I sent an email including a sentence like, “I would like you to pay attention...” I know the proper usage should be like “I would like to draw your attention” but I am just wondering if the way of expressing is polite or not? Or Did I make a mistake?
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What is the other context? Is it like: "I would like you to pay attention to the recent poll" or is it something else?– user11111111111Commented Nov 2, 2020 at 18:12
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What I would like you to pay attention to is that there might be some inconsistent data types...you may find the content of the data as follows...– NemesisCommented Nov 2, 2020 at 18:19
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It may help you to see that like you to pay says what I should do, and like to draw your attention says what you want to do. By itself, telling me to pay attention says directly that I am not paying attention (Thanks). But you can politely focus me with Please pay special attention to the format.– Yosef BaskinCommented Nov 2, 2020 at 19:14
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1 Answer
We say that we would like a naughty child or inattentive subordinate to "pay attention" to something. A native speaker would very likely find it rude. On the other hand, it is polite to say "I would like to draw your attention to" something.
answered Nov 2, 2020 at 18:09
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I'd say "There are several very important points to the PM's Covid instructions. In particular, I would like you to pay attention to ...' is far less pedantic than "I would like you to pay attention." Commented Nov 2, 2020 at 19:32