“Not that other modes of communication aren't useful, of course.”

You're having a discussion with a friend about the ways that young people communicate these days. You've said that you think face-to-face communication is the best way to communicate with people. But you don't want your friend to think that you dislike email, text messages, and telephone calls. So you say:

Not that other modes of communication aren't useful, of course.

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“I'm sorry, but can you clarify what it is you're asking about?”

You got an email from a coworker asking a question. You read the email and you understood the meaning of the words and sentences, but you can't understand the overall question because the writing wasn't very clear. You write back:

I'm sorry, but can you clarify what it is you're asking about?

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