“I couldn't
help but notice that your shirt has something written in Korean on it. Do you
know what it says?”
You see
someone who's wearing a t-shirt with Korean writing on it, but it doesn't make
sense. You ask whether he understands it.
I
couldn't help but notice that your shirt has something written in Korean on it.
Do you know what it says?
what (some writing)
says
English speakers use the word "says" to talk
about things that are written somewhere, even though we can't actually hear
written English. For example:
What
does the note say?
The
instructions say to take two tablets every four to six hours.
I
couldn't help but notice (something)
When you notice something and want to talk about it,
even though it's a little uncomfortable or unusual to talk about, you can use
this phrase:
I
couldn't help but notice that you're not wearing your wedding ring. Is
everything OK?
A common use case is when you want to start up a
conversation with a stranger:
Excuse
me, miss. I couldn't help but notice the book you're reading. What do you
think of it so far?
You can also say "I couldn't help noticing
___":
Hey, I
couldn't help noticing the tattoo on your inner arm. It's really cool. Does it
mean anything?
Aside from "notice", you can also say:
- I couldn't help but think (something)
- I couldn't help but overhear (something)
(an object) has something written
on it
When there are words written or printed on an object,
you can say that the object "has something written on it":
His
hat had something written on it. I couldn't quite make out what it said.
(something) is written
in (a language)
Here's how to talk about what language was used to
write something:
The
original play was written in Russian.