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Ask for help > Can I have, please!
Can I have, please!
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savvinka
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Can I have, please!
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Hi, dear collegues,
Today I would like to learn if ithere �s any distinction between= Can I have? and Give me please!= Which is appropriate to say for a student when he wants to borrow a pen from another student, for example! As to me, I inclines to think Can I have? is more polite, but met in some computer games (hidden objects) the characters often said "Give me the axe and I �ll cut the tree... or something like that. I feel that Give me... sounds like an order. Am I right?
Thanks to everyone beforehead. Olga
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24 Apr 2010
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savvinka
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I �m sorry for a misprint - beforehand of course! |
24 Apr 2010
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lshorton99
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You �re absolutely correct.
Give me... even with please on the end, is an imperative - as you said, an order.
Can I have... is a polite request and is also more common in native English. You might find a small child saying �give me � but no adult ever would!
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25 Apr 2010
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lshorton99
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I should add - unless they were trying to steal your bag! I �m pretty certain muggers say �gve me � (at least in films!). Probably British muggers are ever so polite and say �Can I have your bag please! � 
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25 Apr 2010
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Larisa.
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Great explanation, Lindsey !  |
25 Apr 2010
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juliag
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I agree with everything Lindsey said but would like to add that in this context to my ears "Give me.." sounds less like a request to borrow and more like a way of saying "Pass me..." which we can also say in the imperative, or more politely, compare:
"Pass me the salt, dear."
"Could you pass me the salt, dear?"
I know that we do use have when we want to borrow something, but for borrowing things I always teach;
"Can I borrow your pen, please?" or "May I borrow your pen, please?"
Hope it helps.
Enjoy your day.
Juliag |
25 Apr 2010
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Apodo
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I would use �give me � in this way and it sounds quite polite:
Would you be able to give me a lift to work tomorrow? My car will be at the garage.
give me a lift = take me in your car
Could you give me a hand shifting all those boxes into the storeroom? I need to get it done before 3 o �clock.
give me a hand = help me
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25 Apr 2010
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izulia
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I was corrected by my British colleague when I was teaching my 5-10 year old students. She said we MUST teach �May I...? � instead of �Can I ...? � when talking to teachers.
Is it really so impolite for a child to start a question with �Can I ...? � when approaching an adult?
I would really appreciate native speakers � opinions.
Thank you, Zulia |
25 Apr 2010
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joy2bill
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Zulia, I would suggest that your colleague is an older person or very particular with grammar.
Certainly "can I" was considered absolutely appropriate by my grandmother �s generation. As a child she always corrected me.
However my grandmother was born in 1898 so I �m guessing we have moved on since then!
You will find most native speakers nowadays would say "Can I?" and not cause any offense at all.
I tell my students the difference but don �t expect them to use "may I"
That �s what I love about language elarning...it is always changing!
Cheers Joy |
25 Apr 2010
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izulia
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Thank you, Joy for your answer and thank you to Olga for starting this post. :) |
25 Apr 2010
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