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Anonymous Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

degree of politeness

0When you ask someone something, which do you think is more polite to start your request with:02br
02br
001. Could you pass it over ?02br
02br
002. Would you pass it over?02br
02br
00Any suggestions would be appreciated.0-
  

Top answer

02i 02b 00. 0-

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4 Answers
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1b01i00Could/Would you please pass the..02i02b00. are equally polite and appropriate.0-
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0 Both polite, still I'd consider 01b00could02b00 more polite, because it doesn't ask about the 01i00will02i00 of the other person, but about his/her 01i00capability/ability02i00 of passing the thing.02br
02br
00 Both quite indirect because of the conditional form, thus polite. 0-
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0 Interesting - I would have said that "would" is slighly more polite. So, as Mr. M says, there's no hard and fast difference. 0-
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0I can't say if one is more polite than the other. However, I only use 'can you.../could you...' when it's possible that the other person couldn't perform the action.02br
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00I suspect this is a product of conversations like this -02br
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00Little M: I'm finished eating. Can I watch TV?02br
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00Mom: I don't know; 01b00
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