2

I have seen some people using 'grateful' in the beginning of a statement like.

Grateful, if you can send me the details of the conference,

Can someone tell me if this usage is correct or not?

Improve this question
1
  • 1
    This does not sound correct to me as a native speaker of American English, but it might be used in some dialects. More standard usage would be "I would be grateful if you could..." Where have you seen this used?
    – stangdon
    Nov 19, 2015 at 12:35

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
7

I would rather say no. This would sound better to me:

I would be grateful if you could ...

Improve this answer
1
  • ... or rather I should be grateful if you would...
    – martin
    Nov 19, 2015 at 18:09
2

With the comma, it's incorrect.

Without the comma, it reads sort of okay to me, but it's very very informal. (note: can should really be could.)

Grateful if you could send me the details of the conference.

This is short for the more correct sentence,

I would be grateful if you could send me the details of the conference.

Improve this answer
1
  • Given the extreme informality, I wouldn't even notice the can vs. could issue. Honestly, this is too informal even for a casual e-mail from me. I'd only consider for a text among friends, where it's a pain to type full sentences. +1.
    – Karen
    Nov 19, 2015 at 18:28
0

It's a stretch, but this might be admissible as part of a larger request. For example:

I'd be satisfied if you filled out those forms for me. Grateful, even, if you submitted them yourself.

This is not grammatically ideal, so it'd only really work in an informal context. I doubt it applies to the instances you've seen, but I thought it would be worth mentioning for posterity.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .