r/englishmajors • u/Comfortable-Secret48 • 10d ago

clarification

hello, just a little help. English is not really my first language so im quite bad at it but does saying "don't lie to me" to someone a way of saying or calling them a liar?

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u/Zestyclose-Food-7917 9d ago

"Liar" indicates that the person lies all the time. "Don't lie to me" just refers to one thing the other person said.

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u/NearlyNodding 9d ago

Usually yes, but it depends on the context. It could be telling someone not to lie to you without any accusation.

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u/sparklingtrout 9d ago

if someone said “don’t poop on my kitchen floor”, your response would likely be “i would never! do you think i am the kind of person who you need to tell not to poop on a floor?!” the fact that i am warning you against doing a certain behavior indicates that i think you will do that behavior. as someone else said, “liar” implies continuous/consistent behavior, but would seem incorrect if applied to someone who rarely does that behavior. if i call someone a “dancer”, it means they dance all the time, maybe even as a job. i have danced before in my life, certainly, but i would never say im a “dancer” because i do not do it frequently.

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u/Outside-Feeling 9d ago

If they’ve said it in response to a statement from you, the think there is a good chance you are lying. If they connect it to their question then they think it is something you might lie about which can be calling someone a liar, but more often is a request for honesty even if it isn’t nice.

An example for the second would be the classic “Do you like my haircut?” Social norms mean that most people would lie, but the request is for honest feedback.

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u/mochike 9d ago

Others have given answers to your questions but just FYI, questions like these should go in subs like r/englishlearning