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In some countries, it's very rude if a child talks to an adult without a subject, even when there's a word like "please" in the sentence.

For example, it's very rude if a child says to a grown-up "put the pen in the box please", because it has no subject.

The child should say "You put the pen in the box please" (literally translated from my mother tongue - Vietnamese) or "Could you put the pen in the box please?".

So, when my children say "put the pen in the box please", I will tell them "you need a subject in your sentence when talking to grown-ups".

Is it idiomatic to say "you need a subject in your sentence when talking to grown-ups", or do we have a similar expression in English?

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    Ironically, in many English-speaking countries (and definitely in the US), adding "you" would be more rude and demanding, not less. The way to be "polite" would to ask it as a question, as in "Can you put the pen in the box, please?" (or "Would you," if you're being more formal (and also more correct, technically).
    – Esther
    Jun 12, 2022 at 4:25
  • So no, there is no expression for that in English, because in English generally that's not regarded as polite.
    – Esther
    Jun 12, 2022 at 4:27
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    @Esther I agree, but would also add that it applies (except with very close friends and family) just as much in the case of adults speaking to adults - not just with children.
    – WS2
    Jun 12, 2022 at 7:41
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    It's not the absence of a subject as such that makes it rude - the implied subject of an imperative is 'you'. I wouldn't call it 'very rude' to say "Put the pen in the box, please", though it would be more polite to prefix the sentence with "Could you", "Would you", "Can you" etc.
    – Kate Bunting
    Jun 12, 2022 at 8:16

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Since English doesn't have this idiosyncrasy, your sentence is not idiomatic, but it is descriptive enough to get your point across.

Correspondingly, English does not have a similar expression.

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