Present continuous form for a polite question?

Question

Should we use use the present continuous form "would you mind if" to ask a polite question?

The present continuous form of would you mind if would be would you be minding if. If that is what you meant, you can't. — Barrie England, Dec 19, 2012 at 8:30

tchrist · Accepted Answer · 2012-12-19 05:34:59Z

2

No, you should not. It is ungrammatical to say:

*Would you mind if I am sleeping here?

The sequence of tenses needs to be more like either this:

Would you mind if I slept here?

or even

Would you mind if I sleep here?

Although some might take exception with one or the other of that pair, both are heard in the wild.

answered Dec 19, 2012 at 5:34

tchrist♦

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Sayan · Accepted Answer · 2012-12-19 05:40:39Z

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Your sentence as such is grammatically incorrect. You could have used

Would you mind if I sleep here?

if you are inclined to using a present continuous form.

Though you are correct in using "would you mind" here, I'd suggest you use, "Do you mind" for questions with similar structure.

answered Dec 19, 2012 at 5:40

Sayan

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– Sayan
Dec 19, 2012 at 11:59

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