Recently, I visited a friend of mine. This friend is not a native English speaker.
It was my first time to visit their house and when I arrived, they were busy in the kitchen. They asked me to wait for a moment. That was fine.
I asked them, “Do you mind if I sit down?”
They answered, “Yes.”
This confused me, because their answer means “Yes, I do mind!”, which means “You cannot sit down!”
Actually, they wanted to say that it was okay for me to sit down. So what happened? Why did they make this mistake?
Actually, questions using ‘do you mind …?‘ often confuse English students:
Let’s take a look:
do you mind = do you think it is a problem
“Do you mind if I sit down?” = “Do you think it is a problem if I sit down?”
“Yes, I mind (if you sit down)” = “Yes, it is a problem if you sit down.”
“No, I don’t mind (if you sit down)” = “No, it is not a problem if you sit down.”
Example:
So if someone asks:
Do you mind if I turn on the TV?
You should answer:
Yes, I do (this means DON’T turn on the TV)
No, I don’t (this means GO AHEAD and turn on the TV)
I explained this to my friend and he then said he didn’t mind if I sat down! I was happy!
ACTIVITY:
How would you answer the following:
1) You are staying with a family in Australia. You want to go out with some friends tonight.
You ask them: “Do you mind if I come home late tonight?”
They answer: “Yes.”
What does their answer mean? Is it okay for you to go out or not?
2) You live with a room mate.
Your room mate asks: “Do you mind if I smoke?”
But, you HATE smoking. What would you say? “Yes” or “No”
3) Your friend asks you: “Do you mind if I borrow $100?”
What would you answer? Explain why you agree or do not agree to lend them the money.
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1 yes there is a problem if I come out late
2 I’ll say “yes” I can’t stand smoke
3 if they have need money for a good reason, why not,
in the past I’ve lent money to some friends,obviously, in accordance with my possibility.
Play Audio Comment
Great work Roberta!
Some feedback on your writing:
1 yes there is a problem if I STAY out late
2 PERFECT!
3 if they have need money for a good reason, why not,
in the past I’ve lent money to some friends,obviously, ACCORDING TO WHAT I HAVE.
1. It mean “They’ll mind if i come late to home”.They having problem with that.
2.Yes, do mind if u smoke in room.
3.No, don’t mind. I agree because he is asking for some emergency reason.
Please check my answer and correct them.
waiting for your reply Mr.John.
Good work Divya
“They’ll mind if I come home late”
Don’t forget the pronoun ‘I’ and ‘you’
EG
Do YOU mind if I smoke?
No I don’t mind
1.) Yes,I mind.It is a problem if you come home late because every one is sleeping and I am afraid no one open the door for you.
2.)Yes,I really mind.I am sorry because I have a sensitive nose.
3.)No, I don’t.Here you are!
I think maybe this is something due with the culture different.As I know Chinese people usually ask question very direct eg: Can I sit down, Can you help me, any one one sitting here?It is very rare they will ask “do you mind….can you do me a favor”??
One very recently case I heard from a friend, there was a western young lady come in for some enquiries and after enquiries she wanted to get her things fix and she found an empty chair next to a friend of mine and she asked do you mind I sit down and my friend reply is “no” then she left.I friend was very shocked because she meant nobody sitting next to her but the lady got another meaning.
Ha ha! Yes Pink, I am sure the lady was surprised when your friend said ‘no’! She probably thought she wasn’t very friendly! Culture is an interesting thing!
Some feedback:
1.) Yes,I mind.It is a problem if you come home late because every one
iswill be sleeping and I am afraid no one will open the door for you.Thanks for the correction! : )