Questions tagged [politeness]
This tag is for questions regarding the polite use of words or phrases.
1
vote
1answer
31 views
Which of “Will you just go?” or “Can you just go?” works better?
One of my students barged into my classroom one day and was
getting on my nerves because I needed to clean up the mess he had
himself made earlier, so I wanted to ask him to leave me alone
and ...
0
votes
0answers
34 views
“Noted. Thank you” as an answer to a letter informing about task completion? I mean office correspondence
Is it correct and polite to end business letter with "Noted. Thank you" as an answer to a letter informing about task completion?
1
vote
2answers
62 views
Is it rude to say “Excuse me, Ms.”?
I was wondering that above sentence on title,
“Excuse me, Ms.” is rude or not. I’ve watched a video on youtube about English titles, but “Excuse me lady.” is very rude to get attention from women, ...
2
votes
2answers
107 views
Meaning of “greet people to the table”
How do you say greet people and invite them to the table?
I thought "greet people to the table" meant that, but my English teacher told me, I can't and I can only say "greet people at a table", so ...
1
vote
2answers
73 views
Is “I was wanting to know” grammatically correct? [duplicate]
Is the following sentence grammatically correct:
I was wanting to know if I could sent you a link.
It does not sound correct to me.
0
votes
1answer
44 views
Is this retirement wish appropriate to a senior lady?
A retirement wish on retirement card from an new employee to a senior lady that does not have a lot of connection at work. Does it look appropriate?
All the best for your amazing retirement! Enjoy ...
0
votes
1answer
42 views
Is there a more well-fit work than “wide” and “concrete” in this context?
When I receive a call from a recruiter or such (e.g. a seller etc.) they usually start by presenting themselves and thereafter glide into asking me questions. I've concluded that those can be split up ...
1
vote
1answer
51 views
Who is this vs who is calling-telephone
What is the difference between "who is this?" and "who is calling?" when we answer to the telephone?
Is the second one more polite than the first one?
Lastly, is there any difference between AmE and ...
0
votes
1answer
33 views
Whether “illiteracy” is rude or impoliteness internet user name?
I want the "illiteracy" name say I'm an English illiteracy in other words Maybe I'm lack English skills to accurate express and understand, but some people say:
And... please, change your name... ...
1
vote
2answers
965 views
'What are you?' vs. 'What do you do?'
What is the difference between 'What are you?' and 'What do you do?' in the job meaning?
How to sense this difference if I need to ask about profession?
1
vote
1answer
110 views
What's the most polite and native way to say “no” in this scenario? [closed]
A customer pays a monthly bill for a specific service. The company wasn't able to provide this service for three days. The customer calls me since I work as a customer service representative and he ...
2
votes
1answer
84 views
Is it OK to use “heck” in public occasions?
The dictionary gives the following definitions:
fuck:
to have sex with someone.
used when expressing extreme anger, or to add force to what is being said.
heck:
an expression of usually slight ...
0
votes
2answers
59 views
Using “help” instead of “please"
Some speakers use “help” instead of “please”:
Can you help (to) confirm this?
Can you help (to) send meeting notes?
To mean the same thing as:
Can you please confirm this?
Can you please send ...
0
votes
1answer
168 views
Polite alternative for “Is there any reason why we still haven’t done this yet.?”
Is there any reason why we still haven’t done this yet.?
I feel it's not very polite to ask like this. I am not sure. Is there a more polite way of aking this?
0
votes
2answers
66 views
Is it inherently rude to say “I don't see how that's X”?
When someone in semi-formal conversation says to me "It is X" and I disagree, would it be too rude to reply "I don't see how that's X?"
1
vote
1answer
47 views
Is 'You can do…' enough polite to provide options?
Suppose that I send invoices to my clients recurrently. Sometimes the amount is too small to pay alone. In that case, I don't mind they pay with next invoice.
You can pay it together with next one....
1
vote
2answers
51k views
Let me know when you are free to discuss VS Let me know your convenient time to discuss which is right and polite
When writing an email to a person to get a time to discuss some thing, what would the correct and polite way of writing among the below two. If both are wrong then what would be the right thing to say....
