Would you/ Could you

Question

When you ask your boss to do something for you, which do you think you would prefer to use, "Would you~, please?" or "Could you~, please?"? And I'd like to know the reason.

Laborious · Accepted Answer

hachi8When you ask your boss to do something for you, which do you think you would prefer to use, "Would you~, please?" or "Could you~, please?"?

I'd use either without any fear, because, to me, they are both equally formal and/or polite expressions for requesting somebody to do something.

hachi8And I'd like to know the reason.

.. The reason why I see them as equally formal and/or polite is that I consider both of them asdistancing forms. I see 'could' as a distincing form of 'can' and 'would' as a distancing form of 'will'.

By 'distancing forms', I mean that they can distance in politeness and / or directness, for eg saying Will you do it for me? OR Can you do it for me? is more direct than saying Would you do it for me? OR Could you do it for me?, hence would and could are distancing in 'directness' in these examples by making the sentences far less direct.

Hachi8 · Answer

Thanks for your reply, Laborious

A friend of mine who is not a native English speaker said she might say "Would you be able to~?" as well in addition to "Will Would you~,please?" I don't think I've heard that expression spoken by that many people, but do you think you would also use the expression for others like your boss?

Laborious · Answer

hachi8"Would you be able to~?"

That's like saying "Could you ...?".

For eg: Could you look after the plants in my garden in my absence? (= Would you be able [or would it be possible for you] to look after the plants in my garden in my absence?)

Let's wait for the native speakers' opinions.

Grammarfreak · Answer

hachi8 When you ask your boss to do something for you, which do you think you would prefer to use, "Would you~, please?" or "Could you~, please?"? And I'd like to know the reason.

This sounds kind of odd to me. In the United States, it is not customary, or common to ask your superior to do something for you as a personal favor. In a work setting, if you want a few days off, you may submit a formal "request ". So we don't ask our boss verbally to do something.
Aside from work, just so happened if your superior is also living in the same neighborhood and you often go fishing with him on the weekend, and you need a ride to work because your car is in the shop for repair, I won't hestitate to say " My car is in the shop, could I catch a ride with you ? " Or " Could you pick me up tomorrow ? ".

"Would you be able to pick me up ? " - I suppose will work depending on the circumstance.

Fivejedjon · Answer

grammarfreakThis sounds kind of odd to me. In the United States, it is not customary, or common to ask your superior to do something for you as a personal favor.

Hachi did not mention personal favours.

Grammarfreak · Answer

fivejedjon grammarfreakThis sounds kind of odd to me. In the United States, it is not customary, or common to ask your superior to do something for you as a personal favor.Hachi did not mention personal favours.

If you ask your boss to so something for you, what would you call that ?By position and ranks, he doesn't have to do anything for you, unless there is an element beyond work. Am I being silly that I have a feel that my posts attracted your interests?

Hachi8 · Answer

Thank you, grammarfreak and fivejedjon,

If what you want is more work-related or official favor(?) of the senior like a boss, what would you say or how would you ask him/her?

Grammarfreak · Answer

As I mentioned, it is not customary for anyone to ask his boss to do something for him in any shape or form in the US. I had the same boss for 16 years and the only time I asked him ( more or less as a favor ) was during an annual performance review in June. I mentioned to him I was planning to celebrate my 20th anniversary with my wife with a month long trip to Asia in December, and I was wondering if he would feel possible granting that request with approval. He told me to fill out an officla request form with reason(s) for the month off. So, it wasn't a direct question like " Can I have a month off ?", or " can you let me have a month off in December ?". I am speaking from my persepctive of a 26 year technology professional working in the US. Others may have different experience.

Hachi8 · Answer

I thought there would be not only top-down orders but also bottom-up communication even in companies.

Hachi8 · Answer

As I mentioned, it is not customary for anyone to ask his boss to do something for him in any shape or form the US. I had a boss for 16 years and the only time I asked my boss ( more or less as a favor ) was during an annual performance review in June. I mentioned to him I was planning to celebrate my 20th anniversary with my wife with a month long trip to Asia in December, and I was wondering if he would feel possible granting that request with approval. He told me to fill out an officla request form with reason(s) for the month off. So, it wasn't a direct question like " Can I have a month off ?", or " can you let me have a month off in December ?". I am speaking from my persepctive of a 26 year technology professional working in the US. Others may have different experience.

I see:)) I feel like there is an important cultural gap or sth like that between here and there, but it was good for me to know that!! Otherwise, I might be misunderstanding about it for good. Anyway, thank you for your explanations.

Would you/ Could you

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