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Nokia Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

"I was wondering" vs "I am wondering"

Is "I was wondering if you could..."

more polite than

"I am wondering if you could..."?

or is tense the only difference?

I always use "I was wondering..." regardless of the tense because I think it is more polite. I would like a confirmation though.

Thanks.
  

Top answer

" is the normal expression. " isn't quite so polite-sounding, but also it just doesn't feel as idiomatic in that particular situation.

— GPY

  • " is the normal expression.
  • " isn't quite so polite-sounding, but also it just doesn't feel as idiomatic in that particular situation.
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3 Answers
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Yes, when making a polite request, "I was wondering ..." is the normal expression. I guess you could say that "I am / I'm wondering ..." isn't quite so polite-sounding, but also it just doesn't feel as idiomatic in that particular situation.
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GPY "I am / I'm wondering ..." isn't quite so polite-sounding, but also it just doesn't feel as idiomatic in that particular situation.
I also feel that it is less confident, as if I'm not sure about whether or not it will happen, or if I should even ask.
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Thanks all of you for helping.
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