Crown Academy of English

English lessons and resources




  • Home
  • Online English lessons
  • IELTS online course
  • Articles & lessons
    • Grammar & vocabulary lessons
    • IELTS preparation
    • British culture
    • List of all articles & lessons
  • About
  • Contact
Home > Articles > English lessons > How to make polite requests in English

How to make polite requests in English

28th August 2018 by Andrew 28 Comments

A request is when we ask someone for something. Since we are asking someone for help, it is important to be polite.
We must avoid being too direct.

Here are examples of being too direct:
“I want help.”
“Pass me the salt.”
“Can you carry my bag?”

bag

These questions are all correct English but they are too direct. These are not polite requests. They are in fact quite rude. People will be offended because they will think that you are giving them orders.

In this lesson, you will learn several methods to make a polite request. The first few examples are to be used in spoken English. The last example is for written English.


Polite requests in spoken English

Could you .. ?

Form:  Could you  +  base form of verb ….. ?

Examples:
Could you carry my bags?
Could you give me some advice?
Could you carry these boxes?

We can add “possibly” to be even more polite. We put “possibly” in between “Could you” and the verb.

Example:
Could you possibly hold my drink?

Would you mind .. ?

Form: Would you mind  +  ing form of verb … ?

Examples:
Would you mind carrying my bags?
Would you mind giving me some advice?
Would you mind helping me?
Would you mind taking my photograph?

I wonder if you could .. ?

Form:  I wonder if you could + base form of verb … ?

Examples:
I wonder if you could mind my bag?
I wonder if you could give me some advice?
I wonder if you could help me?

We can add “possibly” to be even more polite:
I wonder if you could possibly take me to the airport?

Online English lessons and conversation

Negative statements with question tags

A statement is a normal sentence.  It is not a question.  We can add question tags to a negative statement to transform the negative into a question.  This is very formal English and it’s an excellent way to ask someone something politely.

There are several ways of doing this:

Form:  You couldn’t + base form of verb … + could you?

Example:
You couldn’t help me, could you?

Form: You wouldn’t + base form of verb … + would you?

Example:
You wouldn’t take me to the airport, would you?

Form: I don’t suppose you could + base form of verb … + could you?

Example:
I don’t suppose you could clean the bathroom, could you?

Polite requests in written English

Here is a good expression for formal emails and letters:

Form:
I would be grateful if you could + base form of verb …

Example:
I would be grateful if you could send me your price list.

We can add “most” to be even more polite:

Example:
I would be most grateful if you could send me the reports.

Notice that these are not questions. They are affirmative statements. Therefore, do NOT write a question mark at the end. (?)

Online English lessons and conversation

Comments

  1. Danish says

    29th August 2018 at 9:14 pm

    Hello Andrew sir, I watch your lecture daily, they are helping me a lot but i am unable to express my ideas when i try to write. I am from India from a very small rural area due to lack of money iam unable to join. I have searched many websites they are all paid. I want to develop my writing skills. Please help. Reply.

    Reply
    • Anonymous says

      25th June 2021 at 6:09 am

      Buy a book, online can only help you so much.

      Reply
      • G R R K PRASAD says

        18th August 2021 at 4:55 am

        I will buy at a shop now it self

        Reply
  2. Humaira Farzeen says

    9th May 2019 at 8:44 am

    Thanks, the example are very clear

    Reply
  3. Jude says

    26th June 2019 at 9:15 pm

    How about “would you like to”? As in “would you like to stop by the Post Office on your way home”?

    Reply
    • James says

      17th August 2020 at 1:25 pm

      That doesn’t work. I guess it must in other languages (I’ve heard it said before). If someone asked me that, I’d be asking myself why the ~@%& I’d *want* to go to the post office?

      Reply
    • Dapo Maciver says

      25th September 2020 at 8:48 pm

      It’s sounds more like a question. It’s absolutely correct though.
      “Could you stop by the post office on your way home.”

      Reply
  4. Augustin Basile says

    28th September 2019 at 11:03 pm

    The lesson is very good. The given examples are very understandable and my learners will get everything.

    Many thanks

    Reply
  5. Musa says

    12th October 2019 at 4:23 pm

    Thanks a million times.
    The examples was apt coupled with the explanation.

