Matthew Wai
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- Nov 29, 2013
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I think you can say 'I was using up my patience', but I am not a teacher.My patience began to be 'wasted' or 'used'.
I think you can say 'I was using up my patience', but I am not a teacher.My patience began to be 'wasted' or 'used'.
I think tedmc has the version that works for me in BrE, I realise that in AmE it may be fine.
I've heard of it in the sense of; "You're fast using up my patience", to mean the same as, "You're testing my patience".
but I wouldn't use "I was using up my patience".
I would say "My patience is being stretched/tested [to the limit]"., or "I'm losing my patience",
This ties in with tedmc's explanation. I think in BrE, others do it to you, you generally can't do it to yourself.
Apart from the phrase; "I was losing patience with myself". Where you keep doing things wrongly and you get annoyed with yourself. Is that what AmE users say as "I was using up my patience"?
Can you do it to yourself If you have long been waiting for something which doesn't appear?I think in BrE, others do it to you, you generally can't do it to yourself.
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