Questions tagged [politeness]
This tag is for questions regarding the polite use of words or phrases.
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Is "Do this, please" an imperative sentence?
In a similar vein to Could you get me a glass of water, please? Is this an interrogative sentence or an imperative sentence.?, as a general rule, from a purely grammatical viewpoint, is a sentence an ...
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Can I use "quickly" to politely ask for preliminary information?
When, e.g., I receive a job opportunity which might or might not match my requirements, I often find myself responding with
"... Thank you for bringing this role to my attention. Before we
...
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Can "né" or "née" be used to refer to a religious's secular name?
Is "né" (masculine) or "née" (feminine) ever used to refer to the secular name of a religious (i.e., monk or nun)?
For example:
Sr. Mary Dominic (née Jill Smith)
or
Br. Raphael ...
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Is there a word to describe the group of words which exist only to add politeness to an expression? (please, thanks, kindly) [duplicate]
I'd like to refer to the whole group of "polite words" but calling them "polite words" doesn't sound accurate, I tried searching for an accurate term but could not find one.
The ...
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What's a word for fake politeness?
I am racking my brains for the word that describes the act of feigning politeness to cover your own ass. So, for example, dressing up a denigrating email with "please" and "thank you&...
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"Could you please X" or "Could you X, please"
I have heard that "Could you please...?" could lead some people to interpret it as being sarcastic.
The below is part of an email to colleagues I do not know and their boss to arrange a ...
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How to properly and equally introduce two people?
In the movie The Big Short, there is a scene where two people. Bruce Miller and Mark Baum are doing a "debate" of sorts. The host introduces them as
... give a generous welcome to mr. Bruce ...
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Is it considered rude or inappropriate to frequently address others as "friend" - often in a disingenuous fashion?
Recently, I have encountered (what I think is) a fairly common usage of the word "friend" that I consider to be insincere and offensive, but when I brought this up with the offending party, ...
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Can I ask a question like "Could you please kindly confirm for me ... ?" in a formal email?
After checking the dictionary, I noticed that the usage of "Kindly" in request sentences often expresses a sence of ironic. So I am afraid that my expression might lead to misunderstanding.
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Please is polite but can adding it seem impolite or impatient
Example:
I send my boss or co-worked the following message without please:
I need my [some specific company] software updated.
In an effort to be polite, I'll add please:
I need my [some specific ...
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Let me know your availability [closed]
When someone suggests making a video call someday and you reply it is a good idea (even unsure he/she is just being polite) and he/she says let me know your availability, does he/she want to know the ...
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How to express gratitude to an interviewer regardless of the interview outcome? [closed]
I'm drafting a thank-you note to the recruiter after a series of onsite interviews with the team. And wondered if it might seem less polite or render a discounted feeling if I included the following ...
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Why is “disabled“ preferred over “handicapped”?
The question may be too opinion based and highly contentious.
However, as a non native speaker with a serious disability, I have great trouble grasping why “disabled“ is supposed to be much better ...
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How should I describe text that is inappropriate on Stack Exchange? [duplicate]
I'm a fairly active curator on one of the Stack Exchange sites, and I do some curation on the other sites as well. In accordance with Should 'Hi', 'thanks', taglines, and salutations be removed from ...
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Phrases to differ respectfully [duplicate]
If I were to disagree with an opinion, how should I write it in a respectful and idiomatic way?
Normally I would write;
"Tinged with regret, I respectfully disagree."
Are there any other ...
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I would like you to pay attention
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 ...
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How negative is "skip school?" Could a student use it when addressing a teacher, in a neutral sense?
I told my EFL students that in general, "skip school/a lesson/class" has a negative connotation. So, when speaking to a teacher, a student should say "I can't come to class tomorrow&...
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Observation: "Take back" is used in impolite speech, while "Bring back" is used in polite speech. Is there any basis to this?
I'm an English teacher working with an advanced student. They asked me to teach them how to ask for help or support when things aren't going they way they should. I decided to teach him that it is ...
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The “Polite” Conditional?
If you see him, would you say hello?
Would you get us some coffee if they have any?
Are these questions, in which the “polite” would is used, conditionals of the first or “mixed” type? Are they, in ...
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Is it polite to say "I have a question for you"? [closed]
I'm not a native speaker. I've seen it a lot, but I'm not sure in which situations it's proper. Does it sound like a teacher asking a question to a student? Is it polite to say that if you are asking ...
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When do you close? vs Until what time are you open?
I have just came across this situation.
At I can't get rid of this question what should I say
when do you close
or
until what time are you open?
it might sound really silly question,
but when you ...
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'I would be so grateful if...' rude? [closed]
I am a high school student and I often use 'I would be so grateful if you could take a moment to...' or 'I would be so grateful if you could help me.' or something like that when I am writing an ...
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What is another way of saying "we cannot guarantee"?
1. Summarize the problem
I work for an IT solutions provider and we always try to get the customer anything they inquire. We also want to avoid negative connotations with our brand, so we avoid ...
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Proper and polite usage of "can you"
In email communication, people often use "can you do X" instead of "please do X". Is this a more polite form, or is this just an idiom which means exactly the same?
If I use "...
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How to ask if someone is doing the same thing as before without using "still" for negative connotations?
"So, X, are you still living in Y?"
"So, A, are you still working at B?"
For a conversation opener or continuer, is there an alternative way to enquire, interest, about someone ...
