Posing a question question to someone on the phone if they can hear you is right, but it is not close enough to what we actually want to say.
On many occasions we speak words that do not imply what we mean in essence, but what can we do at times? Nothing.
Communication is very essential in life.
Our interactions with others rely so much on it; our expressions are largely based on words, and we do not want to take any chances.
We want to be as clear as possible.
According to Wiktionary.org, the word “can” suggests “to know how to,” “to be able to,” or “to know.”
Let us pretend you were on the phone with someone and you asked, “Can you hear me?”
Now because you do not ask someone if they can hear, but if they have heard what you said, the word “can” in that question has instantly fouled things up.
If you ask someone who has some form of hearing disability, it is correct because the word “can” is connected with ability, therefore it will be correct.
However if the person in question has no hearing defect, it is incorrect.
The statement is not incorrect in and of itself, but the application is.
Instead, ask, “Did you hear what I said?, did you hear what I said?” Do you hear what I’m saying?
That is a good approach to inquire about the person’s receipt of what you have passed on.
It is a confirmative query aimed at the person’s update on getting what you have passed on rather than the person’s hearing capabilities.
“Do you hear me?” is a query to see if the individual has heard what you have said; “can you hear me?” is a query about the person’s hearing abilities.
Thank you very much.
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