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Seyfihoca Posted 21 years ago
Grammar
Will, would, can or could, which one is the politest?
Hello
My question is which of these words is the politest one in asking someone to do sth.
I really appreciate any answer.
My question is which of these words is the politest one in asking someone to do sth.
I really appreciate any answer.
Top answer
Much depends on other factors, Seyf, like who's speaking to whom and how they say it. Nevertheless, I teach my students to avoid the direct 'can' and 'will' because there is a possibility of their being too abrupt for the circumstances, while a student can never go wrong by using the more distanced 'would' and 'could'. Being grammatically overly polite is not a serious problem in English.
- Much depends on other factors, Seyf, like who's speaking to whom and how they say it.
- Nevertheless, I teach my students to avoid the direct 'can' and 'will' because there is a possibility of their being too abrupt for the circumstances, while a student can never go wrong by using the more distanced 'would' and 'could'.
- Being grammatically overly polite is not a serious problem in English.
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1 Answers
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Much depends on other factors, Seyf, like who's speaking to whom and how they say it. Nevertheless, I teach my students to avoid the direct 'can' and 'will' because there is a possibility of their being too abrupt for the circumstances, while a student can never go wrong by using the more distanced 'would' and 'could'. Being grammatically overly polite is not a serious problem in English.
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