Comments on: Weekend Word Wrap: when words get in the way

By: scriveyn

scriveyn — Tue, 29 May 2007 11:09:50 +0000

Can you tell me what time it is? Can you show me the way to ? Do you know where is?
Just answer “Yes!” to all of these – It’s fun.

By: antisense

antisense — Mon, 28 May 2007 20:09:43 +0000

A frequent issue for me arises when I’m in line eg. at a fast food joint, and the server calls out, “Can I help who’s next?”
Obviously he/she can’t – it’s determined by the order in which each of us arrived and got in line.

By: greenstrawberries

greenstrawberries — Mon, 28 May 2007 04:28:08 +0000

Last year I was teaching in Korea (no not North Korea) and I quickly discovered that many of the students there had only learned a few canned phrases, among which were, “How are you? I’m fine thank you, and you?” (said rather robotically) Sometimes that was the only English a kid would have. One day, another teacher and I came upon a student who was crying hysterically (it was a teenage girl), well, we asked her if she was alright, and the only words she managed to sob out were, “I’m fine thank you, and you?”

By: Pam

Pam — Sat, 26 May 2007 00:28:58 +0000

The swimmer answered incorrectly. In response to “Do you mind if…” you should say something like, “Be my guest” or “No, I don’t mind” or “Sorry, but I’m afraid I do mind…”

Many years ago, I read a book about the adventures of a Scottish missionary in Africa. The standard greeting of the natives translated into English as “I see you!” I’ve often thought that is what is meant by “How are you?”, and is more to the point.

By: BCA

BCA — Fri, 25 May 2007 20:36:48 +0000

Ahhh, reminds me of one of my favorite pastimes…
When somebody asks a simple action of you respond with “Oh, don’t be silly.”
It will confuse the heck out of them.

“Will you pass the salt?”
“Oh, don’t be silly.”
“Wait is that ‘oh, don’t be silly’ of course, or ‘oh, don’t be silly’ no chance?”

heh heh

By: Line

Line — Fri, 25 May 2007 16:53:33 +0000

i think “sure” usually means they misheard the question. however if they said “yes” i would think they were saying they did mind. but if i was going to give a negative response, i would probably preface it with “actually, …” and then explain why i did mind.

By: Caleb

Caleb — Fri, 25 May 2007 16:48:08 +0000

I’ve pared down on asking “How are you?” or any of its variations unless I actually want to find out how a person fares. It’s uncanny how often my conversations still look like this:
Me: “Hi, [name of friend].”
Friend: “Fine. How are you?”
Talk about conditioned responses and meaningless phrases…

By: David

David — Fri, 25 May 2007 16:42:51 +0000

Good ideas all around. I’m glad I’m not alone!

By: Tru

Tru — Fri, 25 May 2007 16:30:51 +0000

My boyfriend and I had this conversation recently. We decided that “May I” seemed to be the most clear phrasing.
Much like asking to turn up the air conditioner. Do you want it warmer (turning up the thermostat) or cooler (turning down the thermostat to make the a/c stay on longer)?

By: Emily Jane

Emily Jane — Fri, 25 May 2007 16:29:10 +0000

This is a game my family plays. When you ask “do you mind…?” we usually answer yes, meaning no as so many others do, just to see who’s paying attention.
That’s been a peeve of mine for years.
I think people should ask “is it okay?” since they are usually asking permission.

(I will totally join your club.)