Language for asking permission

Question head subject verb phrase with base infinitive

Can I borrow your pen?
Could he use your phone charger?
she take the day off tomorrow?
they ask you something?
have one of your sandwiches?

Language for asking permission 2

Question head subject verb phrase with present simple
Would it be OK if I borrow/s your pen?
Would it be alright if he use/s your phone charger?
she take/s the day off tomorrow?
they ask/s you to help me?
have/has one of your sandwiches?

Language for asking permission 3

Question head subject verb phrase with past subjunctive
Would it be OK if I borrowed your pen?
Would it be alright if he used your phone charger?
she took the day off tomorrow?
they asked you to help me?
had one of your sandwiches?

A word about politeness

When asking for permission to do something we usually use the word 'please' to
make the request sound more polite. It's not grammatically necessary to use 'please'
but you may sound rude if you don't use it. 'Please' can be put in different places in
the sentence; at the start, end or before the verb:

Please can I borrow your pen?

Can I please borrow your pen?
Can I borrow your pen, please?

A more important way of showing politeness is the tone of voice and intonation.
Even if you use the word 'please' you can sound rude if your pronunciation is not
correct.

Generally the longer an expression is the more formal and polite it sounds. However
remember that pronunciation is always very important in a spoken request for
permission.

BBC Learning English

How to
Asking for permission
Reading activity
How to BBC Learning English 2007
Asking for permission Page 1 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
For each question choose the one correct answer.
1: Can he ____________ to?
a: comes
b: come
c: came
2: Could my brother __________ your car at the weekend?
a: borrowed
b: borrows
c: borrow
3: Can I use that for a minute? means
a: I want to use it for about sixty seconds.
b: I want to use it for a long time.
c: I want to use it for a short length of time.
4: Which of these sentences has the word please in a correct place?
a: Could please I use your phone?
b: Could I please use your phone?
c: Could I use please your phone?
5: What is most important in speech to indicate politeness?
a: Using the word please.
b: Smiling when you are speaking.
c: The tone of voice and pronunciation.
ANSWERS
1: Can he ____________ to?
b: come CORRECT. After can use the base infinitive.
2: Could my brother __________ your car at the weekend?
c: borrow - CORRECT. After could use the base infinitive.
3: Can I use that for a minute? means
c: I want to use it for a short length of time. CORRECT
4: Which of these sentences has the word please in a correct place?
b: Could I please use your phone? CORRECT
5: What is most important in speech to indicate politeness?
c: The tone of voice and pronunciation. CORRECT