3 ms·

> Please only get a textbook if you can afford one, as the same material can be accessed with an online starter account. I think you're trying to say "if you c

> Please only get a textbook if you can afford one, as the same material can be accessed with an online starter account. I think you're trying to say "if you can't afford the textbook, then we have a free version available online" but it is written very confusingly. In English, "buy the textbook only if you can afford it" means the same as "affording the textbook is necessary to buy it". That is a tautology; that's true for literally everything: to buy something, you need to afford it. Also please add a link to how to get "starter account". https://japanesecomplete.com/create-starter https://japanesecomplete.com/create-starter

naniwaduni 4y ago
> In English, "buy the textbook only if you can afford it" means the same as "affording the textbook is necessary to buy it". That is a tautology; that's true for literally everything: to buy something, you need to afford it. Having the ability to throw the money around is not the same thing as being able to afford to spend that money. Americans are very credit-happy, among other things. Or imagine it says something more like "don't give us money if that would cause you to be unable to make rent/afford food/hoard candles".
ylyn 4y ago
> That is a tautology That is most certainly not a tautology. Afford isn't used in the "have enough money to pay for" sense here; it's used in the "able to do without adverse consequences later on" sense. So what it means is that you are able to buy the textbook without having to struggle to pay for other things later on.
chownie 4y ago
> In English, "buy the textbook only if you can afford it" means the same as "affording the textbook is necessary to buy it". That is a tautology; that's true for literally everything: to buy something, you need to afford it. Is this regional? Where I'm from (UK) "if you can afford it" is commonly used to mean "if you have the disposable income" and they're using the idiom right here, they don't want to turn away people who would be interested but consider ~$80 too expensive for a book.
mbg721 4y ago
There's a difference from Ferris Bueller saying "If you have the means, I highly recommend it."
troad 4y ago
As an English speaker, the original makes perfect sense to me and sounds far more natural than your suggested replacement. They’re asking that you not spend money on the book if to do so would impose an undue hardship on you. I also feel compelled to note that “Affording the textbook is necessary to buy it” is itself an incredibly awkward turn of phrase. I wouldn’t normally point this out, but if you’re going to be giving out unsolicited stylistic advice, you may wish to start there.
- tantalor 4y ago
  > is itself an incredibly awkward turn of phrase I wasn't suggesting it, I was pointing out how awkward and nonsensical their phrasing was.
hombre_fatal 4y ago
It just sounds like they phrased it a bit too apologetically.
layer8 4y ago
Right, it’s confusing, I first read it as “please don’t pirate our book”.

naniwaduni 4y ago

> In English, "buy the textbook only if you can afford it" means the same as "affording the textbook is necessary to buy it". That is a tautology; that's true for literally everything: to buy something, you need to afford it. Having the ability to throw the money around is not the same thing as being able to afford to spend that money. Americans are very credit-happy, among other things. Or imagine it says something more like "don't give us money if that would cause you to be unable to make rent/afford food/hoard candles".

ylyn 4y ago

> That is a tautology That is most certainly not a tautology. Afford isn't used in the "have enough money to pay for" sense here; it's used in the "able to do without adverse consequences later on" sense. So what it means is that you are able to buy the textbook without having to struggle to pay for other things later on.

chownie 4y ago

> In English, "buy the textbook only if you can afford it" means the same as "affording the textbook is necessary to buy it". That is a tautology; that's true for literally everything: to buy something, you need to afford it. Is this regional? Where I'm from (UK) "if you can afford it" is commonly used to mean "if you have the disposable income" and they're using the idiom right here, they don't want to turn away people who would be interested but consider ~$80 too expensive for a book.

mbg721 4y ago

There's a difference from Ferris Bueller saying "If you have the means, I highly recommend it."

troad 4y ago

As an English speaker, the original makes perfect sense to me and sounds far more natural than your suggested replacement. They’re asking that you not spend money on the book if to do so would impose an undue hardship on you. I also feel compelled to note that “Affording the textbook is necessary to buy it” is itself an incredibly awkward turn of phrase. I wouldn’t normally point this out, but if you’re going to be giving out unsolicited stylistic advice, you may wish to start there.

tantalor 4y ago
> is itself an incredibly awkward turn of phrase I wasn't suggesting it, I was pointing out how awkward and nonsensical their phrasing was.

hombre_fatal 4y ago

It just sounds like they phrased it a bit too apologetically.

layer8 4y ago

Right, it’s confusing, I first read it as “please don’t pirate our book”.