Quote:
Originally posted by sebastian_dangerfield
I get your point, but in most contexts "Its my understanding" is almost always unecessary and undercuts everything you say afterward. Its like opening up with "There's a good chance this is wasted breath, but here goes..." I use it in front of judges when I'mreally fucked, and it sometimes elicits a smirk from the clerk or the judge himself. Not a good thing.
Its also the hallmark opener for scared people. One guy in my office will never say shit without a qualifier. Its always, "Well, according to my review of the documents..." or "From what i've been able to gather..." I have to cross examine the s.o.b. to get a fucking answer. I have actually said "I don't want to know what you've gleaned from the file. I just want to know what exactly happened. What happened?"
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I'm going to have to send you a couple of back issues.
This is a useful phrase when you are saying "It is my understanding that you have conceded x, y, and z" because it invites them to concede again in a very nice way the thing you have rephrased. If you just say "you have conceded this, that and the other thing, am I right" you're more likely to get a "No, not quite" because you didn't use the softening introduction.
But most people overuse the "softening" intros to statements; they should only be used now and then, not be habitual. I'm sure you'll agree that I am right.
Welcome to the language board, everyone.
