Well, the written english language can be really complicated, lotta rules and exceptions, punctuation. Some folks just have a tough time reading things correctly. There are times when I read stuff that I have a hard time trying to figure just what is being said also, really.
Some things about written english are rather simple concepts that should be easy for any adult to understand. For instance the difference between a question, and a statement.
To ask a question, simply use a question mark. Do you see a question mark? Wow. Cool huh?
Let’s try some examples and see how easy it can be.
Let’s say there is some guy, named Bob. He has a friend named Alice. If Bob wanted to borrow a truck that Alice owns, he could ask a question:
“May I borrow your truck?”
See, that is a question. Bob asked Alice if he could borrow her truck.
Well, then there is a sneaky way to make the same request. Bob could say, without asking a question:
“Alice I would like to borrow your truck.”
That is kinda tricky, because even though Bob did NOT ask a question, he did in fact make exactly the same request, as if he had asked the question. Bob used a statement to ask a question, without using a question mark.
There is another request that Bob could make, using a statement. Bob could say:
“Alice, I would like you to borrow my truck.”
You might wonder why Bob wants Alice to borrow his truck, especially because he is using the sneaky kind of request. He would be better off, if he just came out and asked the question:
“Alice, will you borrow my truck?”
Now Bob may not be a sleaze bag, he might just be a nice guy, and he could make an offer to Alice using a statement, such as:
“Alice, I will let you borrow my truck.”
Do you see the difference between a request, and an offer? I hope you do.
Then there is such a thing as a conditional offer, for instance, Bob might say:
“Alice, you may borrow my truck, if it is raining.”
In this case, we might wonder why the rain might make a difference. Perhaps Bob has a truck with a canopy, and he knows that Alice needs to move some delicate items that would be damaged by rain. Or, perhaps Bob intends to use his truck himself, if it is not raining. Unless we ask Bob, and he tells us the truth, we just don’t know.
If you really try hard, and study, the concepts I have described should become clear, you may need to practice for some time before you really get it.
So then, let’s move on, and consider how such requests and offers relate to responses.
If Bob asks Alice to borrow her truck, she might agree, or refuse. The truck is hers, the choice is hers. That seems clear to me, I think we can all agree to that.
If Alice refused Bobs request, Bob should then move on, and find some other truck. Whether he asked a question, or made a request with a statement, we can agree that the choice is up to Alice.
If Bob does not like being refused, he might become angry with Alice. I think we can agree that Bob is somewhat of an asshole if he does, and depending on how angry he becomes and how he expresses that anger, we could conclude how much of an asshole he is.
Now, what if Bob made an offer to let Alice borrow his truck? See the question mark? There is another one! Wow, so cool.
If Bob offers his truck to Alice, then, hey, we can agree the choice of acceptance or refusal still is up to Alice. However, if Alice refuses the offer, and Bob then gets angry, we might well conclude that Bob is not an asshole, but actually somewhat insane. It is just not reasonable for someone to be angry if an honest offer is refused. If Bob made an honest offer, then became angry at being refused, he is not reasonable, he is insane.
Still with me?? Wow, I used two question marks in a row there.
Oh rats, I mentioned truth earlier, and now honesty as well. Perhaps we should look more closely at those concepts as well.
There is at least one possibility that could cause Bob to be angry at Alice for not accepting his offer that does not include his insanity. Perhaps the offer was not honest. Perhaps he actually wanted to make his wife angry by letting Alice drive his truck. The range of dishonesty is enormous, that is just one possible dishonest reason of many that Bob may have had for his offer.
Then it is possible that Alice may have a dishonest reason for refusing to borrow Bobs truck. Perhaps she is angry with her friend Diane, who has delicate items that might be damaged by rain, and by refusing the covered truck, and certain it will rain, will be rewarded by the suffering of Diane, when they use an uncovered truck that they can get from Dan.
Still with me?? Good.
Perhaps we can examine an example and learn something not only about reading english, but about truth, and perhaps reality as well.
Alice asks Bob, “Would you mind taking Diane out on your boat?”
Bob thinks about this, and remembering how Diane behaved on his boat the last time he took her, replies, “I don’t think that will work, I’m going to say no.”
Some time later, Bob knows that Anne needs to move stuff, so he offers to let Alice and Anne borrow his truck, if it is raining.
Alice says, “No, we have a truck.”
Alice goes to Dan, and tells Dan and Anne and Diane, that Bob asked if he could use his truck to move Annes delicate things if it’s not raining. She mentions that she thought it was rude of Bob to only want to help Anne if she didn’t really really need a covered truck.
Some time passes, and Bob starts to feel a chill from some of his friends, and he notices that Alice is making some rather pointed comments about Dans new canopy that they got so they could move Annes delicate things in the rain.
After some more time passes, it becomes clear to Bob that Alice has told people that he asked to help Anne if it was not raining. Bob then asks Alice why she would do such a thing.
Alice complains to her friends that Bob is bothering her about his truck again. And tells Bob that she did no such thing, he must be insane.
Bob becomes angry at Alice, and now all of Alices friends are confused and angry with Bob, because he has obviously become an asshole, or insane. No one questions the truth of What Alice told them, they readily accept that Bob asked to help move Annes things ONLY if they didn’t really need a covered truck.
Did Bob become angry at Alice for good reason?
Is Bob likely to offer his truck to any of those people who think he has turned into an angry insane asshole?
Did Alice tell the truth??
Is this a mess that cannot be resolved?
Probably will not be fixed, UNLESS Bob was smart and kept a tape recording of his OFFER, and Alice REFUSING, and if ONLY he could convince the people involved to actually LISTEN to what was REALLY said.
Is there anyone out there?? tap, tap, tap. sigh.