What does it mean when someone says can I ask you a question?

What does it mean when someone says can I ask you a question?

The question properly phrased is: ‘May I ask you a question? ‘ It is the considerate and polite way of asking permission, as asking the question in the first place usually implies it is personal to the degree that might be uncomfortable or intrusive for the person you are asking.

Whats it called when you ask a question but don’t want an answer?

A rhetorical question is a question asked to make a point, rather than get an answer. If you have ever been late, someone might say: ‘What time do you call this? ‘ This person doesn’t want an answer to the question.

Is it if you don’t mind me asking or if you don’t mind my asking?

Both are correct. “If you don’t mind my asking” – Here you’re stating as if “asking” is a noun instead of a verb. You’re asking the listener if he/she doesn’t mind your “asking.” It’s almost as if saying that the person asking the question isn’t the one actually asking it, but the verb itself is the thing asking.

How do you avoid answering questions?

17 Amazing Tricks for Dodging Unwanted Questions

1. Enlist the help of a friend.
2. Prepare a canned answer in advance.
3. Use a “bridge” response to change the subject.
4. Restate—and reframe—the question.
5. Excuse yourself from an uncomfortable conversation.
6. Be straightforward about your discomfort.
7. Deflect with a joke.

How do you politely ask someone to answer your question?

Key Words That Make Direct Questions More Polite

1. Excuse me, could you help me pick this up?
2. Pardon me, could you help me?
3. Pardon me, could you give me a hand?
4. Could you explain this to me?

What does it mean if a girl never asks you questions?

Just because she didn’t ask you doesn’t mean she doesn’t care, isn’t interested, or an awful person. Many times women forgot to ask, is busy, and quite frankly — if they’re a popular lady with other messages going on, she’s answering because she still has interest but will move onto the next.

What is it called when someone answers a question with a question?

The word is maieutics, also known as the Socratic method, answering a question with a question, often to invoke more thought into the questioner, to answer the questions they ask themselves.

Can I ask you a question?

If someone begins talking with ‘can I ask you a question?’ that person feel some anxiety about asking you, and this is an attempt to calm things. I often answer something like ‘you can ask, but I can’t guarantee that I will answer you.

Why do some people ask questions that they don’t understand?

1. Some people ask a question with a question because they do not trust the person asking the question. 2. Some people cannot deal with others that disagree with them and some people don’t know with certainty how you will respond. I know some of my coworkers that cannot handle people that disagree with them even if they can be wrong. 3.

What’s the most polite way to answer ‘can I ask you a question?

What’s the most polite way to answer “can I ask you a question?” If you’re willing to hear them out, then “Yes, you may” is polite, formal and grammatically correct. You are not obligated to answer their question if you don’t want to. You said you’d listen, not that you’d reveal private information.

What does you can ask but I can’t guarantee mean?

I think it is more of an expression that says, ‘I am not sure I should ask you this question, so let me know if you do not want to talk about this, please.’ I often answer something like ‘you can ask, but I can’t guarantee that I will answer you. If I am comfortable answering or if I know the answer, then I’ll try to give you an answer. “