At no point did I 'criticise' anything but pedantry. Even if I had, I would have thought that healthy debate amongst native speakers would be nothing if not instructive for our Russian friends :) .
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At no point did I 'criticise' anything but pedantry. Even if I had, I would have thought that healthy debate amongst native speakers would be nothing if not instructive for our Russian friends :) .
No chance.
I would be the first to jump on bad grammar. This, however, is a matter of style. Teach 'may' if you must, but, in modern British English, 'can' is entirely acceptable. ''Varied...
Language, and its usage, is constantly changing. We don't say 'forsooth' any more, nor do we substitute 'f' for 's'. Stubborn, rigid adherence to some 1950s school primer does not constitute 'proper'...
Exactly - it's about where you come from. So why correct either version?
Went to a pharmacy today. Girl behind the counter - perfectly polite - said 'Can I help you?'
It comes naturally. 'May' seems forced, almost frosty.
I split infinitives too :).
Learners of spoken English would do best to learn the English that English speakers speak. The notion that 'may' is more 'polite' than 'can' is totally outdated, at least in the opinion of this...
Sheer anachronistic pendantry. Can I make that clear?
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