Can You Or Could You Please?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Can you or could you please? If taken literally, “Can you” is equivalent to asking the person if they’re capable of doing something. “Could you”, on the other hand, implies that the action can be completed under some circumstances by the person.

Is can you please or could you please correct?

Originally Answered: “Can you please” or “Could you please” — which is correct? “Could” is the polite form of “can”—so

both are correct, but we use them in different situations

. We use “can” when we are telling someone to do something. We use “could” when we are making a request.

Could you vs Could you please?

We also use ‘could’ to ask permission; it is more polite or formal than ‘can’.

Changing the word order to “could you please” is no more or less polite – it’s a matter of style

. whether requests starting with “Please can/could you…” render the same degree of politeness as those that start with “Could you please…”.

Can you or could you difference?

Could you please or can you please — which is more polite?

Both are correct. The first is more direct, and

the second is more polite

. Could you please . . . gives slightly more room for refusal than Can you please . . .

Is it May you please or can you please?

May is the more formal word, and if you are at all concerned about being tut-tutted, a safe choice. Can is now the verb of choice for ability, and both can and may are still used in the “possibility” sense. You may use can if you wish, and you can use may if it makes you feel better.

What can I say instead of can you please?

  • Will you be so kind..(as to help me)
  • It would be really great if you..(could help me / helped me)
  • I’d be grateful if you..(could help me / helped me)

Can or could in a question?


Can, like could and would, is used to ask a polite question, but can is only used to ask permission to do or say something

(“Can I borrow your car?” “Can I get you something to drink?”). Could is the past tense of can, but it also has uses apart from that–and that is where the confusion lies.

Is Can you please a question?


The sentence beginning with “please can…” is a question, and it should have a question mark

. It is a mistake/omission by the writer. If the sentence was “Please give us some context and an example sentence” (without “can you”), then it is imperative, and shouldn’t have a question mark.

How do you politely ask for something?

  1. “Do you mind…?.”
  2. “Would you mind…?
  3. “Could I…?”
  4. “Would it be ok if…?”
  5. “Would it be possible…?”
  6. “Would you be willing to…?”

Can and could sentences?

  • They could come by car. (= Maybe they will come by car.) …
  • It can be very cold here in winter. …
  • That can’t be true. …
  • It’s ten o’clock. …
  • It could be very cold there in winter. …
  • They know the way here. …
  • She can speak several languages. …
  • I can see you.

Can could grammar?

Be able to is possible in all tenses – but

“can” is possible only in the present and “could” is possible only in the past for ability

. In addition, “can” and “could” have no infinitive form. So we use be able to when we want to use other tenses or the infinitive.

Can or could exercise?

  • – Penguins. can. could. swim very well.
  • – I. can. run very fast. when I was younger.
  • – It’s snowing, so we. can’t. couldn’t. …
  • – Yesterday we. can’t. couldn’t. play.
  • – Can. you play the piano. …
  • – You have a nice tricycle. Can. Could. …
  • – He has a broken leg, so he. can’t. …
  • – I. can’t. couldn’t.

Can and could for polite requests?

A third modal for making polite requests is could. For example, “Could I please have some water?”

Could is the past tense of can

. However, when asking for permission, could does not have a past tense meaning. Could has the same meaning as may when making requests.

Can I could I may I?

Would VS could polite?

When it comes to requests, we can use both could and would, but

could is more formal and polite than would

. While making polite requests, could is used with suggestions, as it indicates a possibility. On the contrary, would is used with offers or invites, because it is more usual.

Could versus May?

“Can,” “may,” and “could” are all used to make requests.

“May” is formal in these contexts, while “can” and “could” appear mainly in speech

: “May I have your attention?” is more formal than “Can I have your attention?” or “Could I have your attention?”

Can you in formal way?

Although ‘could’ is used as the past form of ‘can’, it is also used as a polite form of ‘can’ when asking permission to do something or when asking people to do things. ‘

Could I meet with you later this week to talk about this issue?’

Can I ask you or could I ask you?

It is grammatically correct to say, “

Could I ask you something.”

You could also say, “May I ask you something?” to be extremely polite. “Can I ask you something?” is for a present moment question.

Can you help or could you help?

Can you help me ? ‘ is a question for someone you know is capable of ‘helping you’. ‘Could you help me ? ‘ is a question for someone, whose ability to help is in doubt, and you’re asking whether – if they can help, would they ?

How do you answer could you please?

A more natural answer would be, e.g., “

Yeah sure”, “Yes, of course” or “Absolutely”

. ademoglu said: No, I couldn’t.

Could you in a sentence?

This question is used to make a request or to ask for help or a favor.

Could you tell me your name? Could you help me? Could you check my answer to see if it is right?

How do you use can?

  1. Permission. We often use can to ask for or give permission: …
  2. Ability. We often use can to talk about ability to do something in the present or future: …
  3. General truths. …
  4. Possibility. …
  5. Guessing and predicting: can’t as the negative of must. …
  6. Requests. …
  7. Reproaches. …
  8. Offers.

Can you do me a favor or could you do me a favor?

Both of them are good, but

‘could’ is more polite

. Can is more informal, and is 80% strong.

How do I make a request?

How do you ask a professional question?

  1. Be a good listener. …
  2. Don’t be afraid of your questions. …
  3. Do your research. …
  4. Go where the conversation takes you. …
  5. Use silence to your advantage. …
  6. Avoid leading questions. …
  7. Keep your questions short. …
  8. Get your sequence right.

How do you politely ask in an email?

  1. Could you or could you please…? Could you send me more information about your schedule? …
  2. Would it be possible to…? Would it be possible to change our meeting from 10 to 11? …
  3. I was wondering if… I was wondering if I could change my start time from 8:00 to 9:00 on Friday.

Can we use example?

Modal Exercise 1 can, could, have to, must, might and should Modal Verb Final Test complete review

Could you meaning?

Could is a past tense?

Could has no tenses, no participles, and no infinitive form.

There is no past tense

, but could have followed by a past participle is used for referring to something in the past that was not real, or something that may possibly have been real: I could have been killed.

Is could present tense?

Could is used for past and future instances, or

sometimes in the present tense

(although in the present tense it is normally describing a possibility or is part of a question). For example, She spoke so fast that I could not hear her, or, he could do it if he chooses to. In the present, we use can.

Why we use can?

Can could modals?

So can and could are modal auxiliary verbs that

express an ability, permission, request, offer or opportunity

.

Could sentences examples in English?

[M] [T]

I bought every book on Japan I could find.

[M] [T] I could swim well even when I was a child. [M] [T] She thought she could get him to like her. [M] [T] She was so angry that she could not speak.

Can you or could you for request?

If taken literally, “Can you” is equivalent to asking the person if they’re capable of doing something. “Could you”, on the other hand, implies that the action can be completed under some circumstances by the person.

Can and could offers?

We use the modal verbs can, could and would

to offer to do things for people or to invite them to do something

. We also use them to make requests or ask permission to do something. What are modal verbs? They are a type of auxiliary verb we use with other verbs to add more meaning to the verb.

Leah Jackson
Author
Leah Jackson
Leah is a relationship coach with over 10 years of experience working with couples and individuals to improve their relationships. She holds a degree in psychology and has trained with leading relationship experts such as John Gottman and Esther Perel. Leah is passionate about helping people build strong, healthy relationships and providing practical advice to overcome common relationship challenges.