games." ("Con" seems to be short for "convention.") I guess "running a con" has gone out of style, and the correct expression is "scam." I've been fielding questions on Melville's The Confidence Man, and I was a big fan of the Paul Newman / Robert Redford movie The Sting, about con men in the 1920's running an elaborate con game. So I must ask you again, "What do you mean by 'con' ?"
As for the last one I understand that one can say: she's going to the cinema with her girlfriends OR boys. Can she also say: She's going to the cinema with her boyfriends (without meaning that these are guys she's dating with) I don't really think so. Perhaps "with some boyfriends" would be okay, but I don't think it's very common. (As an aside, "guys she's dating with" is perfectly okay, but in my experience, "guys she's dating" is more common. That is, the verb "dating" may be either transitive or intransitive.)

And a man can say: I'm going out with the guys! Do not wait for me honey! Yes. I believe this is still very common. (Don't wait up for me, honey!)

Newguest · Answer

Avangi
Newguest As for the third one; I assume that both are correct, i.e., They are doing cons and They are running cons (confidence games). Right? The reason I asked about "confidence games" is that I wasn't sure what you meant by "cons." Running cons and doing cons were each under 2000 Google hits, and extremely few of those had to do with "confidence games." ("Con" seems to be short for "convention.") I guess "running a con" has gone out of style, and the correct expression is "scam." I've been fielding questions on Melville's The Confidence Man, and I was a big fan of the Paul Newman / Robert Redford movie The Sting, about con men in the 1920's running an elaborate con game. So I must ask you again, "What do you mean by 'con' ?"

As for the last one I understand that one can say: she's going to the cinema with her girlfriends OR boys. Can she also say: She's going to the cinema with her boyfriends (without meaning that these are guys she's dating with) I don't really think so. Perhaps "with some boyfriends" would be okay, but I don't think it's very common. (As an aside, "guys she's dating with" is perfectly okay, but in my experience, "guys she's dating" is more common. That is, the verb "dating" may be either transitive or intransitive.)

And a man can say: I'm going out with the guys! Do not wait for me honey! Yes. I believe this is still very common. (Don't wait up for me, honey!)

Hi Avangi

By "con' I mean to get money from someone by deceiving them, to persuade someone to do something by deceiving them, a trick to get someone's money or make them do something.

So, once again, is it alright to say: They are doing cons (meaning: they are deceiving people?)

Take care

Avangi · Answer

That's what I thought you meant in the beginning. I would have said "running a con" rather than "doing a con," which just doesn't sound right to me.

I went to Google expecting to find confirmation, but instead found practically nothing. It took me completely by surprise. I don't know what to tell you, other than that "scam" seems to have replaced "con" as the popular word for tricking people out of their money, through deceipt. I would have expected to find that "conning" and "scamming" were used equally.

Anyway, my recommendation is to avoid "doing cons," in your writing and your life.

I also think that "running a scam" sounds more natural than "doing a scam."

- A.

Newguest · Answer

OK. Thank you very much for your help Avangi <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/5.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/5.gif' alt='Emotion: wink'/>

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