Do you have an English lesson today?

Ivan Fadeev

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Jan 26, 2016, 11:26:51 PM1/26/16

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I want to ask you native English speakers how you understand this sentence.

Do you have an English lesson today?

The matter is that I have been told by other natives different things about it. Some people say

1) This sentence is bad because it has TODAY

Others say

2) This sentence should be understood in regards to TODAY only which means that the lesson is meant to take place ONLY TODAY but not on a regular basis.

3) Others say
This sentence should be understood in regards to a regular action. For example, if today is a Sunday than asking "Do you have an English lesson today?" means "Do you have an English lesson on Sundays?"

What do you think?

Peter Moylan

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Jan 27, 2016, 12:07:39 AM1/27/16

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4) None of the above.

It is asking whether you have an English lesson at some time later
today. (It can't be earlier, because then the verb would be "did".) The
phrasing does not say anything about whether it is a one-off, a weekly
lesson, etc.

--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Mark Brader

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Jan 27, 2016, 12:25:28 AM1/27/16

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Peter Moylan:

> 4) None of the above.
>
> It is asking whether you have an English lesson at some time later
> today. (It can't be earlier, because then the verb would be "did".) The
> phrasing does not say anything about whether it is a one-off, a weekly
> lesson, etc.

Agreed.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "After much soul-searching, the DMR decided to
m...@vex.net | go with UNIX." -- "/aur" magazine, April-May '89

bert

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Jan 27, 2016, 4:50:46 AM1/27/16

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On Wednesday, 27 January 2016 05:07:39 UTC, Peter Moylan wrote:
> On 2016-Jan-27 15:26, Ivan Fadeev wrote:
> > I want to ask you native English speakers
> > how you understand this sentence.
> >
> > Do you have an English lesson today?
>

> 4) None of the above.
>
> It is asking whether you have an English lesson at some time later
> today. (It can't be earlier, because then the verb would be "did".) The
> phrasing does not say anything about whether it is a one-off, a weekly
> lesson, etc.

But to ask "Do you have an English lesson today?" would
be quite absurd unless you already know that the person
(a) takes English lessons, and (b) takes them frequently
enough that there very well might be one later today.
--

Ivan Fadeev

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Jan 27, 2016, 5:33:20 AM1/27/16

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Well, thank you for you opinion. The matter is that there is also "Are you having an English lesson today?" which means, as some natives say, a one-off action i.e. only one lesson today. To be honest, I am surprised that you reject the possibility to interpret "Do you have an English lesson today" as "Is today one of the days on which you are scheduled to have an English lesson?"

Ivan Fadeev

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Jan 27, 2016, 5:43:20 AM1/27/16

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I take it as you understand the sentence in the sense that the respondent takes English lessons regularly which excludes the possibility of a spontaneous lesson. Would you say "Are you having a lesson today?" if you knew that your opponent was going to take only one lesson in the foreseeable future?

bert

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Jan 27, 2016, 5:47:59 AM1/27/16

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On Wednesday, 27 January 2016 10:33:20 UTC, Ivan Fadeev wrote:
> The matter is that there is also
> "Are you having an English lesson today?"

I sense only a slight difference between "Do you have ..."
and "Are you having ...". Perhaps "Do you have" suggests
he is already known to have an English lesson about once
a week, and "Are you having" that he has several a week;
but it's really slight. Perhaps "Do you have" asks if a
lesson is scheduled, and "Are you having" asks if he
means to actually go to the scheduled lesson, but that's
also really slight. They're almost interchangeable.
--

bert

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Jan 27, 2016, 5:53:52 AM1/27/16

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On Wednesday, 27 January 2016 10:43:20 UTC, Ivan Fadeev wrote:
> Would you say "Are you having a lesson today?"
> if you knew that your opponent was going to take
> only one lesson in the foreseeable future?

No. The natural form of wording in that case would be
"Are you having that English lesson today?", or perhaps
"Are you having your English lesson today?", although
either of those could also be used when it was known
that there were multiple lessons.
--

Peter Moylan

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Jan 27, 2016, 6:17:25 AM1/27/16

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On 2016-Jan-27 21:33, Ivan Fadeev wrote:
> On Wednesday, January 27, 2016 at 7:07:39 AM UTC+2, Peter Moylan
> wrote:
>> On 2016-Jan-27 15:26, Ivan Fadeev wrote:
>>> I want to ask you native English speakers how you understand this
>>> sentence.
>>>
>>> Do you have an English lesson today?
>>>
>>> The matter is that I have been told by other natives different
>>> things about it. Some people say
>>>
>>> 1) This sentence is bad because it has TODAY
>>>
>>> Others say
>>>
>>> 2) This sentence should be understood in regards to TODAY only
>>> which means that the lesson is meant to take place ONLY TODAY but
>>> not on a regular basis.
>>>
>>> 3) Others say This sentence should be understood in regards to a
>>> regular action. For example, if today is a Sunday than asking "Do
>>> you have an English lesson today?" means "Do you have an English
>>> lesson on Sundays?"
>>>
>>> What do you think?
>>
>> 4) None of the above.
>>
>> It is asking whether you have an English lesson at some time later
>> today. (It can't be earlier, because then the verb would be "did".)
>> The phrasing does not say anything about whether it is a one-off, a
>> weekly lesson, etc.

