Asking questions in English

It’s interesting how many ways we can ask questions in English.
I wanted to explain a little in this podcast about the different ways do this. In fact I had to think about this a lot before I recorded the podcast – as a lot depends on the situation and who were are talking to.
Regarding asking people for things. In English we use the "conditional" form a lot. This is where the question sounds more polite.
For example:
"Could I have a cup of tea please?" sounds more polite that "Can I have a cup of tea please?"
The reason is that English people usually ( but not always of course) try to be polite and the word "could" means that the person who is being asked would feel that the person asking the question was not demanding a cup of tea – almost that the person being asked has a choice. Of course if you were in a café asking this question, it would seem a bit silly that they would not want to give you some tea – but this way of asking questions still stays in our language.
"I would like…" is similar
" Could I trouble you for….?" Is very polite and fomal
Between friends and family, it is less formal:
"Can you lend me a garden rake?" is perfectly acceptable.
"I want a…." is not normally used – as it sounds impolite. However as always, there are exceptions. " I want a holiday – I’ve been working too many hours" could be used as a statement. But, if you were to ask your boss for a holiday, you would say "Could I have next week off please? I want to go on holiday"
"Have you got some stamps?" is ok to use when asking for stamps in a Post Office
Also,
"Do you have some(any) stamps?" Would be the right question to see if the place selling stamps had any e.g. Newsagents
"Do you sell stamps?" would also be ok – if you were in a shop and wanted to see if they sold stamps
To add emphasis, we often say:
"I really would like…… do you have any? (or "could I have?)
"Do you mind if I take….?" A useful phrase in, say a Tourist Information office and they offer leaflets and you think that they are being offered for free – but you are not sure.
"Will you come to my party?" a direct question to a friend – which means that they should give you an answer "yes" or "no"
An alternative (and more polite) would be " Would you come to my party?" this means that the person being asked might say "no thanks – I have to visit my mother – thanks for asking me"
"Shall we go to the seaside for our holidays?" is more direct than "should we go to the seaside for our holidays?" and usually you would get a different response.
The first question would normally mean the person being asked would say "Yes, it sounds a good idea" or "No, I don’t want to go to the seaside this year"
The second question would normally mean the person being asked would say "Let me think about it, it might be worth doing" or " I’m not sure – whether I like the idea or not"
So, it is worth learning the different ways to ask for things in English and see what response you get. If you find that the question seems too direct – then try using:
Could I/you/we?
Should I/you/we?
Would I/you/we?
Might I/you/we?
Another very polite way is "is it ok if?" or "do you mind if?"




More direct ways or asking questions are
Can I/you/we?
Shall I/you/we?
Will I/you/we?
Don’t be worried about using these ways of asking if you need help or are in trouble or you need a direct "yes" or "no" answer.