I am wondering if it's appropriate to say so. We often come across situations when someone ask us something unexpectedly which make us feel a bit confused. So I have been thinking what to say here. What about: What's the matter? This is a translation from my Chinese; we often reply with this in these situations Thank you. You usually ask this if you feel that something wrong is going on with someone else.
A simple conversation, you could simply ask "Why? But it might express worry, etc. Hermione Golightly Senior Member London. Is it not in both cases a single action 'ask' happening at or around the time of speaking?
I guess that the answer is to do with the fact that, in the first sentence, the pupil knows why the teacher is asking Tom, in order to get an answer, which goes without saying , whereas in the second sentence, I do not know the reason the person who asked me whether I had seen Tom lately did so. The difference here would be parallel to the difference between Present Perfect Simple —'I have repaired the car. Why are you hitting him?
For some verbs, particularly denoting mental state, the continuous is not normally used or has a particular connotation if it is used , and the present is normal:.
The verb ask appears to refer to an act, rather than a mental state; but it nevertheless can behave like those verbs and take the simple present. One of the uses of the present progressive construction is to describe something that is temporary. The present progressive can also be used in such situations, but with a slightly different emphasis.
Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Just as he is leaving, he spots a toy on the floor of one of the kids rooms.
He grabs it and begins to leave, but at the last minute turns to the kid and says, "I found this toy in your room, can I have it? One kid had been unable to find a particular toy for weeks. He was sure his brother had stolen it but he could never prove it.
One day, he finds the usually-locked door to his brother's room lying wide open, and there in the middle of the floor is his toy! He picks it up, runs to his brother, and says triumphantly, "I found this toy in your room! Can I have it? Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top.
Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? In that case, you may want to ask them why they asked that.
It allows you to deflect and you can change the direction of the conversation entirely, steering it away from personal areas that are none of their business. It also gives you time to gather your thoughts. As they try to explicitly state why they asked you a question of that nature, you can process your own feelings.
You can be more confident about the next step that you take in the conversation after gathering more information. You may be shocked that they would ask such a personal question but want to react in a measured manner. The first thought that comes to mind may not be as polite as you might wish. You may react with an angry thought or one that insults the person.
Asking for more information allows you to cool down and say something that is socially appropriate. Asking about their motive for asking also gives them an opportunity to withdraw the question. Asking someone why they want to know is appropriate when the person asking the question clearly knows the answer already. Their body language, tone or facial expression may let you know that they simply want to display passive aggressive behavior.
Some questions are just designed to make you feel bad. Asking them to explain their motives can put a stop to their passive aggressive behavior , at least with you. These petty questions also fall in the category of sea lioning if they are asked repeatedly.
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