US equivalent sentence regarding cell or mobile phone

[Inkent]

Hi, after some help from my transatlantic cousins on here.

In the UK, the sentence I would use would be "Honey, don’t forget your mom’s on the mobile"

In the US would it be as simple as "Honey, don’t forget your mom’s on the cell?"

 

[pink_silk_glove]

"Honey, don't forget your Mom's on the cell," or "Honey, don't forget your Mom's on her cell."

It depends if it's her own phone or if it's some sort of shared phone. Mobile could still be used but cell is far more prevalent.

 

[alohadave]

In the US would it be as simple as "Honey, don’t forget your mom’s on the cell?"

Most people just call it their phone. Cell isn't common usage, IME.

 

[RejectReality]

Is there really any need to specify it's a mobile phone any longer? Hardly anybody has landlines. The cellphone is the phone.

I haven't heard anyone refer to a mobile phone as anything but a phone in years. Well, maybe "smartphone" or "Iphone" as a pretentious brag, but two people having a casual conversation? It's a phone.

 

[SimonDoom]

I agree with alohadave. I think the most common usage would just be to say "phone" or perhaps "cell phone." But I think you could say "cell" as well and everyone would understand.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

"Honey, don't forget your Mom's on the cell," or "Honey, don't forget your Mom's on her cell."

It depends if it's her own phone or if it's some sort of shared phone. Mobile could still be used but cell is far more prevalent.

Not to nitpick, but not being a native English speaker, I have to ask: Is it correct to use the capital "M" for Mom, rather than just "mom" when it's coupled with a possessive adjective "your"

I thought that the correct way would be to say, for example:

My mom is going to the marketplace.
"Mom, buy me an ice cream!"

It's off topic but still, I am always curious about these things.

 

[Inkent]

Thanks! I'll stick to phone. The context is a son is talking to his mom/mum and becomes distracted where his wife points out he is in the middle of a phone call with he mom/mum.

 

[PennyThompson]

We might need a little more context?

If the speaker is under the age of 40 (and probably plenty of older people too), they would just say "Your mom's on the phone," and would assume a cellphone as the default situation. Landlines are increasingly unusual, except maybe in an office setting.

But maybe you're saying something different here, like "Your mom has her phone with her today," as if she usually doesn't have her cellphone with her?

 

[Inkent]

Not to nitpick, but not being a native English speaker, I have to ask: Is it correct to use the capital "M" for Mom, rather than just "mom" when it's coupled with a possessive adjective "your"

I thought that the correct way would be to say, for example:

My mom is going to the marketplace.
"Mom, buy me an ice cream!"

It's off topic but still, I am always curious about these things.

LOL you're quite right, literally banging away at the keys after a long day. I have a tendency to try and bash away without much thought to the grammar for round one, my aim is to make sure the "feel" of the story is right, then start the process of tidying but you are certainly correct!

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

Honey, don’t forget your mom’s on the phone"

That's how I'd say it.

 

[Inkent]

We might need a little more context?

If the speaker is under the age of 40 (and probably plenty of older people too), they would just say "Your mom's on the phone," and would assume a cellphone as the default situation. Landlines are increasingly unusual, except maybe in an office setting.

But maybe you're saying something different here, like "Your mom has her phone with her today," as if she usually doesn't have her cellphone with her?

Thanks for responding. it is as it seems, if I said to someone here "your mum's on the cell" they would assume they were likely in a prison and involved in a riot and be on the roof of the prison cell

As this is a piece of dialogue being spoken by an American, unfamiliar with UK lingo, I wanted to ensure I used the most suitable term to use in the dialogue

 

[ElectricBlue]

Not to nitpick, but not being a native English speaker, I have to ask: Is it correct to use the capital "M" for Mom, rather than just "mom" when it's coupled with a possessive adjective "your"

I thought that the correct way would be to say, for example:

My mom is going to the marketplace.
"Mom, buy me an ice cream!"

It's off topic but still, I am always curious about these things.

Capital M Mom is the same as calling her Laura, it's her name. When you write, "My mom," you're not using her name, you're saying who she is.

"Hey, Mom, could you come over here for a sec?"

My mom walked towards me.

Except in Australia, she'd be my mum, and I'd call her Mum.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

LOL you're quite right, literally banging away at the keys after a long day. I have a tendency to try and bash away without much thought to the grammar for round one, my aim is to make sure the "feel" of the story is right, then start the process of tidying but you are certainly correct!

You wrote yours correctly, it seems. I was quoting pink_silk_glove.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Capital M Mom is the same as calling her Laura, it's her name. When you write, "My mom," you're not using her name, you're saying who she is.

