How dare you say such a thing to me?

[tufguy]

Q: How dare you say such a thing to me?

A: "You are an idiot" this is how I dare say this to you.

Please check my sentences.

 

[tufguy]

The question is fine.

The response is not. The point about the question is that it is not really a question demanding an answer. It is something said as a sign of indignation.

"This is how I dare say this to you" is this part incorrect? What a person can say if the person is trying to instigate the questioner?

He said that "how dared he touched his car" is this sentence correct?

 

[tufguy]

Yes
I don't know what you mean by 'instigate'.No.

By instigate I meant "provoke".


Tom said to her that "how dared she touched his car" is this sentence correct? I mean we say "how dare you do this" but what do we need to use while reporting this speech or sentence?

 

[GoesStation]

With the quotation marks, you have to quote what Tom said: Tom said to her, "How dare you touch my car?"

As reported speech, write: Tom asked her how she dared to touch his car.

Neither of these is particularly natural.

 

[Skrej]

As others have pointed out, the original question is rhetorical, so the speaker isn't really expecting a response.

However, since rhetorical questions in an argument have never stopped me from trying to get in the last word, I suppose one could respond with something like "Because you're an idiot" or "Because you're an idiot, that's why."

A slightly less natural version would be 'I dare because you're an idiot."

Of course, you could substitute whatever other reason you feel justifies your response in place of 'you're an idiot'.

 

[tufguy]

With the quotation marks, you have to quote what Tom said: Tom said to her, "How dare you touch my car?"

As reported speech, write: Tom asked her how she dared to touch his car.

Neither of these is particularly natural.

So if we have to quote what someone has said then we don't have a natural sounding way for that. Is it correct? Because I was told that "dare" shouldn't be followed by to.

Can "instigate" be used as I used it?

 

[GoesStation]

We don't say How dare you very often in American English. That's why the sentences don't sound natural.

Instigate is not a word you will hear in conversation.

 

[Tdol]

It's used in BrE, but it would come after the person said the thing that was causing offence, not before it.

 

[tufguy]

It's used in BrE, but it would come after the person said the thing that was causing offence, not before it.

Is it regarding instigate?

 

[andrewg927]

No. I believe Tdol was referring to "how dare you?"

Where did you learn "instigate"? Do you remember?

 

[tufguy]

No. I believe Tdol was referring to "how dare you?"

Where did you learn "instigate"? Do you remember?

I heard someone say it years ago.

 

[emsr2d2]

I heard someone say it years ago.

You might have misheard/misunderstood it. The person might have used it incorrectly. Given that you heard it years ago, you could have forgotten how it was used, so it would have been a good idea for you to check it in a dictionary before using it in this thread.

 

[Tdol]

Is it regarding instigate?

No, because the sentence you use it in doesn't work with any definition of the word.

 

[tufguy]

No, because the sentence you use it in doesn't work with any definition of the word.

So what should be used instead of "instigate" in sentences like this?

 

[Tdol]

Do you mean something like intimidate?

 

[jutfrank]

I don't see that How dare you say such a thing to me!, when said in anger, is a question at all, and I wouldn't want to transcribe it with a question mark. And since it's not a question, it doesn't elicit an answer.


(A phrasal verb that my mother used to say when I would give a cheeky retort is answer back, but I'm not sure this is widely used.)

 

[emsr2d2]

"Answer back" is certainly widely used in the UK.

 

[Tdol]

I don't see that How dare you say such a thing to me!, when said in anger, is a question at all, and I wouldn't want to transcribe it with a question mark. And since it's not a question, it doesn't elicit an answer.

And it would have to come after what the person said, not before.