Can you do it VS Can't you do it

I see no reason to consider it "improper." There is only a difference of emphasis. If someone asked "can you do it?" would sound to me like a stratight forward question. If someone asked "can't you do it?" i would infer that the person being asked had expressed some reservations about the proposal, and the inquisitor were asking if those came from a lack of confidence.

Interesting. I think it might be almost idiomatic, that is, it's not proper English per se when broken into its component parts, but "can't you?" is certainly acceptable.

when broken down it is awkward, but it's commonly used in its contracted form

something like this

A: i won't be able to come with you this weekend, i have to work

B: can't you get out of it

A: no we're to busy

sigh.

Can't you do it? translates to "Can you not do it?" as in "Can you not understand that when you take a contraction out of a sentence, the words may have to be rearranged?

next case.

Can't implies that you should be able to do it. It's a loaded question and, in the law, these kinds of negative beginning queries are used for cross-examination all the time. Can implies just a question of whether something is possible, and is not a loaded statement.

I think djjd is loaded.

Actually, I believe that "Can't you do it?" translates to: "Can not you do it?"

However, that sounds awkward so we rearrange the words to make more sense. Therein lies the rub. Without rearranging the words, the literal translation sounds improper. An English professor who I asked this question said that, technically, "Cannot you do it?" is correct even though it sounds weird.

No, I think you are incorrect.
It translates to Can you not do it?

Naw . . . in fact, he's almost poor . . .

Yes.

And,

Can you do it? is a straighforward question.

Can't you do it? (meaning, Can you not do it?) is an expression of surprise, i.e the questioner would normally expect you to be able/willing to do it.

Both are quite correct, but are used differently.

"Can not you do it?" only sounds awkward because it's not the normal word order for English. If you said it a thousand times and people started to use it, it would become as natural as the normal word order.

Some languages have word orders that are mirror images of English. They don't sound awkward at all when you speak them but should you translate them directly into English, they do sound weird.



English professors are notorious for not knowing much about how languages function. An expert on Keats or Shakespeare or Kipling doesn't automatically know about the workings of language.

I've got something to say that might cause you pain
If I catch you talkin' to that boy again
I'm gonna let you down, and leave you flat
Because i told you before . . . Oh . . . you can't do that!

Saying "cannot you do it" sounds as awkward as saying you have a string of polop-onies.

Ah, the Poloponies. A sun-kissed, palm-fringed archipelago in the South Pacific.

Ironic humor doesn't work with you, huh?