Date: Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:51:35 -0400 From: Bob Hall <rjhjr0@gmail.com> To: PJ <af.gourmet@videotron.ca> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: I hate to bitch but bitch I must Message-ID: <20091017215135.GA29692@stainmore> In-Reply-To: <4ADA38EB.5050900@videotron.ca> References: <4AD8EB8F.9010900@videotron.ca> <20091017010758.088b8b8c.freebsd@edvax.de> <4AD9016E.20302@videotron.ca> <4AD90946.4020204@ibctech.ca> <4AD91DE0.3030701@videotron.ca> <200910170234.n9H2YeRI077329@asarian-host.net> <20091017034952.GA26451@stainmore> <4ADA38EB.5050900@videotron.ca>
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On Sat, Oct 17, 2009 at 05:36:43PM -0400, PJ wrote: > Bob Hall wrote: > > On Sat, Oct 17, 2009 at 02:34:40AM +0000, Mark wrote: > > > >> Actually, this has got very little to do with being a native English > >> speaker or not. It's ere a matter of intonation (which, in writing, can > >> only be conveyed to a certain degree, of course). 'Should' can certainly > >> mean "Don't try that." As in: > >> > >> Will the ice hold me? > >> Well, technically it should. > >> > >> (Meaning: it probably will, but I'm not overly confident.) > >> > > > > Actually, what's happening here is dropping part of a sentence. It's > > common in English to shorten > > Yea, it should work, but it doesn't. > > > Absolutely not! There is nothing to suggest either statement above. If > one says it should work, it can mean (of course, it changes within > different contexts) that all is ok and normal conditions (whatever they > may be) will allow things to function correctly. There is certainly no > implication about confidence... where do you get that? >From common English usage.
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