Word Court
Atlantic, The, June, 2004 by Barbara Wallraff
 | Content provided in partnership with |  |
KENT TANKERSLEY, of Helsinki, Finland, writes, "I work in a European office of a multinational company. After I recently wrote the somewhat clichéd phrase 'We cannot understate the importance of ... ,' some of my colleagues, who are not native English-speakers, pointed out that this didn't make sense.
- Most Popular Articles in News
- The Ten Best Laptop bags
- Tata plans cheapest-ever car for Indian market
- GLOBALIZATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT OF THE THIRD WORLD
- Corn is good for you; Corn is not only a tasty treat, but also a cereal that ...
- THE 50 BEST STYLISH HANDBAGS TO CARRY
- More »
Although the phrase sounded perfectly okay to me and the only other native English-speaker in the office, I had to admit that, logically, the literal meaning was the opposite of what I intended. Obviously, it should be 'We cannot overstate the importance of ...' Puzzled by why the phrase had sounded so natural in the first place, I did a Google search for cannot understate the importance and found that it is indeed used in reputable documents. "Doing the same for cannot overstate the importance, I found that, unsurprisingly, this correct usage is seen more frequently. Is it wrong to use cannot ...
