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Tell him where he can put it. (Here, can means permission.)

Can this sentence be interpreted as Tell him he can put it somewhere?

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  • What do you think "Tell him where your house is" means? It doesn't mean "Tell him your house is somewhere".
    – Stuart F
    Sep 21 at 10:43

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Tell him where he can put it.

In that sentence the word 'can' means 'to be allowed to' 1. That sentence doesn't mean 'tell him he can put it somewhere'. The first sentence is slightly different from the second one. 'Tell him where he can put it' means 'tell him where he is allowed to put it'. 'Tell him he can put it somewhere' means 'tell him he is allowed to put it somewhere'.

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