Tim seems to have meant one thing with his question "Pat, do you want to email Professor Liu about it?", but Pat seems to have understood it differently. What did Tim probably mean?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The scenario presents a misunderstanding: Tim’s question was a request about an action, not a statement about Tim doing something himself.
Option 1: 'Pat, I would like to know if you want to email Professor Liu about it.' This rephrases Tim’s question as a request for Pat's preference to email, which shifts the focus to whether Pat wants to email, rather than Tim expressing a desire for Pat to perform the action. It signals Pat’s choice rather than Tim’s intention.
Option 2: 'Pat, if you want, I will write the email to Professor Liu.' Here, Tim offers to take responsibility for drafting the email, which changes who would perform the task and undercuts the original request to Pat whether Pat should email. It implies Pat isn’t the one who would send it, contrary to the intended meaning of Tim’s question.
Option 3: 'Pat, I would like you to investigate how to write an email of this sort.' This interpretation introduces an exploratory or preparatory task—learning how to compose such an email—rather than executing the action of sending it. It diverts from the action Tim asked Pat to perform.
Option 4: 'Pat, I would like you to email Professor Liu about it.' This directly matches Tim’s intention: Tim is expressing a desire that Pat perform the action of emailing Professor Liu. It preserves the communicative purpose of the question and identifies the requested task for Pat to carry out.
In summary, the only option that preserves Tim’s intended directive—Pat should email Professor Liu about it—is option 4, whereas the other options reframe who performs the action, add extra steps, or alter the meaning of the original question.

LIN102H5 S All Sections PRE11

Tim seems to have meant one thing with his question "Pat, do you want to email Professor Liu about it?", but Pat seems to have understood it differently. What did Tim probably mean?

View Explanation

Log in for full answers

Similar Questions

John has the ability to talk informally with his friends and more formally to his teachers during class. Clearly John understands the _____.

German colleague's "we'll talk about this later", means:

Meanings are in people, not words and gestures.

According to lecture, ________________ considers the context in which words are used.

Tim seems to have meant one thing with his question "Pat, do you want to email Professor Liu about it?", but Pat seems to have understood it differently. Pat likely understood it in what way?

According to the Cooperative Principle, what would we expect an adult discourse participant to generally do if another discourse participant appears to be violating a maxim?

According to Maxim of Quantity, being under-informative in a conversation is uncooperative, but being over-informative is cooperative, because over-informative statements provide sufficient information.

More Practical Tools for Students Powered by AI Study Helper

Homework AI Solver

Stylized AI Paper Writer

Plagiarism Checker Assistant

Citation AI Academic Writing Tool

In-Class Translation Assistant

AI Note Generator

AI Quiz Answers

Past Exam Questions from University Test Bank

Smart Practice Assistant

Adaptive Practice

Making Your Study Simpler