“What Can I Do You For” vs. “What Can I Do For You”

With how complicated the English language is, one word can change the meaning of what you’re saying entirely. That word can even be as short as two or three letters. Take ‘what can I do for you’ and ‘what I can I do you for’ as examples.

What Is The Difference Between ‘What Can I Do You For’ And ‘What Can I Do For You?’

We use ‘what can I do for you’ when we politely offer our help to someone. ‘What can I do you for,’ on the other hand, means asking in what way can you abuse or take advantage of someone. ‘For you’ is something positive, but ‘you for’ is negative.

“What Can I Do You For” vs. “What Can I Do For You”
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What Does ‘What Can I Do You For’ Mean?

‘What I can do you for’ is used more often as a joke and with sarcasm. It means doing an unwelcome act on, abusing, or taking advantage of someone. It could also be slang for arresting someone or beating someone up.

‘What I can do you for’ is used in vernacular speech. More often than not, it has a negative connotation to it. If a thug says, ‘what can I do you for,’ it mostly means the thug is sarcastically asking how he can beat you up. While if a policeman says, ‘I can do him for theft,’ it means that the policeman is arresting someone with charges of theft.

There’s also another way of interpreting this phrase. ‘What I can do you for’ can also be a playful and sly way of inverting ‘what can I do for you’ and implies that the speaker might take advantage of the other person.

While in TV shows and between friends, it usually comes off as a joke, this phrase is not something you should say to strangers. Saying this to strangers might be a warning and may cause misunderstandings.

Below are examples of how to use ‘what can I do you for’ in a sentence.

  1. You’ve been standing here for quite a while. What can I do you for, Miss?
  2. Officer Martin, what can I do this man for? Theft is the only charge I found, but I believe there’s more.
  3. You’re more gullible than I thought. Hmm. What can I do you for?
  4. What can I do you for, beautiful woman?
  5. Slow down, little man. You’ve said enough. Now, what can I do you for?

What Does ‘What Can I Do For You’ Mean?

We use ‘what I can do for you’ to express politeness and wanting to help. It means offering our help to someone and asking how specifically can we be of use to that someone. ‘What can I do for you’ is used most in service-like jobs.

Some jobs where they commonly use this phrase are waiters, receptionists, assistants, customer services, and the like. However, it can also be used casually by anyone trying to offer help. ‘What can I do for you’ is simply another way of asking ‘what can I do to help you?’ or ‘how can I be of service to you?’

Unlike the previously discussed phrase, ‘what I can do for you’ is more direct and, most of the time has a positive connotation to it. We use it with sincere feelings of wanting to help or being kind to another person.

Below are examples of how we use ‘what can I do for you’ in a sentence.

  1. Good morning, Madame. Welcome to our restaurant. What can I do for you? (Alternatively, what can I get for you?)
  2. I heard you were asking for help. What can I do for you, Miss Sanders?
  3. I’m not capable of helping with this subject, but I’d like to help with something else. What can I do for you?
  4. Don’t worry. I’m going to help you along the way. What can I do for you, Martina?
  5. I’m your counselor, Blake. I’m here to listen. What can I do for you?

What Is The Origin Of ‘What Can I Do You For?’

While now more commonly interpreted with a negative connotation, ‘what can I do you for’ started simply as a wordplay on the original phrase with ‘for you.’ It also became standard sometime around the 1940s to 1950s and was used often in movies and shows.

The phrase also emerged during the 1940s as popularized by a British comedy radio program. It is also why ‘what can I do you for’ seems more acceptable and less offensive in British English.

Is ‘What Can I Do You For’ Slang?

Yes, ‘what can I do you for’ is slang. In the vernacular speech, it means to abuse or take advantage of someone. From the vernacular interpretation of the phrase, it is where we get the implied meaning of the phrase now.

Most often than not, we do not use this phrase in formal and academic English. Due to its negative connotation, we use ‘what can I do you for’ as slang and more informal and casual conversations. We should also not mistake the phrase as evidence of language evolution, but rather, it is simply slang used by English speakers.

Is ‘What Can I Do You For’ Grammatically Correct?

Yes, ‘what can I do you for’ is grammatically correct. Essentially, it follows all subject-verb agreement rules and does not pose any violation of any given grammar rules of the English language. Though grammatically correct, using this phrase is still not always ‘right’ and appropriate.

‘What can I do you for’ is slang that is only appropriate to use in casual and informal conversations. Despite being grammatically correct, this phrase is generally not accepted in academic and formal English. Thus, one needs to assess when it is appropriate to use this phrase.

Are ‘What Can I Do You For’ And ‘What Can I Do For You’ Interchangeable?

‘What can I do you for’ and ‘what can I do for you’ are not interchangeable because the two phrases have different meanings. We use ‘what can I do for you’ to politely offer help, while we use the other to express taking advantage of someone.

The two phrases having different meanings show that we cannot interchange them. We also use the two phrases in rather opposing contexts that are far from one another.