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Christanford Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Mind if I ...
Hi all,
In spoken English when 'would you mind' or 'do you mind' is omitted, what tense should I use after 'if'?
Mind if I smoke?
Mind if I smoked?
1. Do both of them sound natural?
2. Does the second option still sound more polite than the first one?
3. How about when politeness is unnecessary, for example, when you see a close friend and ask 'would you mind if I joined you/do you mind if I join you?' Does your choice depend on the situation?
Thank you in advance.
In spoken English when 'would you mind' or 'do you mind' is omitted, what tense should I use after 'if'?
Mind if I smoke?
Mind if I smoked?
1. Do both of them sound natural?
2. Does the second option still sound more polite than the first one?
3. How about when politeness is unnecessary, for example, when you see a close friend and ask 'would you mind if I joined you/do you mind if I join you?' Does your choice depend on the situation?
Thank you in advance.
Top answer
Mind if I smoke? (X) Mind if I smoked? 1.
- Mind if I smoke?
- (X) Mind if I smoked?
- 1.
- Do both of them sound natural?
- -- Only #1 is possible.
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2 Answers
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Mind if I smoke?
(X) Mind if I smoked?
1. Do both of them sound natural? -- Only #1 is possible.
2. Does the second option still sound more polite than the first one?-- No, it is not possible. The full, unreduced sentence is "Do you mind if I smoke?", not "Would you mind if I smoked?" You must write or utter the latter in full if you wish to
(X) Mind if I smoked?
1. Do both of them sound natural? -- Only #1 is possible.
2. Does the second option still sound more polite than the first one?-- No, it is not possible. The full, unreduced sentence is "Do you mind if I smoke?", not "Would you mind if I smoked?" You must write or utter the latter in full if you wish to
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