Hi Everybody,
I really want to know the difference between "Do you speak English?" and "Can you speak English?" are they have same meaning? Thanks.
W
Without any special context, they mean the same. One doesn't speak English if one can't speak English.Hi Everybody,
I really want to know the difference between "Do you speak English?" and "Can you speak English?" Do they have same meaning? Thanks.
Without any special context, they mean the same. One doesn't speak English if one can't speak English.
Yes, but doesn't do you suggest a high level of knowledge?
2006What's the context?
Let's suppose A and B both speak fluent English and a bit of Spanish, and each knows this. B is not as proficient.
A: Tengo un motocicleta azul.
B: Can you speak English?
No, "Do you speak English?" does not mean the same. That is correct. But what B said is not a question; it is a request. B knows that A can speak English.
So the above conversation does not address the question of whether the two questions have the same meaning.
What's the context?
Let's suppose A and B both speak fluent English and a bit of Spanish, and each knows this. B is not as proficient.
A: Tengo un motocicleta azul.
B: Can you speak English?
No, "Do you speak English?" does not mean the same.
Hi Everybody,
I really want to know the difference between "Do you speak English?" and "Can you speak English?" are they have same meaning? Thanks.
W
But in the context in which the question is most likely to be asked - being in a country where English isn't the language spoken - I don't see much difference. I'm lost on the streets of, say, Cairo, I approach someone and I ask:
'Do you speak English?'
or
'Can you speak English?'
Is there a difference? Hmm. Beats me if there is.
Your point could be valid. But I'm not touching the topic of whether2006
Quite possibly. But he said "Can you speak English?" This is colloquial enough in this context, and it's the question of the topic.Maybe, B would have been more polite if he/she had asked it with "would".
Would you speak English, please? You well know that I'm not that good at Spanish.