1
vote
1answer
2k views
Is it rude to ask “What have you been doing since you have been here?”
If I say to my English friends
What have you been doing since you have been here?
(in fact I want to know how they have been occupied) is it impolite? Why? (tense or verb)
How can I say this ...
36
votes
6answers
19k views
What's a polite way of asking “who are you?” on the phone?
Say, you're working in a company. The phone rings and you pick it up. On the other line, someone wants to speak to one of your co-workers. You want to tell your co-worker who this person is.
I think ...
1
vote
1answer
361 views
Can the phrase “kind enough” be misunderstood?
I was thinking of writing in an email that
Joe was kind enough to do XYZ for me
but when I read it, it stroke bad to me in terms that it sounded like implying that "usually Joe is not enough kind ...
0
votes
1answer
27 views
Help me explain the phrase “After you” [closed]
A friend of mine who's learning english asked what the phrase "after you" means and I said it is used in polite situations as another way of saying "I will do something after you do it"
I've never ...
1
vote
3answers
2k views
Is calling someone “creepy” rude?
I learnt "creepy" is feeling unease or scared, but it's not considered rude to say creepy at someone?
In my language, when people felt scared about something in horror, we use a word close to "eerie" ...
3
votes
1answer
1k views
Did you have a moment to talk? vs Do you have a moment to talk?
When calling someone say as a customer service representative, which sentence is the correct one to choose?
Did you have a moment to talk?
vs.
Do you have a moment to talk?
I have heard ...
1
vote
2answers
1k views
Is it proper to address a woman “Lady”?
I know when you address a group of people, you may use "Ladies and Gentlemen". But if you need to address a woman that you don't know her name, is it OK to address her "Lady"?
For example, can I say ...
0
votes
2answers
74 views
Is this polite?
I think I would be none too bold in asking to be informed of the real reason why I have been demoted, sir.
A more informal way to say it would be:
I don't think I am impolite at all if I ask you ...
0
votes
1answer
51 views
Different ways to ask somebody to wait
Are there differences in meaning (and possibly context) of the following three ways to ask somebody to wait? Or is one of these options even ungrammatical?
1 I'm going to ...
I'm just going to ...
2
votes
3answers
506 views
Should I use “you welcome” every time for “thanks” or does it depend on context?
What is exactly use of "you welcome"?
Suppose there are two scenario:
If someone come to me for help and I did then he might say "thanks". In this scenario I will reply "you welcome".
If I go to ...
2
votes
1answer
451 views
Ask feedback(formal)
I'm new here and I going to give a lot of questions in further =)
I and my friend make cartoons. And soon we will share the new one. So I want to ask people to give some feedback.
Which example is ...
2
votes
2answers
3k views
Why “yours truly” means “me”?
I don't understand how yours truly can mean me, they are two complete differents words, maybe if it was mine truly I could understand a little better, but the truly part would stil being strange.
¿...
1
vote
1answer
73 views
What is the meaning of “Magic Password”? [closed]
Russian «волшебное слово» (magic word) usually refers to «спасибо», «пожалуйста» и «будьте добры» (thank you, you are welcome, please).
Is it the same? If so, why «password»?
UPD.
— Can you ...
11
votes
6answers
13k views
Will you be my friend?
I used to meet foreigners at work in Taiwan and wanted to express my willingness to make friends with them, but I didn't know what to say or how to express, so I googled on the web and it usually ...
2
votes
1answer
75 views
How to invite a colleague to do a casual activity with you using proper language?
I would like to make friends at work as I am a migrant and am pretty much isolated from the society.
What I am not sure about is how to invite someone (a colleague I mean) to do a casual activity ...
1
vote
2answers
241 views
Would it be considered impolite to use um-hum in a conversation?
I am not a native speaker, so I wonder if using "um-hum" to express my sincere affirmation during a conversation would backfire? I guess I just wanted to avoid monotonic reaction to people's talking. ...
