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Which one of the sentences is the correct / preferable one?

May you send me a screenshot of the application you are developing?

Would you send me a screenshot of the application you are developing?

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2 Answers

up vote 3 down vote accepted

Both of them are grammatically correct but the first one is semantically wrong. So you can use the second one but I'd prefer:

Could you send me a screenshot of the application you are developing?

Even politer:

Would you mind sending me a screenshot of the application you are developing?

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I have always thought that a sentence starting with "may" should be polite. Next time I will trust my fiancee, and follow what she suggested me to write. :-) – kiamlaluno Aug 16 '10 at 20:38
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@kiamlaluno You are right that "may" is polite; the problem is that "may" is used for permission, so normally you would never ask the other person if they have permission to do something (it is like saying "are you allowed to send me..."). – Kosmonaut Aug 16 '10 at 20:47
@Kosmonaut: I see; it's completely different from what I meant. – kiamlaluno Aug 16 '10 at 20:55
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Yet another wrong answer accepted. Even worse is getting someone who starts a sentence with "Your both sentences" telling us what is or isn't grammatically correct. – delete Aug 23 '10 at 22:11
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@Shinto Sherlock: Would you mind posting the right answer to let us know the truth? – Mehper C. Palavuzlar Aug 24 '10 at 7:40
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up vote 3 down vote

I would say

Would you send me a screenshot of the application you are developing?

or like Mehper said

Would you mind sending me a screenshot of the application you are developing?

Because "May you..." sounds funny and I think "Could you..." asks if they have the ability to.

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