11 Sep
2007
11 Sep
'07
7:16 a.m.
Liam Proven wrote:
Oh, FFS!
Hint: the word "you" in colloquial English usage does not always refer
directly to an individual or to the person being addressed.
For example: "If you want to learn to fly a plane, you have to
demonstrate good vision and a degree of numeracy". This would be a
perfectly reasonable statement in a magazine or newspaper article,
without any implication that every reader of that journal is an
aspiring pilot.
Whenever I'm making a statement similar to the one in your example, I
always try to use the word "one" instead of "you". It's clearer
and it
sounds less accusatory. I forget sometimes, though.
Peace... Sridhar