"Hey, Mom, could you come over here for a sec?"

My mom walked towards me.

Except in Australia, she'd be my mum, and I'd call her Mum.

Yeah, I thought so, thanks. I know that grammar can be tricky even for native English speakers but PSG never gave me a reason to doubt her grammar skills so... yeah, she shook my confidence for a bit. Mistakes can happen to anyone, of course.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Age might be a factor, but I can't recall anyone my age calling it anything other than a phone.

 

[Noor]

Don’t forget, your mom has her phone with her.

 

[Plathfan]

Not to nitpick, but not being a native English speaker, I have to ask: Is it correct to use the capital "M" for Mom, rather than just "mom" when it's coupled with a possessive adjective "your"

I thought that the correct way would be to say, for example:

My mom is going to the marketplace.
"Mom, buy me an ice cream!"

It's off topic but still, I am always curious about these things.

When "mom" is not capitalized, it functions as a common noun and requires a determiner or pronoun to specify whose mom is being referred to. For example:

My mom is waiting outside.
Your mom makes the best cookies.
The mom in that story is very kind.

When "Mom" is capitalized, it is treated as a proper noun and doesn’t need a pronoun or determiner. For instance:

Mom is making dinner.
I asked Mom if she could help me.
Hey, Mom, do you have a minute?

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I have stories where landlines and even pay phones are still mentioned so I have just always used "cell phone" to avoid any confusion. It also shields me from snarky comments by the biology nerds about using only the word "cell".

I would feel cheated if a story occurred in a location other than the U.S., with characters attempting to use words and phrases not native to them or the locale. If these are Americans visiting the U.K., that would be one thing, but...

 

[StillStunned]

When did we stop calling them portable personal all-purpose communication devices?

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I have stories where landlines and even pay phones are still mentioned so I have just always used "cell phone" to avoid any confusion. It also shields me from snarky comments by the biology nerds about using only the word "cell".

I would feel cheated if a story occurred in a location other than the U.S., with characters attempting to use words and phrases not native to them or the locale. If these are Americans visiting the U.K., that would be one thing, but...

Same. I think over the last decade I've only heard/read Yanks saying 'cell' when distinguishing between cellphones and landlines for some reason - like Mom calls so someone assumes she must have reached her office, but she hasn't and is using the cell for once. My mother finally got a mobile which she uses as a portable phone box that doesn't reek of wee, turning it on only to call home and get dad to meet her from a certain train. After a couple years it stopped working. Took me rather a long time to diagnose that she'd simply never needed to charge it in all that time...

So it would depend on why the statement is being made. Is it just that mom is on the phone talking to someone, so please don't make background noise? Or is she on the cellphone as opposed to a landline and thus struggling to hear and/or using up the minutes from her deal and it might cost her? Or Mom hasn't got to grips with her mobile phone yet and can never figure out how to press a button on the keypad while on a call, and is scared she'll accidentally hang up on her bank after an hour on hold...

 

[TheArsonist]

Context will no doubt help, but as I think some of the responses show, "your mom's on the phone" is easily understood to mean something other than "there is an ongoing telephone call between you and your mother," which I believe is what you intend. By default, I would take it to imply "your mother is here and she is using the phone to call someone else."

For more clarity, I would suggest something like "remember you have your mother on the phone" or "don't forget that your mother's still on the line."

(I also find "your mother" to be a more natural way for the wife to refer to her mother-in-law than "your mom," but this will definitely vary from family to family.)

 

[Britva415]

Hi, after some help from my transatlantic cousins on here.

In the UK, the sentence I would use would be "Honey, don’t forget your mom’s on the mobile"

In the US would it be as simple as "Honey, don’t forget your mom’s on the cell?"

Regardless of which noun it is, I don't really understand what you're saying?

In the US, "On the phone" means the call is connected. "Don't forget" isn't something which makes sense, if the person is already talking to their mom on the phone.

We might say "your mom's on the phone" if it just rang and someone else picked it up, and it's for you. But again, "don't forget" doesn't make sense here.

Or is the context/intention more like, "Remember not to bother your mom while she's on the phone (with someone else, and shouldn't be interrupted)"?

Or is "on the phone" a Britishism for "she's available by mobile/cell phone, so, remember that you can call her if you have to"?

 

[Areala-chan]

When did we stop calling them portable personal all-purpose communication devices?

1982, with the release of Firefox, starring Clint Eastwood. Doesn't anybody stay to watch the closing credits to movies anymore?

 

[StillStunned]

1982, with the release of Firefox, starring Clint Eastwood. Doesn't anybody stay to watch the closing credits to movies anymore?

Ah, see, I only read the novelisation. That explains that then.