American English question

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rickydixtor said:
First I'm sorry to disturb, but I am a writer in my language and in need of a native American-English Speaker, so I thought it's good to register here.
It's about the following conversation:

Bryan: But they are not the same then.
Cathy: No they aren´t.

The "no" confuses me. So I ask myself what Cathy want's to say with her answer:
a) That's wrong. In my opinion they are the same.
b) I agree, They are not the same.
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Brian, But they are not the same

Cathy, agree

whats confusing about that?
 
In response to post #25: that confused me as well. From the previous few posts, I got the impression it was just meant to be funny. But Bud may be along to answer for himself.

So Ricky, is this a language lab for you? Are you reading to learn house repair information or just to study North American colloquialisms?
 
nealtw said:
Is it not okay to ask what country your are from.
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Yeah, but what's the context of this sentence? I don't understand it sry. :/ But I would like to understand it. :) bud16415 can you help me please? :)

And yes, I am interested in house repair information, and I am a long time silent reader, but somehow I prefer to read only and write in native language house repair forums.
 
rickydixtor said:
Yeah, but what's the context of this sentence? I don't understand it sry. :/ But I would like to understand it. :) bud16415 can you help me please? :)

And yes, I am interested in house repair information, and I am a long time silent reader, but somehow I prefer to read only and write in native language house repair forums.
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Can I ask what country are you from? No.

If he left the word NO out, it becomes a simple question with a yes or no answer.

He did not ask where you were. He asked if it was alright to ask where you were.

The no is the answer that he is expecting.

The reason why he asked the question that way...

I think he thought you were a spammer and did not really care if you understood. He was probably thinking the moderators would check your IP address and remove you.

We have had a big problem with spammers from certain countries and the moderators do a good job of removing them. The rest of us can be a bit mean to people we think will be removed.

So he expected that you were from India and that you would not answer the question.
In that question he was also telling the rest of us that he thought you might be a spammer.

He is a good guy and would not want the hurt anybody. unless you are a spammer.
 
rickydixtor said:
Yeah, but what's the context of this sentence? I don't understand it sry. :/ But I would like to understand it. :) bud16415 can you help me please? :)

And yes, I am interested in house repair information, and I am a long time silent reader, but somehow I prefer to read only and write in native language house repair forums.
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That's a fair response. And yes, American english can be sort of strange...especially the way we speak (write) it here. There is quite a mix styles.
 
Yes we sometimes infer things with the inflection we use in speech. It doesn’t always come across the same in writing. We use Yes and No as answers as you would expect but we also use them as a form of explanation mark sometimes.

You may tell your child that is asking for a second piece of candy. Would you like another piece of candy? No!. It is a figure of speech where we don’t expect an answer but phrased as a question with only one answer that is correct.

In your case I said it because the topic was the usage so I did it as an example of that.
 
The answer is a double negative and under correct English it is not to be used because it can be confusing to understand the real meaning. It could actually be interpreted either way. I would need to see which way he is shaking his head. LOL
 
mabloodhound said:
The answer is a double negative and under correct English it is not to be used because it can be confusing to understand the real meaning. It could actually be interpreted either way. I would need to see which way he is shaking his head. LOL
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I worked with a guy that would always talk in double condundrums but he had a twitch in his neck, he would say things like that just for fun.
 
Sorry for my late response, I had very many other things to do. Unfortunately I faced the problem again and it reminded me of this thread. Would be nice to get another answer. Thank you so much for your help, you are a very good community.


bud16415 said:
Yes we sometimes infer things with the inflection we use in speech. It doesn’t always come across the same in writing. We use Yes and No as answers as you would expect but we also use them as a form of explanation mark sometimes.


You may tell your child that is asking for a second piece of candy. Would you like another piece of candy? No!.
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Do you mean it like this:

Child: Can I get another piece of candy?

Father: Would you like another piece of candy? No!


Or like this:

(Child gets a piece of candy)

Father: Would you like another piece of candy? No!

Child: yes

Father: Okay, here it is.
 
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