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I am looking for the best question phrases to make sure that everything is understood correctly.

– Trains to London leave on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
– Do I understand correctly that trains to London leave daily?

Does this sound nice? Would am I not mistaken that do? Any other ideas?

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do you mean "once daily"? – horatio Mar 17 '11 at 17:39
@horatio trains to London are just an example, I'm asking about phrases synonymous to Do I understand correctly that – Artūrs Reiljans Mar 17 '11 at 19:20

4 Answers

up vote 3 down vote accepted

"Do I understand correctly that...?" is perfectly grammatical, but very formal and stilted. It will be understood, but marks you as either posh or not a native English speaker.

"Am I not mistaken that...?" implies that you think you are mistaken, so I wouldn't use that in this context.

A more colloquial way to get confirmation is to assert the conclusion you want confirmed, but using a questioning intonation pattern (or a question mark in written English):

"So trains to London leave daily?"

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While I agree that the "do I understand correctly..." construction sounds a bit stilted, it does get across a bit more puzzlement than "So...", which might be desirable in this case. – Marthaª Mar 17 '11 at 17:43
Well, that depends on how you say "So." "Sooooooo... this?" makes it pretty clear that something is awkward. – MrHen Mar 17 '11 at 19:18
up vote 1 down vote

What about?

Am I right, that trains to London run daily?

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up vote 1 down vote

You could also say

So in other words, trains for London leave daily?

Let me make sure I've got this right: trains for London leave daily?

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up vote 0 down vote

I don't find anything wrong with the sentence you reported, except (which is not wrong) it lists all the week days when it is possible to rephrase the sentence and avoid to list them. I would simply say "trains to London leaves daily," or "trains leave for London everyday."; alternatively, you can say "there is at least a train for London everyday."

If you are asking about the second sentence, I would rephrase it using one of the following sentences.

Is it correct to say that trains for London leave daily?
Did I understand correctly that trains leave for London everyday?
Am I wrong, or trains leave for London daily?

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I think the OP is asking about the question "Do I understand...?", not the first sentence. – user1579 Mar 17 '11 at 16:52

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