Re: OT: Am I superpedantic Umbrella?

Marjorie wrote:
Kate Brown wrote:
On Sun, 7 Dec 2008, Nick Odell wrote
On Sun, 7 Dec 2008 11:55:00 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
<G6JPG@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

In message <b7tlj4p6e8bab0pel74h6ditairs101gmk@xxxxxxx>, badriya
<badriyavv@xxxxxxxxx> writes:
[]
I've been helping a colleague practise to take FCE and the grammar,
gap-filling and comprehension seem quite difficult to me.

Difficult is OK, as long as there's only one right answer; it's where
some ambiguity exists that such things get very frustrating.

There is only one right answer - in the marking pen of the examiner,
at any rate. Yet I think many of the questions would not seem so clear
cut to umrats.

I believe this was in yesterday's CAE exam....

Which is correct?
May I get you something?
May I get you anything?

Unfortunately passing these exams is, like so many other exams, a
matter of knowing what the examiner is looking for and what the
examiner is looking for may not have a lot to do with English as she
is spoked today.


Wow. I'd say both were correct, in that I have certainly used both. I've also used 'Can I..' in both cases, which is probably wrong too. I have a feeling that 'something' carries a slightly more restricted sense than 'anything', but how one would say that precisely I've no idea. And in any case (ooh, beginning with 'and'), this is something that would only be said, not written, so presumably goes into another class of rules altogether.

Do you happen to know the right answer?

I'd say both were correct too. There is maybe a slight different of emphasis: if someone says, "May I get you something to eat?" you could just reply, "Yes, please, I'd love something to eat," and they'd then decide what to offer you, or suggest something. If they said, "May I get you anything to eat?" you couldn't just say yes, you'd have to tell them what you wanted.

And I think most people would say "can", rather than "may". "May" is probably more correct in an old-fashioned sense but it's not what is usually said in current English.




I wince at the thought of using 'can' when 'may' is meant but I am fighting a rear-guard action at work. I tell everyone that they _must_ use 'shall' when writing instructions to contractors and this is accepted but no one takes any attention any more when I say that 'meet' is not the same as 'meet with'. Even more sadly, my defences are crumbling and 'when I met Kim and Sam' now sounds as unnatural as 'when I met with Kim and Sam'.
.

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