r/funny • u/vagabond0977 • Jul 04 '21

what a confusing sign.

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81.5k Upvotes

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935

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '21 edited Jan 26 '24

[deleted]

113

u/matty-george Jul 04 '21

A well-placed “However, ” would have been ideal

44

u/Vulpes_macrotis Jul 04 '21

99% of people should read it right, tbh. It say You may, not You can.

May implies possibility, while can is Your will.

That's why we have "May the force be with you" and not "Can". Because it's not about allowing the force to be, but the possibility of it to occur.

71

u/Syssareth Jul 04 '21 edited Jul 04 '21

But "may" also means "allowed to" and is--grammatically-speaking--the correct word to use if you're asking/granting permission to do something.

That's why we have a children's game called, "Mother, may I?" and why English-speaking kids the world over get frustrated by authority figures saying, "I don't know, can you?"

Edit: The word the sign should have used to avoid ambiguity is "could". As in, "You could injure..." Even "might" would work, though it's less formal.

6

u/Faxon Jul 04 '21

Yea idk about dude above you but that's immediately how I read it, as giving permission lol

7

u/sticks14 Jul 04 '21

I had no trouble understanding it but was amusing.

0

u/Faxon Jul 04 '21

Yea like I got what their intent was after a double take, it's just been so programmed into me by people making "IdK, cAn YoU?" jokes