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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
could vs. can in questions
A. Could I have a burger, please?
B. Can I have a burger, please?
1. If I were to order in a restaurant and say the example above, what would it mean to the listener if I say A? And what would it mean to the listener if I say B?
2. I understand that "could" is the polite version of "can" but please expain how "could" is more polite than "can".
3. Would you agree that still both sentences sound polite, because of adding "please" at the end of the question?
I would very much appreciate your helpful thoughts on this.
B. Can I have a burger, please?
1. If I were to order in a restaurant and say the example above, what would it mean to the listener if I say A? And what would it mean to the listener if I say B?
2. I understand that "could" is the polite version of "can" but please expain how "could" is more polite than "can".
3. Would you agree that still both sentences sound polite, because of adding "please" at the end of the question?
I would very much appreciate your helpful thoughts on this.
Top answer
Anonymous 1. If I were to order in a restaurant and say the example above, what would it mean to the listener if I say A? And what would it mean to the listener if I say B?
- Anonymous 1.
- If I were to order in a restaurant and say the example above, what would it mean to the listener if I say A?
- And what would it mean to the listener if I say B?
- There is little real difference.
- The listener would probably not notice which you used.
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2 Answers
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Anonymous1. If I were to order in a restaurant and say the example above, what would it mean to the listener if I say A? And what would it mean to the listener if I say B?There is little real difference. The listener would probably not notice which you used. Many people dodn't even bother with the 'Can/could I' in this situation.
Anonymous
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Thank you, fivejedjon, for your helpful response and examples.
I often hear about the indirectness of the past tense, however, it's not clear to me how is "could" indirect and "can" direct.
In my example with "could" and your first example with "wondered", in what sense are they indirect?
Thank you in advance for your clarification.
I often hear about the indirectness of the past tense, however, it's not clear to me how is "could" indirect and "can" direct.
In my example with "could" and your first example with "wondered", in what sense are they indirect?
Thank you in advance for your clarification.
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