Would .. If and Will..If

Question

What is the difference between these two sentences:

1. Would it be OK if I asked for a raise?
2. Will it be OK if I ask for a raise? (if correct)

Answer 1

2 is how you would ask a co-worker their thoughts on you asking for a raise. 1 is how you might ask your boss.

Though actually, you would rarely want to use 2. I can't really say why, I can only say that I find my Indian co-workers tend to use number 2 in most situations, and native English speakers tend to use number 1. Either makes sense, but 1 is more native common.

Answer 2

I suggest saying either

"Could I ask for a raise (AmE) / rise (BrE)?"

Or

"Could I ask you for a raise (AmE) / rise (BrE)?" ( especially in case you are speaking to the manager or, even, the chief executive );

as it sounds less wordy.

I am not trying to indicate there is something wrong with your sentences or that both are not grammatical or meaningful. Quite the contrary, they are those things.

My examples seem shorter and imply as much politeness and meaning as your first one which sounds less direct while the other is fine but practically expresses [more] certainty.

In short, I would use the one with "would (also, more colloquial here)" since the "will" sample sounds a bit off, but still correct.

Here are some stats from Ngrams:

Will it be OK vs Would it be OK

I hope I provided and covered everything you need to know.