this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2023
16 points (90.0% liked)

English usage and grammar

363 readers
1 users here now

A community to discuss and ask questions about English usage and grammar.

If your post refers to a specific English variant, please indicate it within square brackets (for instance [Canadian]).

Online resources:

Sibling communities:

Rules of conduct:

The usual ones on Lemmy and Mastodon.. In short: be kind or at least respectful, no offensive language, no harassment, no spam.

(Icon: entry "English" in the Oxford English Dictionary, 1933. Banner: page from Chaucer's "The Wife of Bath's Tale".)

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
pglpm@lemmy.ca
pglpm@mander.xyz
pglpm@lemmy.sdf.org
16
Why would you say that? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 year ago by wmrch@lemmy.world to c/english@lemmy.ca
11 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

As a non-native speaker I encounter this phrase from time to time (in podcasts and such) and I'd like to understand the use (beside the literal meaning which is obvious).

Why would you say that? or sometimes Why do you say that?

To me, that sounds almost rude, like rebuking the questioner. However, the context usually leads me to conclude that this sentence is to be understood neutrally, in the sense of "I am interested in the background of the question".

How should the sentence usually be used? Or does it depend solely on the tone the phrase is used?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] virku@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

It always seemed to me to mean something more positive like "tell me more" when said in a curious tone. But if somebody says it in a horrified tone then it is negative. So I guess your own conclusion is correct?