> Well, thank you for you opinion. The matter is that there is also
> "Are you having an English lesson today?" which means, as some
> natives say, a one-off action i.e. only one lesson today.

EXAMPLE 1:

"Are you having an English lesson today?"

"Yes, I have a lesson every Wednesday."

EXAMPLE 2.

"Are you having an English lesson today?"

"Yes. In fact I'm having two English lessons today, one this morning and
one in the afternoon."

Both of these are possible scenarios. The one-off case is actually less
likely, although it is possible. If I knew that the person was going to
have only one lesson, I would ask "Are you having _your_ English lesson
today?" The indefinite article is more likely to imply one of several
lessons.

> To be honest, I am surprised that you reject the possibility to
> interpret "Do you have an English lesson today" as "Is today one of
> the days on which you are scheduled to have an English lesson?"

I am not rejecting it. It is certainly one of the possible meanings.
What I am rejecting is the implied assertion in 3) that it is the ONLY
possible meaning.

semir...@my-deja.com

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Jan 27, 2016, 1:01:20 PM1/27/16

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On Wednesday, 27 January 2016 05:07:39 UTC, Peter Moylan wrote:

>On 2016-Jan-27 15:26, Ivan Fadeev wrote:

>>I want to ask you native English speakers how you understand this sentence.
>>Do you have an English lesson today?
>>The matter is that I have been told by other natives different
>>things about it. Some people say

>> 1)This sentence is bad because it has TODAY
>>Others say
>> 2)This sentence should be understood in regards to TODAY

>>only which means that the lesson is meant to take place
>>ONLY TODAY but not on a regular basis.

>> 3)Others say

>>This sentence should be understood in regards to a regular action. For example, if today is a Sunday than asking "Do you have an English lesson today?" means "Do you have an English lesson on Sundays?"
>>What do you think?

>4) None of the above.
>It is asking whether you have an English lesson at some time later
>today. (It can't be earlier, because then the verb would be "did".) The
>phrasing does not say anything about whether it is a one-off, a weekly
>lesson, etc.
> --
>Peter Moylan

Personally I agree with Peter Moylan's answer. The question means
exactly what he has said.

All the other aspects are to do not with the meaning of the
question but are surmises about what might have made the questioner
ask that particular question.

These could include:
a The questioner believes that the person concerned has an English
class today.
b The questioner believes the person concerned has some kind
of a class today.
c The questioner thinks the person concerned sometimes takes classes.

It may be that the questioner's belief is correct.
It may be that the questioner's belief is wrong.
It may be that the questioner is asking members of a group
who give different answers.
It may be that the questioner has made a mistake and
is asking the wrong person.
The questioner may think that the person concerned is a teacher.
The questioner may think that the person concerned
is a pupil/student/learner.

Joe Fineman

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Jan 27, 2016, 5:23:31 PM1/27/16

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Ivan Fadeev <helpi...@gmail.com> writes:

> 2) This sentence should be understood in regards to TODAY only which
> means that the lesson is meant to take place ONLY TODAY but not on a
> regular basis.

"In regards to" should be "with respect to". Or, at least, "regards"
should be "regard".
--
--- Joe Fineman jo...@verizon.net

||: The secret to originality is knowing how to hide your :||
||: sources. :||

Robert Bannister

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Jan 27, 2016, 7:41:12 PM1/27/16

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I agree with 3.

--
Robert B.

Mark Brader

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Jan 28, 2016, 12:39:03 AM1/28/16

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Peter Moylan:

> > It is asking whether you have an English lesson at some time later
> > today. (It can't be earlier, because then the verb would be "did".) The
> > phrasing does not say anything about whether it is a one-off, a weekly
> > lesson, etc.

Bert Hutchings:

> But to ask "Do you have an English lesson today?" would
> be quite absurd unless you already know that the person
> (a) takes English lessons, and (b) takes them frequently
> enough that there very well might be one later today.

Of course. So what?
--
Mark Brader, Toronto "Not looking like Pascal is not
m...@vex.net a language deficiency!" -- Doug Gwyn