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 Wed Jun 18, 2008 1:51 am Usage of "can't seem to" |
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Nope. Ma'am.  |
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Haihao
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| Thu Jun 19, 2008 15:44 pm Usage of "can't seem to" |
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| There's nothing wrong with it. It means that even if she has a good reason to get angry, and wants to get angry, she never gets angry, or so it seems to the speaker. |
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Jamie (K)
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| Thu Jun 19, 2008 23:01 pm Usage of "can't seem to" |
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| Jamie (K) wrote: | | There's nothing wrong with it. It means that even if she has a good reason to get angry, and wants to get angry, she never gets angry, or so it seems to the speaker. |
I see.
Which of these would be the meaning?
“Milly is incapable of appearing to get angry.”
“Milly appears to be unable to get angry.” |
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Molly
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| Thu Jun 19, 2008 23:38 pm Usage of "can't seem to" |
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The American Heritage Dictionary says:
| Quote: | The expression cannot (or can't) seem to has occasionally been criticized as illogical, and so it is. Brian can't seem to get angry does not mean “Brian is incapable of appearing to get angry,” as its syntax would seem to dictate; rather, it means “Brian appears to be unable to get angry.” But the idiom serves a useful purpose, since the syntax of English does not allow a logical equivalent like Brian seems to cannot get angry; and the cannot seem to construction is so widely used that it would be pedantic to object to it.
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(Indeed.)
MrP |
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MrPedantic
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| Thu Jun 19, 2008 23:50 pm Usage of "can't seem to" |
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| MrPedantic wrote: | The American Heritage Dictionary says:
| Quote: | The expression cannot (or can't) seem to has occasionally been criticized as illogical, and so it is. Brian can't seem to get angry does not mean “Brian is incapable of appearing to get angry,” as its syntax would seem to dictate; rather, it means “Brian appears to be unable to get angry.” But the idiom serves a useful purpose, since the syntax of English does not allow a logical equivalent like Brian seems to cannot get angry; and the cannot seem to construction is so widely used that it would be pedantic to object to it.
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(Indeed.)
MrP |
So that's where it's from? Thanks. My husband loves setting little language puzzles for me and challenges me to find the source. You've saved me having to solve this one all by myself. |
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Molly
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| Sat Jun 21, 2008 12:43 pm Usage of "can't seem to" |
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| Molly wrote: | So that's where it's from? Thanks. My husband loves setting little language puzzles for me and challenges me to find the source. You've saved me having to solve this one all by myself.
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You're welcome!
(It was a fiendishly tricky one. I had to resort to a WFSE.)
MrP |
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MrPedantic
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| Sat Jun 21, 2008 17:48 pm Usage of "can't seem to" |
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| Quote: | The expression cannot (or can't) seem to has occasionally been criticized as illogical, and so it is. Brian can't seem to get angry does not mean “Brian is incapable of appearing to get angry,” as its syntax would seem to dictate; rather, it means “Brian appears to be unable to get angry.” But the idiom serves a useful purpose, since the syntax of English does not allow a logical equivalent like Brian seems to cannot get angry; and the cannot seem to construction is so widely used that it would be pedantic to object to it.
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Hubby might want to take note of another fiendishly tricky item here: "cannot".
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English |
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Yankee
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| Mon Sep 01, 2008 17:21 pm You guys are incredible... |
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I adore this:
| Quote: | | The expression cannot (or can't) seem to has occasionally been criticized as illogical, and so it is. Brian can't seem to get angry does not mean “Brian is incapable of appearing to get angry,” as its syntax would seem to dictate; rather, it means “Brian appears to be unable to get angry.” But the idiom serves a useful purpose, since the syntax of English does not allow a logical equivalent like Brian seems to cannot get angry; and the cannot seem to construction is so widely used that it would be pedantic to object to it. |
It IS utterly illogical.
You don't dare objecting to it, just because people say it? I think I'll stick to my of pedantic and arrogant frog character: I so much enjoy making fun of you... |
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Froggie
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| Mon Sep 01, 2008 18:13 pm Usage of "can't seem to" |
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Hi Froggie
The English language is full of things that are not particularly logical. You only need to look at spelling to convince yourself of that. And if, for example, people were interested only in logic when they speak, expressions such as "I couldn't care less" and "I could care less" would not be used to mean the same thing. 
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Amy
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Yankee
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| Tue Sep 02, 2008 1:00 am Usage of "can't seem to" |
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That was an unexpected pleasure. I had forgotten the delightful domestic vignette...
MrP |
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MrPedantic
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| Tue Sep 02, 2008 15:20 pm Usage of "can't seem to" |
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| Quote: | | expressions such as "I couldn't care less" and "I could care less" would not be used to mean the same thing. |
Hi Amy,
So you mean they mean the same thing? Could you please give me the context?
Many thanks,
Nessie. |
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nessie
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| Tue Sep 02, 2008 18:51 pm Usage of "can't seem to" |
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Hi Nessie
For example:
Imagine that John is the type of person who doesn't care about the impact his mistakes have on others. Imagine that John has made a rather large mistake, and although the error has now been pointed out to him, he has no intention of repairing it and even goes so far as to prevent others from repairing it.
Mary: Hey, John, there is a rather large error in your XYZ project. It's bound to create problems for our customers. I think it should be fixed ASAP.
John: I couldn't care less who has a problem with it. And I could care less what you think. Changing XYZ would be way too much trouble for me. And besides, no matter what you and everybody else thinks, it's not really an error anyway.
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Amy
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Yankee
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| Finish up vs Finish | "I without you..." vs "Me without you..." |
