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I needed some items from a retailer so I want to send an e-mail to get the list of the available items and their specification.

Is it ok to say:

It will be convenient if you could send that to my mail.

Is "convenient" the appropriate term? Or would another adjective be better?

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  • What do you mean by "good"? And: are you from India?
    – Stephie
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 8:49
  • It would be good if you told us what do you think about the usage of word "convenient" in this sentence - whether it is used correctly or not and why? Some context would help as well.
    – Lucky
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 10:10
  • @Lucky :I needed some items from a retailer so I want send an e-mail to get the list of the items available and their specification.
    – sac
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 10:33
  • @Stephie: Yes, I'm from India. please tell me I have to remove 'good' and add something else like 'formal'.
    – sac
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 10:37
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    That's useful information and Stephie used it to improve your question significantly, and to give you a great answer so I retracted my close vote :-). In the future, the more information you put in your questions right away, the better. If you throw in some research that you've done (where appropriate) it will make your questions perfect. See more about that on meta.
    – Lucky
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 12:06

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Convenient is a good choice if you want to express that it would be more comfortable or easier to send the list via e-mail - as opposed to snail mail or discussing the options on the phone.
However, in Indian English the use of "convenient" appears wider, often with a meaning of "it would be nice" or "if you don't mind". (Not speaking from a linguist's point of view, simply from experience. That's why I asked were you're from, btw.)

In "other Englishes" if you want to express that you'd like them to send said list, you would probably say so, for example

I would appreciate it if you could...
It would be nice if...
...

(Grammar note: It's always would-could in these sentences, not will-could.)

Or even as simple as:

Please send the list...

(Another "Indianism" - you may be more direct when phrasing a request than in Indian English, but that's a cultural, not a language issue.)

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  • Thanks, I have been studying Engish for around Twenty years, but still I don't know some of these things you explained,' like being more direct'. Is it wrong to be more direct when phrasing a request?
    – sac
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 20:44
  • @sac , this is beyond the scope of this site. In short: It's a good idea to know about the cultural background of one's conversation partner, because you can tailor your request (= adapt your language). But no, being more direct is not wrong - unless you are writing to your boss in India, who would expect you to be quite indirect and polite. If you are really interested, read a bit about intercultural communication or start here. According to my experience one might learn interesting things about one's own culture as well.
    – Stephie
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 21:54

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