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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
1, What could you not do when you were in the army?
I could not clean my room when I were in the army.
Is question1 asking what things someone doesn't need to do?
(Have the power to not do something)
2, What could you not do when you were in the army?
I couldn't disobey orders when I was in the army.
3, What couldn't you do when you werein the army?
I couldn't disobey orders when I was in the army.
Are question2 and question3 the same?
Are they both asking about restrictions in the army?
I could not clean my room when I were in the army.
Is question1 asking what things someone doesn't need to do?
(Have the power to not do something)
2, What could you not do when you were in the army?
I couldn't disobey orders when I was in the army.
3, What couldn't you do when you werein the army?
I couldn't disobey orders when I was in the army.
Are question2 and question3 the same?
Are they both asking about restrictions in the army?
Top answer
1, What could you not do when you were in the army? I could not clean my room when I was in the army. I was not at home.
- 1, What could you not do when you were in the army?
- I could not clean my room when I was in the army.
- I was not at home.
- I lived in a barracks on base, so I was not able to come home and clean my room.
- I couldn't disobey orders when I was in the army.
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2 Answers
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1, What could you not do when you were in the army?
I could not clean my room when I was in the army.
I was not at home. I lived in a barracks on base, so I was not able to come home and clean my room.
I couldn't disobey orders when I was in the army.
If I disobeyed orders, I would get a dishonorable discharge. That would be very bad for my resume. It would be
I could not clean my room when I was in the army.
I was not at home. I lived in a barracks on base, so I was not able to come home and clean my room.
I couldn't disobey orders when I was in the army.
If I disobeyed orders, I would get a dishonorable discharge. That would be very bad for my resume. It would be
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AnonymousWhat could you not do when you were in the army?You seem to be playing with the ambiguity in the scope of negation in such expressions.
In authentic communication in English we try to avoid such ambiguous sentences.
What [ could you ] [ not do ]? What were you permitted/allowed not to do? What did you not have to do?
vs
Wh
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