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Collins Cobuild English Grammar (115 page)

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instructions and appeals for help:
will

5.156

Will
is used to give an instruction or order in a fairly direct way. It is slightly less forceful than using the imperative.

Will
you pick those toys up please?
Will
you pack up and leave at once, please.

Will
is used to ask for help in fairly informal situations.

Mummy,
will
you help me?

instructions and appeals for help:
would

5.157
When
would
is used to give an instruction or order, it is more polite than
will
.

Would
you tell her that Adrian phoned?
Would
you ask them to leave, please?

When
would
is used to ask for help, it is less informal and more polite than
will
.

Would
you do me a favour?

instructions and appeals for help:
could

5.158
When
could
is used to give an instruction or order, it is more polite than
would
.

Could
you follow me please?
Could
you just switch the projector on behind you?

When
could
is used to ask for help, it is more polite than
would
.

Could
you show me how to do this?

appeals for help:
can

5.159

Can
can be used with
you
to ask for help. You usually use
can
when you are not sure whether someone will be able to help you or not.

Oh hello.
Can
you help me? I’ve been trying this number for ten minutes and I can’t get through.

requests

5.160

Can
,
could
,
may
, and
might
are used with
I
or
we
when you are asking for something, or are asking permission to do something.

These modals can also be used with
he
,
she
, or
they
, or with other noun phrases, when you are asking for something on behalf of someone else. For example, you can say
Can she borrow your car
? or
Could my mother use your telephone
?

requests:
can

5.161

Can
is used to make a request in a simple and direct way.

Can
I ask a question?
’
Can
I change this?’ I asked the box office lady, offering her my ticket.

requests:
could

5.162

Could
is more polite than
can
.

Could
I have a bottle of lemonade, please?
Could
I just interrupt a minute?

requests:
can
’t and
couldn’t

5.163
You can make a request sound more persuasive by using
can’t
or
couldn’t
instead of
can
or
could
. For example, you can say
Can’t I come with you
? instead of
Can I come with you
?

Can’t
we have some music?
Couldn’t
we stay here?

requests:
may
and
might

5.164

May
and
might
are more formal than
can
and
could
. In the past, people were taught that, when asking for something, it was correct to say
may
rather than
can
, and
might
rather than
could
. However
can
and
could
are now generally used. Requests beginning with
might
are unusual, and are considered by most people to be old-fashioned.

May
I have a cigarette?
May
we have something to eat?
May
I ask what your name is?
Might
I inquire if you are the owner?

instructions:
would like

5.165

Would like
can be used with
I
or
we
in a declarative sentence to give an instruction or order. It is followed by
you
and a
to
-infinitive clause.

OK, everyone, I
would like
you to get into a circle.

Want
can be used in a similar way to
would like
. This use of
want
is dealt with in paragraph
5.234
.

firm instructions:
will

5.166
An instruction or order can also be given using
will
in a declarative sentence. This form is used when the speaker is angry or impatient.

You
will
go and get one of your parents immediately.
You
will
give me those now.

formal instructions:
shall

5.167

Shall
is sometimes used in a declarative sentence to give an instruction or order. This is a very formal use.

There
shall
be no further communication between you.

imperatives

5.168
The
imperative
can also be used to give an instruction or order. This use is explained in paragraph
5.35
.

requests:
would like
,
should like

5.169
You can use
would like
or (in British English only)
should like
in a declarative sentence to make a request.
Would like
and
should like
are followed by a
to
-infinitive clause or a noun phrase.

I
would like
to ask you one question.
I’
d like
to have a little talk with you.
I
should like
a list of your customers over the past year.

polite additions to requests

5.170
All the ways of giving instructions or making requests described above can be made more polite by using
please
.

Can I speak to Nicola,
please
?
Please
may I have the key?

You can also make a request more polite by adding the name of the person you are addressing at the beginning or end of your question.

Martin
, could you make us a drink?
Can I talk to you,
Howard
?

Another way of making a request more polite is to add an adverb such as
perhaps
or
possibly
after the subject of the verb.

Could I
perhaps
bring a friend with me?
May I
possibly
have a word with you?

In spoken English, you can make a request more polite by adding
just
after the subject of the verb.

Could you
just
come into my office for a minute?

Making an offer or an invitation

5.171
Modals are often used to make an offer or an invitation.

You use
will
or
would
with
you
to ask someone to accept something, or to make an invitation.

You use
can
,
may
,
shall
, or
should
with
I
or
we
when you are offering to help someone.

Some of these structures are similar to those described in the previous section.

offers and invitations:
will

5.172

Will
is used with
you
in an interrogative sentence to offer something to someone, or to make an invitation in a fairly informal way. You use
will
when you know the person you are talking to quite well.