Grammar Discussions

[sergeyvzn]

‘Can’ or ‘may’? - Oxford Dictionaries

 

[sergeyvzn]

And I have no idea why the link above looks weird -

 

[doctau]

My (very pedantic) English Dad used to say "Can I? You mean MAY I - Rohan Kanhi was a West Indian cricketer". However - wouldn't it be correct to say 'Could I have....'?

I'm pretty sure the answer depend on exactly what question you are trying to ask, and most of the problem stems from trying to add politeness by asking it in the form of a question rather than a more direct statement.

I think "Give me a steak please" would be correct as an imperative statement to the listener, although seen as more demanding of them them. "I would like a steak" is a potentially more polite statement expressing your preference, but slightly different since it implies the alternatives are also acceptable if they can't fulfill desire for steak.

My understanding is that:
* "can I ..?" makes it a question of ability. Whether or not you have the ability to have a steak isn't what you actually want to ask.
* "may I ..?" makes it a question of permission. Whether or not you are allowed to have a steak also isn't what you want to ask. Ask "May I have the last piece of steak?" would be correct however.
* "could I ..?" is a question of ability, in what would be the conditional tense/mood execpt for English not having that as such. It may want a followign "if ..." clause too (Conditional mood - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia is wikipedia, but I think it's reasonably accurate)
* "would I ... ?" needs a following verb, and possibly an if clause too.


I think if you're being a grammar naz_ about it, you should probably make your statements in the form of a statement, and not in the form of a question

 

[get me outta here]

Well, fortunately we don't see naz_s on here. I liked the link posted a few minutes ago.

I'm pretty sure the answer depend on exactly what question you are trying to ask, and most of the problem stems from trying to add politeness by asking it in the form of a question rather than a more direct statement

I think if you're being a grammar naz_ about it, you should probably make your statements in the form of a statement, and not in the form of a question

 

[medhead]

‘Can’ or ‘may’? - Oxford Dictionaries

This link says both are correct, with may I being more polite. It does pick up on the idea of 'can' being related to ability or capability. But suggests 'can' is acceptable for permission in an informal context. I imagine a sausage sizzle would be informal.

 

[Warks]

I can't believe how often I read somewhere in the press that a person wasn't 'phased' by the circumstances. Sounds like they just avoided being shot by Mr Spock.

 

[Hvr]

I can't believe how often I read somewhere in the press that a person wasn't 'phased' by the circumstances. Sounds like they just avoided being shot by Mr Spock.

Sounds like a phrase they're going through.

 

[whatmeworry]

Two mistakes I can see. One grammar.

 

[medhead]

Perhaps "on dashcam" is a propriety device

 

[Deleted member]

Perhaps "on dashcam" is a propriety device

Or proprietary ?

 

[medhead]

Or proprietary ?

Glad someone spotted my deliberate mistake.

* grabs hammer to smash autocorrect

 

[Deleted member]

Predictive text is my enema !!

 

[Captain Halliday]

Predictive text is my enema !!

With fiends like these...

 

[Deleted member]

With fiends like these...

And we live in an effluent society

 

[cove]

Are you sure we are not all waisting our time or are you expecting a quite time today? Now that came from a sales report!

 

[Deleted member]

Are you sure we are not all waisting our time or are you expecting a quite time today? Now that came from a sales report!

It's not there fault, your just being picky,

 

[cove]

Yess I juste canott helpe reeding salez repportz to fine spilling misstakez.

 

[JessicaTam]

Oh stop it. You're making me il (sic).

 

[get me outta here]

Ah yes, but a good sales person is supposed to listen and then provide your product as the best solution, not so much write proper like.

Are you sure we are not all waisting our time or are you expecting a quite time today? Now that came from a sales report!

 

[andye]

Just heard the man who invented autocorrect died recently



His funfair will be hello on sundial