Why Can't I Break The Rules?
@owlwings (43897)
Cambridge, England
April 7, 2017 5:55am CST
I have just come from the Hospital (where I went for a routine kidney function test). All over the site there are notices saying "You cannot smoke here".
Do you see how totally WRONG this is?
Well, you'd be forgiven for disagreeing with me, of course, because thousands of people agree with the Hospital's 'no smoking' policy (and I do too!) and respect the rules, as I do.
No, what is WRONG is that the notice is telling me that I am unable to smoke here. It should read "You may not (or "You must not") smoke here."
Anyone CAN break rules but, if they value their freedom, money or even life, they MUST not do so .... even little - and very tricky - rules about using 'can', 'may' and 'must'!
Do you think that I am being pernickety and pedantic? How much do YOU value the English language and try to protect against its misuse?
14 people like this
15 responses
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
7 Apr 17
It should be " smoking is banned in this hospital" if they want it to be enforced and binding anywhere, inside or on the premises so no more play with words.
2 people like this
@owlwings (43897)
• Cambridge, England
7 Apr 17
@louievill That's true, however, one of the very tricky and illogical things about 'may' and 'may not' is that the latter is not exactly the opposite of the former.
"You may drive my car" implies that you are allowed to do so, if you wish to.
"You may not drive my car" means either that I absolutely forbid you to drive it or that the insurance policy doesn't permit you to do so (or both).
1 person likes this
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
7 Apr 17
@owlwings " may not" still seem to give you some kind of choice, " must not" sounds harsher and means business.
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21741)
• Canada
7 Apr 17
I'm like you. Some things are just wrong. Several years ago a sign was posted at each cash register in,our local grocery store.....We can not longer except $100 bills......I pointed the error out to the store owner....silly me, I thought they would be grateful and fix the error.....no the signs are still hanging with the same incorrect word. Fingernails on chalkboard....that's how it makes me feel. I can no longer look.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43897)
• Cambridge, England
7 Apr 17
That is unforgivable! It actually means exactly the opposite of what they meant to say. In other words, it is tantamount to saying "We used to accept all bills except $100 bills. That is no longer the case." (in other words, it means "We now accept $100 bills"!).
@Morleyhunt (21741)
• Canada
7 Apr 17
@owlwings like I said...fingernails on chalkboard....shudder.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (153544)
• India
7 Apr 17
I have seen signs that say 'smoking is strictly prohibited' which is as good as saying 'you cannot smoke here'
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43897)
• Cambridge, England
7 Apr 17
That is quite common and a bit stronger than "You may not smoke" or even than "No Smoking", though I think that 'prohibited' would be quite enough (if something is prohibited, there should be no case in which it is allowed and there is absolutely no need to qualify the prohibition!).
1 person likes this
@allknowing (153544)
• India
7 Apr 17
@owlwings And such a sign is taken in one's stride but not the one that you have highlighted.
1 person likes this
@changjiangzhibin89 (17239)
• China
7 Apr 17
To be honest, I can't tell the nice difference in meaning between can and may.I guess it is just like "May I come in ? " is different from "Can I come in ?" in meaning.
1 person likes this
@changjiangzhibin89 (17239)
• China
8 Apr 17
@owlwings Thank you for clearing it up!That is to say,"May I come in ?" is used to ask the house-owner whether allows me to come in,"Can I come in ?" refers to if objective condition permits me to come in.
1 person likes this
I think they should have used "must" instead of "can".Am I right?Otherwise why can't I smoke there?I CAN and they too CAN fine me or put me behind bars.
@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
8 Apr 17
I mentally correct people, and text books as well, all the time.
@BarBaraPrz (51811)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
7 Apr 17
I don't think so (about being pedantic). I was sent some papers to sign from my lawyer's office and beside a few typos, there were grammatical errors, too. Most of the points start off "I authorise" or "I understand" but a few times will switch to "you", meaning me, in the same sentence! I really don't want to sign off on something so poorly written, but I have to in order to proceed with my lawsuit.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
7 Apr 17
LOL, maybe they cast a magical spell there that totally prevents fire from working
@owlwings (43897)
• Cambridge, England
7 Apr 17
I'm afraid that you are right! Most people probably don't give it enough thought but my point is that we have a way of expressing things very exactly and precisely and there is no good reason to lose that. If 'can' and 'may' meant exactly the same thing, we would have to make our sentences a great deal longer in order to say what we meant and that is a degradation of language, not an improvement.