    Reply
  6. Rabiu Sulaiman Muhammad says

    4th November 2019 at 4:11 pm

    The previous Request… ‘I wonder if you could help me’… Of cause, it sounds very nice to hear from someone who is looking for your help. But, my question is, can I also say it in this way, like: “I don’t think if you could help me “

    Reply
  7. Suryansh says

    4th December 2019 at 2:48 pm

    I’didint understand

    Reply
  8. Raja Gopal says

    10th December 2019 at 2:51 pm

    Polite request of “I am going home early today”

    Reply
  9. Sharmin Chowdhaury says

    22nd January 2020 at 5:25 am

    Thankyou so much

    Reply
  10. Sharmin Chowdhaury says

    22nd January 2020 at 5:26 am

    Tnx

    Reply
    • Sharmin Chowdhaury says

      22nd January 2020 at 5:27 am

      tnx a lot..the languages were very simple.. and that is need for all..tnx again

      Reply
  11. Saidu Ahmad yahaya says

    9th February 2020 at 12:59 pm

    I’m feeling much better to see these example thanks you so much

    Reply
  12. Adu Kwadwo Jonas says

    20th April 2020 at 7:00 pm

    Thank you very much I think am getting to the rightful director to help me increase my English proficiency

    Email me for communication
    adukwadwojonas @gmail.com

    Reply
  13. Nihar Bansal says

    19th May 2020 at 9:05 am

    Needed some of these for an interview. Thanks for the help!

    Reply
  14. Genius says

    29th July 2020 at 10:21 am

    There are many ways for you to make requests in English politely. Most of the polite requests are in the form of questions.

    Reply
  15. Roland says

    5th August 2020 at 12:06 pm

    Which one more formal or better “we request your Office to allow ….” or May we request your Office to allow. . . .”

    Reply
  16. tuan hoang says

    5th August 2020 at 4:39 pm

    I wonder if you could give me a lesson on the use of modal verbs.Thanks so much

    Reply
  17. nurmahammad v lodha says

    14th November 2020 at 5:31 am

    Is “kindly” used for making request in imperative sentences?

    Reply
  18. Jasmine says

    23rd November 2020 at 11:52 pm

    Is asking at what time can I be expected to get this a rude way to ask for something?

    Reply
  19. Valentin says

    6th January 2021 at 1:08 am

    I looking for workshop or on line groups to practice conversation

    Reply
  20. Bien Aime says

    25th January 2021 at 11:21 am

    Thank you so much…
    That helps me a lot

    Reply
  21. Bashir kabir says

    26th May 2021 at 5:00 am

    Thanks, it helps me alot

    Reply
  22. M says

    5th July 2021 at 3:19 pm

    May i please be excused early today?
    Or
    Would it be possible to leave (amount of time) early today?
    Or
    I hate to have to ask, but ….may i…

    Reply
  23. Monika filippus says

    27th September 2021 at 10:06 pm

    Waw! The platform is helpful

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

English grammar ebook

English grammar ebook

Online English lessons

English lessons with a native English teacher
IELTS online course

Recent articles & lessons

doctor

The difference between practice and practise

4th June 2019

peas on spoon

“a little” and “a few ” to describe quantity

30th May 2019

graduation

Difference between “finally”, “at last”, “lastly” and “in the end”

22nd May 2019

maths symbols

Maths symbols and operations – English vocabulary

8th May 2019

people meeting

BACK as a noun, verb, adjective and adverb

29th April 2019

Online English lessons

English lessons with a native English teacher

IELTS tips

IELTS complete guide

IELTS complete guide (WITH EXAMPLE QUESTIONS)

1st September 2017

Bar Chart

Advice for IELTS writing task 1

19th July 2017

Smiling girl

IELTS speaking advice

18th July 2017

IELTS student Tatjana

How to pass the IELTS with a band 8

9th May 2017

IELTS student Andreea

How to get a band 8 in the IELTS

9th May 2017

Ad





Affiliate disclosure

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Additionally, CrownAcademyEnglish.com participates in other affiliate programs, and we sometimes get a commission from purchases made through our links.

Follow us on social media

Crown Academy of English on YouTube Crown Academy of English on Twitter

Copyright © 2023 · Crown Academy of English · Privacy Policy