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Different forms of addressing parents
In my language there is an older form in which you use kinship term in the middle of a sentence, in which normally you would use "you". Here's how this would look translated to English
Normal -> "Dad,...
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A better way of saying collecting donations
I'm trying to find the nicest and most respectful way of saying: "collecting donations".
After research, I've seen: "obtaining donations" or "collecting donations", or "getting donations".
In ...
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Is a person using the pronoun "I" uncapitalized considered rude or uneducated? [duplicate]
Like what i am demonstrating here. To be honest i didn't even know about it until much later when i discovered the Grammarly app and i was like "it even exists?". Now it has quite become my bad habit ...
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Is "they" plural or singular when it's someone's preferred pronoun? [duplicate]
Andy's preferred pronoun is "they". They goes to school in Denver, where they studies philosophy.
or
Andy's preferred pronoun is "they". They go to school in Denver, where they study philosophy.
...
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How to express in an idiomatic and polite way that I'm accepting a suggestion and then adding my own thought? [closed]
Assuming there is a suggestion to my writing, which mostly makes sense, but would make the most sense after I accepting that suggestion and adding my own interpretation/rephrase there.
I wonder if ...
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Why do Americans find the word "request" to be rude?
I was reading somewhere that Americans find the word request to be a rude gesture. You must directly ask them a question instead of using the word "request".
For example, in this Quora post, "Don't ...
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'Would/do you mind' + whether (polite indirect questions)
Swan's 'Practical English Grammar' says: "Yes/no questions are reported with if or whether... whether and if can both introduce indirect questions."
e.g:
She asked me if/whether she could ...
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'I wanted to ask (you) if' vs 'Can I ask (you) if'
I was told recently that the first variant is rude (mainly, because of the word 'wanted'). So I should use the second one. Is it true? Or are both the options okay? Thank you.
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Synonym for "turd" [closed]
Is there a countable noun with the exact same meaning as "turd" - a single, formed piece of faecal matter?
Giving the reason for this enquiry might illustrate why 'stool' doesn't really work IMO.
(1) ...
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apologise for or apologise about
Recently I found out some forums asking if "apologise about" is or not correct, but none of them have clear response. Can someone explain if there is any difference between those two terms? It is ...
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"Twisting someone's words" expression tone [closed]
Is the sentence "You are twisting his/her words" considered a respectful, polite, or neutral expression?
To be clear, I am not asking about the meaning of the expression, nor I am asking a writing ...
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Is starting an email with "As I told you on Monday" considered condescending?
Take an email providing a followup on something starting like this:
As I told you on Monday, ....
Does this generally sound a bit condescending? To me it implies that you are repeating something ...
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Master to mister?
Why was Master weakened to Mister so as to address individual hominēs sapientēs and the English language lost the thou/you distinction while the Greek language kept both Kύριος intact and the Eσύ/...
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What would be another term for a person in their 50s and 60s other than "boomer" or "Gen-Xer"?
What would be another term for a person in their 50s and 60s other than "boomer" or "Gen-Xer"? People in their late 50s are technically baby-boomers, but "boomers" doesn't quite fit. People in their ...
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Is the expression "do not bother" polite?
I have a client who is a public figure in politics. I am working with her on writing some content for social media. I'd like to tell her that she doesn't need to send me 60 quotes, and that 30 is very ...
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take so long vs taking so long [closed]
I've worked in a market. Suddenly they stopped my work for verification purpose. They requested me to provide a student ID card. I've sent a scanned copy of my Student ID card for verification. One ...
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Is it rude to refer to janitors as 'floor people'?
I came into the office today and the first thing my manager asked me was is if I saw the 'floor people' while I was walking through the building. The reason he asked me this was because he had put in ...
user354185
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Connotation of "I was led to believe"
TL/DR:
Does "I was led to believe" imply "my expectations were betrayed"?
Does it have an aggressive connotation?
Longer version:
I am looking for an internship in a large company installed in ...
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Is the word "awful" offensive if used to describe someone's skills? [closed]
I recently read something like:
Mr X was able to get the job even though his English is awful.
In the above, suppose the background is Mr X landing a job for which good English skills were a ...
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Is it correct to write: "I would appreciate it if you could inform me when you could contact my manager" in a formal email? [closed]
I want to know if someone has eventually contacted my manager. I therefore want to send him a formal email to ask him very politely.
Is it correct to write as follow ?
"I would appreciate it if you ...
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Is using "if you would" instead of "if you will" in the sense of "if you wish/want/like" technically "correct"?
I may be wrong here, but I think of the verb "will" as in the set phrase "if you will" as an actual verb, with the rare sense "wish, desire, want", not as a mere future marker. Therefore, in this ...
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Pointing out customer's mistake politely in customer support setting [closed]
If someone sends in a support request with a mistake that they clearly made, what would be the polite way to answer?
I initially used the term
It seems that you have forgotten to fill in this and ...
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"Bash her up" – offensive or just an idiom?
My girlfriend and I were having an argument over something that her female friend had said about me, which I found rude and displeasing. My girlfriend responded to my complaint by saying "What do you ...
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is this answer rude? [closed]
recently some on in LinkedIn send a message to me:
Thank you for connecting with me! I am recruiting for an Android Developer role (multiple levels) for a company whose product mostly likely impacts ...
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Is it rude to say 'You're actually cute for a person'? [closed]
You're actually cute for a person
elitedaily says it is rude to say so.
Well, I never heard someone say it.
When someone says that you are pretty, or that you are cute, is it rude or is it a ...
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