Making Requests

'Direct requests' are formed when we ask people to do something for us, directly. In this case, it seems we are giving orders to people, which is not considered polite.

'Indirect requests' are considered more polite. They are formed when we use some modal verbs to soften the request and make it more polite.

Here are the modal verbs that are used to make indirect requests.

The modal verb 'can,' is used to make requests. It is considered less formal and you should know that it is followed by a bare infinitive (infinitive without 'to').
Check out the examples.

The modal verb 'could' refers to the requests that are made at the present time. We mean it is not considered a past verb. 'Could' makes the requests more formal.

The modal verb 'will' is used to make requests. Remember it is followed by a bare infinitive and it is considered less formal.

'Would' is another modal verb that is used to make indirect questions. Actually, it is considered more formal as well. Check out the examples.

The modal verb 'would,' is also used in an expression that makes it more polite to make requests. The expression is (would you mind + gerund). Let us take a look at the examples for more clarification.

We can use the term 'please' after the pronoun or at the end of the interrogative sentences, to make the requests even 'more polite.'
Remember, the important point is to use a 'comma' before the term 'please' when it is used at the end of the interrogative sentences.

By negative requests we mean, sometimes we ask someone not to do something because it annoys us or we prefer them not to do the particular action.
In this case, we have to use the term 'not' before the main verb.

Making requests means asking for something. In English, there are two ways of making requests. Here are the types of requests on the list.

To make either direct or indirect requests some modal verbs are used. Take a look at the table to learn them based on the tense they are used in.