IDMclean Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 The focus of this thread is on the concepts of CanWillShallDidShouldWouldCould Often enough people use many of these terms interchangably, but what is the use of a word when there is another that means the exact same thing? For me, lanuage is a functional tool. So I endevour to find the difference of seemingly similar concepts, in the hopes of reducing the occurance of duplicate forms following the function of a given concept. The two greatest of which are can and will. I often catch myself saying something to the effect of "I can't do my homework", or similar. Which is technically not sound. I intend to show why. Can indicates possibility. I can walk. I can fly. I can kill. I can die. These are all possibilities. I can't fly. I can't walk through walls. I can't read minds. These all indicate impossibility. I will talk. I will walk. These all indicate a course of action that is taken or is going to be taken. It defines an outcome. So when I say I can't do my homework, what I really mean is I can, but I will not. there maybe justifiable reasons for my descission to not do my homework, but none the less the possibility of me doing my homework remains. That is I still have the ability to. If you will do something, there is the inherent conviction that the action one is going to take is a possible action. So will is a subclass of the word can. you can, and you will. You can't and you won't. Related to these words are of course should and shall. Should indicates a suggested action. Like I should eat healthy. I should stand straight. It's negative, shouldn't of course indicates that the action chosen is not suggested. We shouldn't use nukes. I shouldn't get a job at Mcdonalds. Shall indicates not only that I can, and will but that I will take the suggested action. Shall not indicates not only can, but will not. It is interesting to me to note that we have allot fewer words to talk about what is an impossibility than we have to talk about possibilities. Anyone have any comments so far? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moo Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 So when I say I can't do my homework, what I really mean is I can, but I will not. there maybe justifiable reasons for my descission to not do my homework, but none the less the possibility of me doing my homework remains.Not true Kimosabe, unless you are misusing the word "can't". :cup: "I just had a lobotomy and can't do my homework", or "I'm too ignorant to do my homework" are more appropriate examples. "Can't" does not mean "I choose not to", but rather "cannot" - as in "lacking the ability to do so". moo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDMclean Posted December 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 Moo, I would encourage you to read that again. I said exactly that. Can't is not the appropiate word in this instance. The appropiate words are won't or will not. Can indicates possibility. I can walk. I can fly. I can kill. I can die. These are all possibilities. I can't fly. I can't walk through walls. I can't read minds. These all indicate impossibility. I will talk. I will walk. These all indicate a course of action that is taken or is going to be taken. It defines an outcome. Will inherits, or assumes the possibility of an action. Not to be confused with probability, but raw possibility. Will therefore inherits can. So when I say I can't do my homework, what I really mean is I can, but I will not. there maybe justifiable reasons for my descission to not do my homework, but none the less the possibility of me doing my homework remains. That is to say, for clarification purposes, that can't is not the appropiate word, as it does not accurately communicate the facts of the situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric l Posted December 6, 2006 Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 There are some important remarks to make.1° "I shall" and "I should" both can be used to indicate an obligation, though they are not exactly synonyms. If my memory does not fail me in this, "I should" (or "you should") refers to a moral obligation, while "I shall" (or "you shall") indicates that there is no real alternative. 2° Both "I can" and "I may" can indicate a possibility, and be translated by the same terms in other languages. Sometimes there is a difference in the translation, too. While "I can" would be translated in French as "je peux", "I may" would be tranlated better as "je pourais" (which again is the same as "I could")3° In French (as an example) "I can" can be either "je peux" or "je sais". "Je peux" would indicate that I have the physical capacity to do it, while "je sais" would indicate the mental capacity. In the case of the homework, one could say "je ne peux pas" when one is ill in bed, while if one cannot because one has not learned the lesson, one should say "je ne sais pas". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moo Posted December 6, 2006 Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 Moo, I would encourage you to read that again. I said exactly that. Can't is not the appropiate word in this instance. The appropiate words are won't or will not.Ah... ok, I missed the part where that phrase was being given as a bad example. Sorry. :eek2: moo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anglepose Posted December 6, 2006 Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 did you know 100 years ago in btirtain if you were to ask "may you pass the salt plesae"at the table it is highly likely they would look at you and just say yesto actually get the salt you would have to ask"would you pass the salt please" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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