Personally, I don’t* but I was curious what others think.

*some sandwiches excluded like a Cubano or chicken parm; those do require cooking.

  • Lvxferre@mander.xyz
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    2 months ago

    Perhaps I’m overthinking it, but the English verb seems to have different meanings when it’s used transitive and intransitively. For example, let’s say that you ask someone to prepare you a salad, and the person answers:

    • “I can’t cook.” (sounds OK?)
    • “I can’t cook a salad.” (sounds weird)
    • untorquer@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      2 months ago

      I think that’s grammatically true but i tend to think of it more in terms of colloquialisms or slang. I imagine intransitive use of the verb developed out of convenience for lack of a lazy alternative. “I can’t prepare food” would either suggest you require assistance to eat, you can’t legally work at a restaurant, or your aristocratic status is beyond that of a mere peasant who has seen a kitchen before.