English question - please help?

2010-09-12 9:06 am
I can't sing and dance.
I can't sing or dance.

Same as:
I can't play basketball and football.
I can't play basketball or football.

Which ones are correct? Please clarify if you can. Thanks~!

回答 (3)

2010-09-12 12:54 pm
✔ 最佳答案
Fully it's: "I can neither sing nor dance." Most people would say "I can't or dance."

"I can't sing and dance" would only make sense if followed by "at the same time."

The same rules apply to the sporting example.

"I can't sing nor dance" sounds extremely awkward to me. I really can't imagine anyone speaking that way.
參考: British user of English for 60 years.
2010-09-12 4:13 pm
Well.. it depends on whether you are talking about having the skills to play, or being available to play.

You should say "I can neither play basketball nor football" if you mean you don't have the skills to play either

"I can't play basketball and football" means that you can't play both at the same time (sounds funny)

"I can't play basketball or football" could mean that you don't have the skills to play NOR the time to play.

Hope this helps!
2010-09-12 4:08 pm
It's
I can't sing nor dance

That's proper way but you could get away with saying 'or'
:)


收錄日期: 2021-05-01 13:32:31
原文連結 [永久失效]:
https://hk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100912010619AA2YXQ2

檢視 Wayback Machine 備份