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I'm a bit confused as to how these will be interpreted in everyday laguage. For example, if someone ask me, "Do you want him to have a nice car", do I say yes, no, or don't care?

If I say yes, it makes it sound like there are reasons why I want them to have a nice car, since what's the reason for me wanting them to have it. If I say no, it makes it sound like there are reasons why I don't want them to have it, because what do I have against them having a car.

I think the best option is I don't care but I'm not sure. What does it mean to English speakers if I answer yes or no?

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  • I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because this is not about English per se.
    – Lambie
    Commented Aug 14, 2018 at 14:58

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There are certain contexts where "Do you want him to have a nice car" makes sense. If you are a fiction author writing a story, or discussing a screenplay with a group of other writers and planning how a character's life will look, you might ask "Should the main character drive a sports car?"

Outside of that context, if two friends are talking about their neighbor, and one asks the other this question "Do you want him to have a nice car", a simple answer could possibly be that it doesn't make sense as a question, it was misstated. A more complex answer is - if you are discussing psychological topics, emotional states such as jealousy, envy, altruism, then you'd like to understand what effect your neighbor's nice car has on your own emotional state. "Does it bother you, that your neighbor has a nice car? Are you happy for him?" That's what "Do you want him to have a nice car?" could potentially mean.

I think the best option is "I don't care"

Agreed.

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