May I Give You Some Advice She Is For Girls He Is For Males

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I bet none of those people on the audio tapes can read Jawi. Almost all of them spoke English. They did not speak Malay. Only that Mat Kampong MACC fellow spoke Malay throughout. 
Witchypoo said 'Can I advise you something'.



The grammar, syntax and structure of this simple line is so wrong. (Well syntax is also structure because syntax means the arrangement of words to create well formed sentences.) 
The correct language is 'May I give you some advice (noun)' Or 'May I advise (verb) you'

Both 'Can I' and 'May I' are used to seek some permission.So what is the difference between "Can I" versus "May I" ?
You do not say 'Can I' for things that are under your physical control already. 
You can give advice, you can bite the cookie, you can go to the toilet, you can sit down or you can stand. This is within your physical control. It is redundant to say 'Can I sit down'. Of course you can. Just put your butt down.
But to ask permission the proper wording is 'May I sit down'.  You are asking the other person's permission. Then the other person can reply with a 'Yes' or a 'No'. 
'Can I advise you something' is a bit kampong. It is correct to say :
May I advise you about somethingMay I give you some advise
While we are at it, the other mistake that is too common is the inability to differentiate between 'she' and 'he'.
In the past few weeks I had conversations with three different people - ALL three of whom are trained lawyers - who confused 'he' and 'she'.  One person addressed his daughter as he. The other person referred his wife as a he. 
While waiting for the 3PM Press Conference. Locked and loaded. 

Posted by Syed Akbar Ali 

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