Menu Close

Can I please have or may I please have?

Can I please have or may I please have?

The only difference between the two verbs is that one is more polite than the other. In informal contexts it’s perfectly acceptable to use can; in formal situations it would be better to use may.

Can you please vs May you please?

May is the more formal word, and if you are at all concerned about being tut-tutted, a safe choice. Can is now the verb of choice for ability, and both can and may are still used in the “possibility” sense. You may use can if you wish, and you can use may if it makes you feel better.

Is it correct to say may I request?

Both “Can I ask” and “May I ask” is intended for permission. but “may” version is more polite than use of can. For Better Sentence, “may” is more appropriate. Both are correct.

What is the polite way to ask for something?

5) Use Proper Phrases Use “WOULD YOU DO ME A FAVOR.” This is often used and you must use it when you are asking for a special request or favor. Other phrases for asking something to someone nicely are “DO YOU MIND,” WOULD YOU MIND, COULD I, WOULD IT BE OK IF, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE, WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO, etc.

Can I have VS could I have?

For example, “Could I please have some water?” Could is the past tense of can. However, when asking for permission, could does not have a past tense meaning. Could has the same meaning as may when making requests. It is equally polite to say “Could I leave early?” or “May I leave early?”

How do you write a polite request?

Here are some better phrases to make polite requests in English:

  1. “Do you mind…?.”
  2. “Would you mind…?
  3. “Could I…?”
  4. “Would it be ok if…?”
  5. “Would it be possible…?”
  6. “Would you be willing to…?”

When do you say ” May I have ” instead of ” Please “?

Omitting “please” in any such request might sound a tad rude, admittedly. It also may depend whereabouts in the world you are. It depends on where you are. If you’re in a formal business lunch, you certainly must say, “May I have…”

How to use ” may it please ” in a sentence?

May you be forgiven! = I hope that you will be forgiven. May it please the Court = I hope that it will please the Court. Such optative clauses may stand on their own as independent clauses, as they do in my first two examples. In this case, however . . .

Which is better ” can I get ” or ” may I have “?

Certainly “May I have” will be perceived as more formal and courteous, but “Can I get” will not necessarily be perceived as rude, depending on the tone of voice. “Could I get” is even better, though, or “Could I have”. Omitting “please” in any such request might sound a tad rude, admittedly. It also may depend whereabouts in the world you are.

When to use’may it please your Majesty’?

(It may be that formal addresses to the Queen are prefaced with ‘May it please your Majesty’, but that is not a situation likely to arise for most of us.) It should not be emulated in ordinary speech or writing. In most contexts the Present-day English equivalent is a simple Please: