Why "did" when asking about the future?

Question

One of my native English speaker friends often uses past tense for saying something about in the future.

For example, "Did you have any plans for tomorrow night?"

Why "Did" is used in this sentence??
Is it a kind of dialect??
I would say "Do you have...tomorrow night?" or "Will you... "

Now I'm a bit confused.

Thank you very much!

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

AnonymousFor example, "Did you have any plans for tomorrow night?" Why is "Did" is used in this sentence?? ? [One '?' only.]

I have heard this called "the past of politeness", and I think that's a good term for it. It's not from a dialect, and it's not regional. It's a common way of showing deference by being less direct. The present is considered more direct, and in the case of asking for personal information (like what your plans are), it's considered too direct by some people, so they use the past instead.

If you see a stranger, for example, struggling to lift a heavy box and you want to offer help without forcing your presence upon them, you say, "Did you want some help with that?"

(English is not the only language that has the past of politeness, by the way.)

CJ

Fivejedjon · Answer

I think that the 'past' tense in English is better thought of as the 'distancing' tense. It distances the situation noted:

in vividness/time: This man walks/walked into a bar.
in directness: Do/Did you want some help?
In reality: If he does/did that, he'd be fired.

Anonymous · Answer

Dear CJ,

Thanks a lot for your explanation and corrections!

I'm curious about how much popular this usage is...since you said "I have heard...".
Is it normal to use this pattern when you want to make it polite?
(Do you say "Did you like her?" meaning "Do you like her?" to make it sound polite?)

I also have heard of "the past of politeness", but I thought this would be applied to only certain auxiliary verbs such as would, could.

"Would/Could you open the window?" sounds more polite than "Will you open the window?", right?
And I often hear people say "I was wondering if you could..." to make them sounds polite.

Thanks a lot!!!

Anonymous · Answer

Hi fivejedjon,

Thanks a lot for your explanation!
I understand the concept of "distancing".

But can we say, "I still wanted to hang out", referring to the present condition?

Thank you very much!

Fivejedjon · Answer

AnonymousBut can we say, "I still wanted to hang out", referring to the present condition?

I don't know why you used 'still'. I (just) wanted to hang out can be said of a present desire.

Philip · Answer

CalifJimI have heard this called "the past of politeness", and I think that's a good term for it.

I like it, too! I have friends from the south in the U.S. that use it quite a bit, so it may be somewhat regional.

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousI'm curious about how much popular this usage is...since you said "I have heard...".

What I have heard is only the terminology "the past of politeness". That is separate from the issue of how commonly people use the pattern that has that name. The terminology is probably not widely used, though I think it is appropriately descriptive. The grammatical pattern is widely used.

AnonymousIs it normal to use this pattern when you want to make it polite?

Only in the appropriate situation within a conversation.

Anonymous(Do you say "Did you like her?" meaning "Do you like her?" to make it sound polite?)

No. That only asks for information. It doesn't involve an interpersonal situation like offering or requesting where politeness may be expected.

AnonymousI also have heard of "the past of politeness", but I thought this would be applied to only certain auxiliary verbs such as would, could.

The patterns I'm talking about involve only the past. "would" and "could" are other ways of being polite, and it is a matter of debate whether those should be considered past-tense words.

Anonymous"Would/Could you open the window?" sounds more polite than "Will you open the window?", right?

Right. The past, however, is "Did you open the window?" so the past of politeness doesn't work here. This is just another request for information.

AnonymousAnd I often hear people say "I was wondering if you could..." to make them sounds polite.

Yes, that's also a common phrasing.

CJ

CalifJim · Answer

Philip CalifJimI have heard this called "the past of politeness", and I think that's a good term for it.I like it, too! I have friends from the south in the U.S. that use it quite a bit, so it may be somewhat regional.

The first time I came across the term was about a million years ago in a Spanish course. Go figure.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Dear CJ,

I got it! Thank you very much for your detailed explanation!
It helped me a lot to understand this usage.

The key is whether or not it involves an interpersonal situation...!

Thanks a lot again!

Why "did" when asking about the future?

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