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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
May tell vs. may want to tell vs. etc.
A. You may tell me what's going on since your mother won't be back until 8pm.
B. You may want to tell me what's going on since your mother won't be back until 8pm.
C. You might want to tell me what' going on since your mother won't be back until 8pm.
D. You might as well tell me what's going on since your mother won't be back until 8pm.
1. I believe all the sentences above mean the same. I'm just not sure about the fourth sentence. If it's different, what does 'might as well' mean above?
2. About the sentences with the same meaning, is one more polite than the other? I think they are arranged above in ascending order of politeness, the first one being the least polite.
Please advise. Thank you.
B. You may want to tell me what's going on since your mother won't be back until 8pm.
C. You might want to tell me what' going on since your mother won't be back until 8pm.
D. You might as well tell me what's going on since your mother won't be back until 8pm.
1. I believe all the sentences above mean the same. I'm just not sure about the fourth sentence. If it's different, what does 'might as well' mean above?
2. About the sentences with the same meaning, is one more polite than the other? I think they are arranged above in ascending order of politeness, the first one being the least polite.
Please advise. Thank you.
Top answer
Anonymous I believe all the sentences above mean the same. No, they don't. There are several meanings here: You may tell me what's going on ...
- Anonymous I believe all the sentences above mean the same.
- No, they don't.
- There are several meanings here: You may tell me what's going on ...
- You have permission to tell me what's going on ...
- Possible, but less likely, alternate meaning: It is possible that you will tell me what's going on ...
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2 Answers
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AnonymousI believe all the sentences above mean the same.No, they don't. There are several meanings here:
You may tell me what's going on ...
You have permission to tell me what's going on ...
Possible, but less likely, alternate meaning:
It is possible that you will tell me what's going on ...
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I thought they were all the same in meaning, but now I understand how some are different.
Thank you very for the explanation.
Thank you very for the explanation.
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