8.2.- Asking a patient for consent

 

Exercises on page 78

Polite requests

1.- Asking to do things – asking for permission

There are many different ways of making polite requests in English. If you don't want to sound rude when speaking English, then you need to know how to make a request in a polite way.Requests in English are usually made in the form of questions

Asking	Saying Yes	Saying No
Can I...?	Yes, sure	Well, I'm afraid...+ reason
Could I...? Could I possibly...? Is it all right if I...? Do you think I could...?	Yes, of course. Yes, that's fine. Certainly.	Well, the problem is...
Do you mind if I...?	No, not at all. No, of course not.	Sorry, but...

Can I take your blood pressure?

Do you mind if I take your temperature?

2.- Asking others to do things 

Asking	Saying Yes	Saying No
Can you...? Can you stretch your arm?	Yes, sure.	Well, I'm afraid + reason
Could you...? Is it all right if you...? Do you think you could...? Will you...? Would you...? Could you move your hand?	Yes, of course. Certainly.	Well, the problem is Sorry, but...
Do you mind -ing...? Would you mind -ing...? Do you mind stretching your arm?	No, not at all. Of course not.

Use 'Would you mind if I...? Could I possibly...? Could you possibly...? Do you think you could...? to sound more polite.

Remember that 'Do you mind...?' and 'Would you mind...?' mean 'Is it a problem for you?' so the polite answer when we 'say yes' is 'No'.

Lesson by Tristan, teacher at EC Malta English school

Source: https://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/polite-requests

Polite requests online exercise

https://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/polite-requests