Donate SIGN UP
Home > Phrases & Sayings > What is grammatically wrong with this sentence?

What is grammatically wrong with this sentence?

Avatar Image
matt66 | 18:46 Tue 19th Dec 2006 | Phrases & Sayings
4 Answers
'I couldnt possibly answer that'. It is used a lot but somehow seems wrong to me. is it??
prev number phrases
  
next Why say 'absolutely'
Gravatar

Answers

1 to 4 of 4rss feed

Best Answer

No best answer has yet been selected by matt66. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.

For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.
Avatar Image Peter Pedant
oh, redundancy or tautology

could means to be able
and so does...possibly


don't lose sleep over this !

PP
19:04 Tue 19th Dec 2006
Avatar Image Lou Knee
well of course its wrong....by saying you couldnt possibly answer that is an answer in itself!!
19:44 Tue 19th Dec 2006
Avatar Image FoxLee
I disagree with Peter as the sentence says 'couldn't' - a negative alongside 'possibly' - a positive word. So rather than tautology, it's saying two opposite things.
20:50 Tue 19th Dec 2006
Avatar Image Quizmonster
There is nothing grammatically wrong with the sentence at all.
In the sentence above, I added the words 'at all' for emphasis. The basic meaning would remain the same if I had not added them.
Exactly the same applies to the word 'possibly' in the sentence you quote.
07:16 Wed 20th Dec 2006

1 to 4 of 4rss feed

Do you know the answer?

What is grammatically wrong with this sentence?

Answer Question >>

Related Questions

Sorry, we can't find any related questions. Try using the search bar at the top of the page to search for some keywords, or choose a topic and submit your own question.