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Dear all Teachers,1. You wouldn't lie to me, would you?    You won't lie to me, will you?- What sentence is correct?2. He does not even speak Chinese well, let alone Japanese.- What does " let alone" mean in this sentence?3. She always makes a cheeky remark to her uncle.- What does this sentence mean?4. Don't talk nonsense anymore.   Stop talking nonsense!- Are these ok to say?Thanks so much.

Kangiten · Accepted Answer

Hello there

Let me start by saying that I'm not a native speaker so what I say may not be 100% correct

1) Both sentences are grammatically correct; the tone of the message is different. The first sentence is in the conditional and thus adds an element of doubt, the person who says it does not fully trust the person they're talking to, an equivalent could be "you wouldn't dare to lie to me, right?". The second one sounds more like an order and it seems to refer to specific circumstances that will happen in the future as in "[when this happens], you will not lie to me, right?". That's how I understand it.

2) "Let alone" means "even less". So in your sentence, the speaker says "he doesn't speak Chinese very well and his Japanese is even worse".

3) Cheeky means "insolent". So the girl/woman always says something insolent to her uncle. By the way, if this is a habit, then the plural should be used i.e. She always makes cheeky remarks to her uncle. The singular should be used when referring to a specific situation as in "She always makes a cheeky remark to her uncle when he lights up a cigarette".

4) Both are correct, though I'd use the second one instead of the first one but that's just me.

Again, wait for a native speaker to confirm or deny what I've posted.

MrPedantic · Answer

Hello Steven

I'd agree with Kangiten, for the most part; just one or two slight modifications:

1. "You won't lie to me, will you?" is plaintive or pleading, rather than commanding.

3. "Cheeky" is "familiarly impudent".

4. "Don't talk nonsense any more" isn't very idiomatic. "Stop talking nonsense!" is idiomatic, but rude. You might also say "Don't talk such nonsense!" (also rude).

MrP

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