Timeline for "Can I" vs "May I" in restaurant setting when ordering
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
13 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jun 5, 2018 at 0:25 | comment | added | quetzalcoatl | @JanusBahsJacquet: and after a short while, you've got three plates of it because he was ESL ? :) | |
| Jun 3, 2018 at 10:02 | comment | added | JTP - Apologise to Monica | "Seems overly polite and probably sham courtesy." - Pls don't assume this. There are those of an age whose parents made this a priority for whatever reason, and the "may "?" was obligatory. 2 decades of that, and we can't shake it. FWIW, a student asks "You got a pencil?" and I answer "Of course, here you are." I'm the math guy, not the grammarian. | |
| Jun 3, 2018 at 7:55 | comment | added | Janus Bahs Jacquet | One might argue that the ideal repartee would be: “Can I have the swordfish?” — “Yes, of course you can.” — “Excellent. May I have the swordfish, then?” — “Yes, of course.” — “Great. I’ll have the swordfish, then.” — “Very well, sir.” Just to please everybody. | |
| Jun 3, 2018 at 0:18 | review | Suggested edits | |||
| Jun 3, 2018 at 1:04 | |||||
| Jun 2, 2018 at 20:42 | comment | added | forest | If a water corrected my grammar out of the blue like that, I would be so amused that I would probably give them a rather fat tip. It's certainly no cause for outrage. Unless, of course, your grammar was correct in the first place. | |
| Jun 1, 2018 at 19:46 | vote | accept | Hunter Frazier | ||
| Jun 1, 2018 at 19:46 | comment | added | Hunter Frazier |
That's a good point about the 'isn't the purpose of the staff to fulfill'. I think you nailed it with that. It should based on the purpose, or the role of the person being asked. In a retail or restaurant it would be slightly more correct to use can or could. And when you are not sure of the staff's purpose or role, may or might work best.
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| Jun 1, 2018 at 17:25 | comment | added | David Richerby | @WilliamGrobman Sure but the direct order is "Bring me a cheeseburger." Even "can" is already a pretence. | |
| May 31, 2018 at 23:52 | comment | added | Hunter Frazier | Yes I totally forgot to mention 'could' in the question... seems now that it's the perfect solution for my woes. I'm not using 'may' in the permissive context, ever, only when referring to the month. Just to spite my friend! | |
| May 31, 2018 at 20:33 | comment | added | Cullub | For the second example, a more natural, yet still polite version would be to use could instead. | |
| May 31, 2018 at 14:52 | comment | added | William Grobman | This is how I feel, but we're probably wrong. Asking "may" is a pretense at asking permission by design. Direct orders are rude in English speaking culture. You're dressing it up with courtesy. | |
| May 31, 2018 at 9:33 | review | First posts | |||
| May 31, 2018 at 9:37 | |||||
| May 31, 2018 at 9:30 | history | answered | Eric Nolan | CC BY-SA 4.0 |