I couldn't agree with you more

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcomest

Here's the rub. Please lend your ears!

I know the expression "I couldn't agree with you more." means "I totally agree with you!" Is it right that the subjunctive mood is used in the sentence, meaning "I totally agree with you, and how could I agree with you more than I agree now. I can't."

How about "I cannot agree with you more." I think this one sounds quite akward to me. Does it make any sense in any context?

Is "I couldn't agree with you anymore." grammartically correct and commonly used?

What's the shades of meaning of "I couldn't agree with you more." between "I absolutely agree with you?" When do you use "I couldn't agree with you more," rather than the latter? Just meaning-emphasis?

Thanks in advance!

Jay

First of all "could + verb" does not create the subjunctive mood. "Could" is modal that often creates a hypothetical or conditional sense. In this case it means "No matter what, you have my maximal agreement."

It means the same thing as "absolute agreement" because of the word "more". There is no way that my agreement could be increased.

Here's a tougher one for you. We have an expession "I couldn't care less". It is the opposite of your expression. There is no way that my level of caring could decrease. I don't care at all.

It has become common among certain groups to change that into "I could care less" with the identical meaning. Many say that those who use this form are expessing irony. In my view, most of the people who use it could not define "irony". Whatever the reason, we have two statements that are opposite in form but identical in meaning.