2
votes
1answer
66 views
Indirect questions usage [duplicate]
Sometimes I use the indirect questions as stated below,
Could you please tell me, where is this address??
Sometimes, I feel it's not correct, although it's understandable to any person. So tell me,...
1
vote
1answer
2k views
How to tell someone “you don't understand my mean” politely in English?
When does someone not understand my mean, how can tell I it politely?
2
votes
1answer
63 views
Using first person as a polite way to ask second person to do something
I emailed someone asking for a piece of information. He wrote back:
"I'd contact X for the latest data."
I'm having trouble understanding what he (a native speaker) meant by using the word would. It ...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
Non-binarist “Dear Sir or Madam”
Years ago, before this site existed, I asked a question about the phrase "Dear Sir or Madam" on English Language & Usage SE. Yesterday, I got a new comment:
"Dear Sir or Madam" and "Dear Sir/...
1
vote
1answer
102 views
Is the expression “wear the pants” outdated?
Is the expression "wear the pants" in relationship somehow outdated, because women too wear pants nowadays?
The other day I jokingly said to my colleague and her fiancee "Who wears the pants here." ...
11
votes
2answers
4k views
What are some polite ways to respond to the people who call your name but you don't know them
I was waiting for the elevator to arrive at the ground floor and a man
called my name. I turned to him and saw him looking at me but I could not recognize him. I was surprised because I did not ...
24
votes
13answers
8k views
Would saying “who is this” in normal tone be rude in an occasion not on the phone?
I am not a native English speaker; I am not sure how to interpret such an event. For example, suppose I approach my friend to say hello; suppose he is together with someone I don't know; suppose this ...
1
vote
0answers
45 views
can I use “make time” for present time [closed]
Assume that a request is about the present time, for example someone asks me to give her a hand on some work, but I'm too busy and I can't.
I feel that saying "Sorry, I don't have time for it" is a ...
2
votes
1answer
444 views
How to ask if someone will contact A instead of requesting that they actually contact A?
A man said me we should contact to A.
And I thought does he want to contact with A by himself?
So I asked :
Will you contact with him?
I didn't want to say 'So can you contact?' I just want to ...
0
votes
2answers
267 views
“thank” should followed by bang(“!”) or period(“.”)? which is right?
"thank" should followed by bang("!") or period(".")? which is right?
For example:
This site vs report bug?What should I to use? I can't find (googled)
what something about this. Forgive me,if ...
6
votes
3answers
8k views
How to respond politely when someone tells you something useful?
How do I respond politely when someone tells me something useful?
I'm thinking of the following but not I'm not sure:
thanks for letting me know
thanks for informing me
thanks for reminding ...
0
votes
1answer
886 views
How to inoffensively ask a girl if she uses drugs? [closed]
A friend of a friend asked me recently, how to inoffensively ask a girl if she uses party-drugs or if she wants to use them right now?
He did not want to ask her if she "blows noses" if you know what ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
Is it wrong for John to say “This is John”?
When I was preparing for an interview with my teacher, I used to introduce
Myself Swapnil
so she told me it's wrong. We can't say 'Myself'. But I was watching a show and an artist introduced him ...
3
votes
1answer
4k views
Please vs Kindly [duplicate]
The word "please" is similar to "kindly". But somehow when I thought of using them, the approach is kind of different.
When using "please" you'd like to ask for assistance. While using "kindly", ...
0
votes
2answers
1k views
How to ask politely to my lecturer requesting for a make up class?
I am an undergraduate student in Indonesia. I would like to ask for a make up class to my lecturer because the day that the class is supposed to be is a day between two holidays (it's called as "...
1
vote
1answer
617 views
How to say “You may return to your seat” in polite way
How does a native English speaker say "You may return to your seat" in polite way? I've ever heard my lecturer said, "you may return to your expected chair." But I'm not sure about the "expected" part,...
2
votes
1answer
684 views
The use of “Could you” [duplicate]
I want to ask a question politely to the client. What is the best way to say it?
Could you please let me know when you want to go to a bus station?
Do you think it is a correct way to say it?
