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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Vocabulary

turn down

Hi,

1.'She asked him to leave, but he declined.'
Is 'declined' appropriate in the sentence?

2.She asked him to leave, but he rejected leaving.
Can we use 'reject' in this way?

3.She asked him to leave, but he turned it/her down.
Can we use 'turn it down' or 'turn her down' in the sentence?

If 'decline', 'reject' and 'turn down' all fine in the above, what is their difference?

Thanks
  

Top answer

None of these are right. If I offer you some tea, you may decline. If I offer you $100,000 for our house, you can reject or turn down my offer.

— BarbaraPA

  • None of these are right.
  • If I offer you some tea, you may decline.
  • If I offer you $100,000 for our house, you can reject or turn down my offer.
  • If I ask you to leave, you may refuse to do so.
  • Only "refuse" works in this sense, not decline, reject or turn down.
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28 Answers
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None of these are right.

If I offer you some tea, you may decline.

If I offer you $100,000 for our house, you can reject or turn down my offer.

If I ask you to leave, you may refuse to do so.

Only "refuse" works in this sense, not decline, reject or turn down.
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Anonymous1.'She asked him to leave, but he declined.'
Is 'declined' appropriate in the sentence?
I see nothing wrong with it.

de·cline, v., -clined, -clin·ing, n.
–v.t.
1. to withhold or deny consent to do, enter into or upon, etc.; refuse: He declined to say more about it.
2. to express inability or reluctance to accept; r
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Sorry, I just don't agree. If I'm asking you to leave, I'm really giving you an order. I'm not offering you something that you may or may not choose to accept.
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Hi GG,

I see! Thank you very much!
Do 'refuse', 'decline', 'reject', or 'turn down' work in these cases as follows?
1. I asked him to lend me some money, but he refused.
2.I asked him to lend me some money, but he declined.
3.I asked him to lend me some money, but he turned me down/turned it down.
4.I asked him to lend me some money, but he rejected it.

5.He r
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5. to express courteous refusal; refuse: We sent him an invitation but he declined.
Yes, you can decline an invitation to join in the fun, but you can't "decline" an order to vacate the premisses!!! That would be a "violation of the felicity conditions", like:

Police officer: Get out
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Grammar GeekSorry, I just don't agree. If I'm asking you to leave, I'm really giving you an order. I'm not offering you something that you may or may not choose to accept.
I see, yes. It all boils down to our understanding to ask slightly differently. To me an order would be: I'm telling you to leave. Despite that, in polite so
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Of course, you could use it facetiously:

I asked him to leave. He declined, so I was obliged to encourage him with my fist.
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KhoffOf course, you could use it facetiously:

I asked him to leave. He declined, so I was obliged to encourage him with my fist.
Indeed. Here's another example: I asked him to do me a favour. He declined, so I was obliged to encourage him with my fist.
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AnonymousHi GG,

I see! Thank you very much!
Do 'refuse', 'decline', 'reject', or 'turn down' work in these cases as follows?
1. I asked him to lend me some money, but he refused.
2.I asked him to lend me some money, but he declined.
3.I asked him to lend me some money, but he turned me down/turned it down.
4.I asked him to lend me some money,
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Anonymous
AnonymousHi GG,

I see! Thank you very much!
Do 'refuse', 'decline', 'reject', or 'turn down' work in these cases as follows?
1. I asked him to lend me some money, but he refused.
2.I asked him to lend me some money, but he declined.
3.I asked him to lend me some money, but he turned me down/turned
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