| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | can't and cannot - question for North Americans Thread poster: Natasha Dupuy
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Natasha Dupuy 
France
Local time: 10:33
French to English
TOPIC STARTER
Jan Sundström wrote:
Maybe the person who "corrected you" had his schooling overseas?
/Jan
You could be right there, Jan. I did notice some constructions that suggested to me the person might be from India.
Perhaps I should not have limited the question to North Americans after all! I only did so because the remark specifically referred to Americans.
Thanks again to everyone who has contributed to clearing up my doubts on this matter. I have responded to the end-client, but it had to be via the middleman, so I doubt that I'll get a response.
| | | | Spring City (X)
Local time: 16:33
Chinese to English
+ ...
| Cannot or can not? | Sep 5, 2007 |
Natasha Dupuy wrote:
Dear colleagues,
A client of mine has just sent me a comment that has left me quite bewildered, so I'd like your opinion on the matter if you'd care to share it.
In a document destined for a global English-speaking audience, I wrote: "Because you can't trust anybody".
I used the contraction because I felt it was appropriate given the context and tone of the document.
The customer changed my "can't" to "can not" and added the following comment: "avoid using the apostrophe to express the 'not', as this is widely used in British English but very little elsewhere and is not always understood by Americans."
The person who wrote this comment is based in Canada.
Now as far as English-speaking countries go, I've lived in Australia, England and Canada, and I have to say it's the first time I have ever heard this.
So my question is: would you say this is true?
This is an absurd comment by the person based in Canada. Note, however, that it was the customer who changed it, and you may not even know who the final customer is. But in any case, "cannot" is a single word. If the customer thinks "can not" is better than "can't", there is little you can do about it. Send the customer a link to an online dictionary.
| | | | | Also bewildered | Sep 11, 2007 |
Natasha Dupuy wrote:
Dear colleagues,
A client of mine has just sent me a comment that has left me quite bewildered, so I'd like your opinion on the matter if you'd care to share it.
In a document destined for a global English-speaking audience, I wrote: "Because you can't trust anybody".
I used the contraction because I felt it was appropriate given the context and tone of the document.
The customer changed my "can't" to "can not" and added the following comment: "avoid using the apostrophe to express the 'not', as this is widely used in British English but very little elsewhere and is not always understood by Americans."
The person who wrote this comment is based in Canada.
Now as far as English-speaking countries go, I've lived in Australia, England and Canada, and I have to say it's the first time I have ever heard this.
So my question is: would you say this is true?
What??!!
I'm Canadian and I have to say that "cannot" is pretty uncommon. I've heard and seen it more in the UK, especially when emphasizing. In U.S. and Canadian English, "can't" is preferred in almost all contexts, somethimes even in those considered more formal.
Maybe your client is used to hearing / seeing it in strictly formal textbooks/ instruction manuals etc.
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