“I’ll do it, if you like.”
We saw in a previous post that if clauses sometimes do not state conditions that apply to the main clause. “There are cookies in the kitchen if you want them”, but also, whether or not you want them. Whereas, “there are cookies in the kitchen if I remembered to buy some”, but not, whether or not I remembered to buy some. We can bring out the ellipse and compression inherent in the former sentence if we paraphrase as a conjunction, “There are cookies in the kitchen, and help yourself if you want some.” The first conjunct states a fact, the second makes a polite offer that doesn’t assume the person we are addressing is a cookieholic. Notice that speakers can make two very different responses to this offer depending upon which of the conjuncts they focus on. “No thanks” declines the offer. “No there aren’t. I just looked” rejects the existential statement.
So what about “I’ll do it, if you like”? We are at a departmental meeting and the chairperson asks for someone to help him review a new set of promotion policies send to all Humanities departments by the dean. As a tenured faculty member with light admin duties, I feel it proper to OFFER my services in response to his request for a volunteer. So I say “I’ll do it, if you like.” “I’ll”, we might note, has to be “I will”, not “I would.” “I would do it…” declines to help. What is the function of the if clause in this offer? Why not just say “I’ll do it’?
Suppose I’d said instead “I will do it, if you’d like to assign it to me.” That expansion explicitly recognizes that it is something that I’m offering to do, not something I’m claiming. The chairperson must decide whether he will accept my offer and assign the task to me. He may have reasons for not wanting me to do job. My offer to help, if he sees fit to appoint me, acknowledges the chairperson’, right and authority to decide whom he wishes to assign. I do not presume that he must accept whomever volunteers (first). The if clause in fact states a genuine condition on my doing the review. I will not do whether or nor he wishes to assign to me!
We saw in a previous post that if clauses sometimes do not state conditions that apply to the main clause. “There are cookies in the kitchen if you want them”, but also, whether or not you want them. Whereas, “there are cookies in the kitchen if I remembered to buy some”, but not, whether or not I remembered to buy some. We can bring out the ellipse and compression inherent in the former sentence if we paraphrase as a conjunction, “There are cookies in the kitchen, and help yourself if you want some.” The first conjunct states a fact, the second makes a polite offer that doesn’t assume the person we are addressing is a cookieholic. Notice that speakers can make two very different responses to this offer depending upon which of the conjuncts they focus on. “No thanks” declines the offer. “No there aren’t. I just looked” rejects the existential statement.
So what about “I’ll do it, if you like”? We are at a departmental meeting and the chairperson asks for someone to help him review a new set of promotion policies send to all Humanities departments by the dean. As a tenured faculty member with light admin duties, I feel it proper to OFFER my services in response to his request for a volunteer. So I say “I’ll do it, if you like.” “I’ll”, we might note, has to be “I will”, not “I would.” “I would do it…” declines to help. What is the function of the if clause in this offer? Why not just say “I’ll do it’?
Suppose I’d said instead “I will do it, if you’d like to assign it to me.” That expansion explicitly recognizes that it is something that I’m offering to do, not something I’m claiming. The chairperson must decide whether he will accept my offer and assign the task to me. He may have reasons for not wanting me to do job. My offer to help, if he sees fit to appoint me, acknowledges the chairperson’, right and authority to decide whom he wishes to assign. I do not presume that he must accept whomever volunteers (first). The if clause in fact states a genuine condition on my doing the review. I will not do whether or nor he wishes to assign to me!
posted by Macuquinas d' Oro at 3:22 PM
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