Do you mind if I sleep here?

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Here is a conversation from a Netflix original film:

“Do you mind if I sleep here?”

“Oh my god, of course. Dan will make up the couch.”

Shouldn’t the positive response be something like ‘No, not at all’?

Many thanks,
Torsten[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, question-response: Did you remember to call Ms. Epstein?[YSaerTTEW443543]

2

To me, it’s one of the cases when grammar collides with common practice. The answer to the original (its second part: “Dan will make up the couch.") sounds like you’re being given a go ahead. Still grammar treats it a bit differently:

“Let’s take a look:
do you mind = do you think it is a problem
“Do you mind if I sit down?” = “Do you think it is a problem if I sit down?”
“Yes, I mind (if you sit down)” = “Yes, it is a problem if you sit down.”
“No, I don’t mind (if you sit down)” = “No, it is not a problem if you sit down.”

Example:
So if someone asks:
Do you mind if I turn on the TV?
You should answer:
Yes, I do (this means DON’T turn on the TV)
No, I don’t (this means GO AHEAD and turn on the TV)”
askjohnenglish.com/conversat … i-sit-down

3

Hi Torsten,

does seem a bit strong and over the top, I agree. Perhaps - Of course that goes without saying - might be a more measured response.

Alan

4

Very interesting…[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, question-response: Why hasn’t Gina gotten back to me yet?[YSaerTTEW443543]

5

Yes, it’s very interesting to analyse the mood of the speaker and the listener or the respondent. To me, it appears that the response depends on how familiar the speaker is with the other. ‘No, not at all’ or ‘Perhaps’ would indicate it.

Incidentally, I have these two questions:

  1. Is ‘No, not at all’ a positive or a negative response?’
  2. What’s the difference between ‘Do you mind if I sleep here?’ and ‘Do you mind my sleeping here?’?
6

The only difference I could spot was the verb ‘mind’ being used intransitively (Do you mind if I open\Would you mind if I opened the door?) or transitively (Do you mind opening the door\my smoking?)–if you believe what dictionaries tell you.
By the sounds of it, the former is more colloquial for me.

7

Hello Torsten,

I’m not a native speaker and might well be wrong, but to me “Oh my god, of course” or simply “of course” implies, in this particular context, “of course, you can sleep here”, not “of course I mind.”