Can I ask you another thing ?

MelodyC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Can I ask you another thing ?

vs. test Q: Can I ask you something else ? (Puis-je vous demander autre chose ? ) Re: the question, as stated, it's hard to imagine a situation where someone (A) wouldn't have already asked the person (B) one or more questions. Okay- a stretch: the person (B) says- "So you want to ask me about a,b,c." The questioner (A) says- "(No) can I ask you something else (instead)?" In English, "Can I ask you something else?" = yet another question, not a different question. Thus, "Can I ask you another thing ?" So, "Puis-je vous demander une autre chose ?" I'm confused, obviously! ;) Melody
Asked 7 years ago
AurélieKwiziq team memberCorrect answer
Bonjour Melody !

That was quite a confusingly long question :)
I completely agree with the nuances of meaning you pointed out between "Can I ask you something else?" and "Can I ask you another thing?", and all I can say is that this nuance doesn't really translate in French!
The reason is that you won't say "Puis-je vous demander UNE autre chose ?" in French, it sounds wrong, you would use "autre chose" or indeed "quelque chose d'autre".

I hope that answers your question!
À bientôt !
MelodyC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Aurélie- After I submitted the question, I realized how confusing it might be. Alas, I couldn't delete the question. Thank you for sorting out my long question, understanding it correctly, and giving an excellent answer.

Can I ask you another thing ?

vs. test Q: Can I ask you something else ? (Puis-je vous demander autre chose ? ) Re: the question, as stated, it's hard to imagine a situation where someone (A) wouldn't have already asked the person (B) one or more questions. Okay- a stretch: the person (B) says- "So you want to ask me about a,b,c." The questioner (A) says- "(No) can I ask you something else (instead)?" In English, "Can I ask you something else?" = yet another question, not a different question. Thus, "Can I ask you another thing ?" So, "Puis-je vous demander une autre chose ?" I'm confused, obviously! ;) Melody

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