From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Sat Oct 17 03:49:55 2009 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 2DB12106566B for ; Sat, 17 Oct 2009 03:49:55 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from rjhjr0@gmail.com) Received: from mail-yw0-f178.google.com (mail-yw0-f178.google.com [209.85.211.178]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id D5EC58FC14 for ; Sat, 17 Oct 2009 03:49:54 +0000 (UTC) Received: by ywh8 with SMTP id 8so2494906ywh.3 for ; Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:49:54 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=domainkey-signature:received:received:date:from:to:subject :message-id:mail-followup-to:references:mime-version:content-type :content-disposition:in-reply-to:user-agent; bh=bzOTxSXe21/ArQM1bRneaCQ9gmcJVU4AtyWNCg208Qc=; b=lo4oALoQaxIrTN/rTmR8wRNdgye1M8pnmSxVeGCiFlWBM9D6tUpUdorEWPRct/xxsw TtlWOm0ldHhjcQNjOTd9hB4+c+cleNFPiRLLjpqTJ7CRXoI2bbdtf96rHoc570TimsJq 7PFKBbW0YrQaMXnuffaooBI6mw00uUQVvXgyM= DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=nofws; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=date:from:to:subject:message-id:mail-followup-to:references :mime-version:content-type:content-disposition:in-reply-to :user-agent; b=TAsjLXB0vgauc9TLfHBzZXOywdKLTuXCq1y+RUud3CZHOyqOvEUvIgCNfimMs6Zqin 1iWmq/QxrI3nxefbi5Awyet59BYSi6FpOPPjClFNUAhSKDiJwAZyhXaAAaVLD0nf5w9L RjcLAh1ZomxYDYhhNpnplrsrX0vV/ztgXuoaA= Received: by 10.90.42.9 with SMTP id p9mr2135375agp.4.1255751393965; Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:49:53 -0700 (PDT) Received: from localhost (ip98-163-115-74.dc.dc.cox.net [98.163.115.74]) by mx.google.com with ESMTPS id 22sm1207317yxe.3.2009.10.16.20.49.52 (version=TLSv1/SSLv3 cipher=RC4-MD5); Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:49:53 -0700 (PDT) Date: Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:49:52 -0400 From: Bob Hall To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Message-ID: <20091017034952.GA26451@stainmore> Mail-Followup-To: Bob Hall , freebsd-questions@freebsd.org 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> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <200910170234.n9H2YeRI077329@asarian-host.net> User-Agent: Mutt/1.4.2.3i Subject: Re: I hate to bitch but bitch I must X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 17 Oct 2009 03:49:55 -0000 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. to Yea, it should work. In order to catch the meaning, you have to be aware of context. Contrary to the OP's claim, this shows a pretty good grasp of English idiom. It's definitely not evidence that the man author is not a native speaker of English. On the other hand, it can be clarified so that the meaning is clear even without context. If the OP really believes that the present wording is a problem, other people have made suggestions on what to do about it.