is there any way to say that, for example:
You could do nothing
You could not do anything
I feel like there should be a similiar one to say what I mean, but what I've come up with ends up just meaning "you couldn't do anything".
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1Are you trying to say, "You didn't have to do anything"?– JimNov 22, 2014 at 2:56
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1It seems like the poster is trying to say you have the option to do something or to do nothing, it's up to you to choose. If that's the case, I would say "You may (or could) choose to do nothing." I would need more context to decide if may or could is better though.– ColleenVNov 22, 2014 at 3:51
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That is what I mean, you have the option to do something or not. I think "You may choose to do nothing" is the best answer I'll get. I just thought there would be another construction more similiar to the phrases I gave. Since the phrase didn't come naturally for me, I ended up translating from my native language, which then sounded odd.Thanks though.– PoulsantPulloverNov 22, 2014 at 5:26
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1 Answer
You can do nothing. (Needs context for clarity.)
You can/may [verb]. (May need context for clarity.)
You don't need/have to do anything.
You need do nothing.
You needn't do anything.
You can [optional verb phrase], but you don't need/have to.
It's not necessary to do anything.
You can [verb phrase] or not.
[verb-ing] is [possible but] not required.
It's possible/ok [to + verb] [, but not needed/necessary/required].
____ is optional.
I can think of many more alternatives. We can also communicate information about whether some possible act is suggested, desireable, discouraged, prohibited, easy, difficult, etc.
