How do you make a polite request in English?

Start with Could you or Would you plus a bare infinitive: Could you send me the invoice? Would you wait here, please? For a bigger favour, use Would you mind plus -ing: Would you mind sending me the invoice? Can you is fine among friends and equals; it is simply more direct. Please helps, but the modal is what carries the politeness.

What is the difference between Can you and Could you?

In requests, both ask someone to do something now. Could you is one step more polite because it treats the action as hypothetical. Can you is the everyday form and can also be a real question about ability (Can you swim?). If there is any chance the listener will hear ability instead of a request, Could you removes the ambiguity.

How do you offer help in English?

Use I'll when you are going ahead (I'll take that), I can when you are presenting ability as a willingness (I can take that), and Shall I when you want a yes or no first (Shall I take that?). Let me is a more informal, often physical offer: Let me take that. A rising voice on Shall I turns it into a genuine check rather than a decision.

How do you invite someone in English?

The standard form is Would you like to plus a verb: Would you like to come to the preview? Informal British English also uses Do you fancy plus a noun or -ing form, and How about plus -ing. To refuse, thank the person and give a reason: I'd love to, but I'm working that night. A bare I can't is grammatical but cold.

Is Would you mind a request or a permission question?

Both, depending on what follows. Would you mind opening the window? asks the other person to act (a request). Do you mind if I open the window? asks for permission for you to act. The if-clause is the clue that the speaker wants to do the action. Answers reverse as well: Not at all means go ahead in both cases, because you do not object.

English grammar · Intermediate

Requests, Offers, and Invitations: Can, Could, Would, and Shall

Written by Eleanor Whitfield, Lead English Curriculum Editor · Reviewed September 2026

Requests, offers, and invitations are three speech acts that share the same small set of modal patterns. To ask someone to do something you use Can you, Could you, Would you, or Would you mind. To offer to do something yourself you use I'll, I can, or Shall I. To invite someone into an activity you use Would you like to, Do you fancy, and How about. The grammar is simple; the choice among the forms is about how much room you leave the other person to refuse.

Could you hold this ladder for a moment?

could you plus a bare infinitive: a polite request

What it is

English does not have a special verb for asking, offering, or inviting. It borrows the modals can, could, will, would, and shall, and it relies on word order and politeness to show which act you mean. A request asks the other person to act (Could you pass the bread?). An offer puts you forward as the one who will act (I'll get the bread. Shall I get the bread?). An invitation asks the other person to share an activity with you (Would you like to join us?). Permission (Can I open the window?) is a different act: you are asking to do something yourself, not asking someone else to do it, and it has its own page.

Could you close the window? (request: I want you to act). Shall I close the window? (offer: I am willing to act). Would you like to come over later? (invitation: I want you to share the time).

How to spot it

Look at who is being asked to act. If the other person is the actor, it is a request or an invitation. If you are the actor, it is an offer. The modal in front of the subject, plus a bare infinitive, is the standard shape of all three.

Can you save me a seat? (neutral request with can you)
I'll pick you up from the station. (I'll plus verb: a definite offer)
Shall I print an extra copy? (shall I: offering, and checking that it is wanted)
Would you like to stay for supper? (would you like to: a standard invitation)

Could you and Would you are not past tenses here. They are present requests made less direct by treating the action as hypothetical, which is what makes them sound polite.

Requests, Offers, and Invitations Quick Reference

The core patterns for asking, offering, and inviting

Act	Pattern	Example
Request, neutral	Can you + infinitive?	Can you send me the file?
Request, polite	Could you / Would you + infinitive?	Could you send me the file?
Request, very polite	Would you mind + -ing?	Would you mind sending me the file?
Offer, definite	I'll + infinitive	I'll send you the file.
Offer, checking	Shall I / I can + infinitive	Shall I send you the file?
Invitation	Would you like to + infinitive?	Would you like to come to the preview?
Informal invitation	Do you fancy + noun / -ing?	Do you fancy a coffee after this?
Accepting / refusing	Yes, please. / I'd love to. / That's kind, but…	I'd love to, but I'm working late.

Common Requests, Offers, and Invitations Examples in English

The three acts in the situations you actually use them, with the form that matches the relationship and the size of the favour:

Asking Someone to Do Something

Can you keep an eye on my bag?: can you: everyday, among equals
Could you speak a little more slowly?: could you: more polite, still a request not a past
Would you sign here, please?: would you: the default polite request in service and work
Would you mind waiting in the corridor?: would you mind plus -ing: a bigger or more formal favour

Please can sit at the end or after you. It does not turn a blunt form into a polite one on its own: Give me that, please still sounds like an order.

Offering to Do Something Yourself

I'll get the next round.: I'll: you are committing, not asking permission
I can take that upstairs for you.: I can: ability presented as an offer
Shall I call us a taxi?: shall I: offering and inviting a yes or no
Let me carry the heavy one.: let me: an informal offer, often while already moving to help

Shall I is the offer form of shall, mainly with I and we, and it is more common in British English. I'll is used everywhere and sounds more decided.

Inviting Someone to Join You

Would you like to come round on Sunday?: would you like to: the standard invitation
Do you fancy a walk after lunch?: do you fancy: informal British invitation
How about meeting at the usual place?: how about plus -ing: a light invitation or suggestion
We were wondering if you'd like to join the committee.: a hedged, more formal invitation

Would you like a tea? (noun) is an offer of a thing. Would you like to stay? (to-infinitive) is an invitation to an activity. The to is the clue.

Accepting, Refusing, and Softening

Yes, please. That would be great.: accepting an offer
I'd love to. What time should I arrive?: accepting an invitation and asking a practical follow-up
That's kind of you, but I can manage.: refusing an offer without sounding ungrateful
I'd love to, but I'm already booked that evening.: refusing an invitation with a reason

A bare no to an offer or invitation sounds abrupt. English nearly always adds thanks and a reason, even a vague one.

How Requests, Offers, and Invitations Work

One modal grammar, three acts, and a politeness scale that is really a scale of how hypothetical you make the action.

Distance Makes a Request Polite

Can you is the everyday request. Could you and Would you are not asking about the past; they treat the action as hypothetical, which leaves the other person more room to say no. That extra distance is what English hears as politeness. Would you mind plus an -ing form is a further step, used for bigger favours or more formal situations.

Can you wait here? Could you wait here? Would you mind waiting here?

three grades of the same request

Could and would soften can; mind plus -ing is the most careful.

I'll Commits; Shall I Checks

I'll plus a verb is an offer you are already making: you will do the thing unless you are stopped. Shall I plus a verb is an offer that asks whether the thing is wanted. Use I'll when the need is obvious (I'll get the door). Use Shall I when you are not sure the other person wants the help (Shall I turn the heating up?).

I'll email the agenda. Shall I email the agenda?

decided offer versus offer that still needs a yes

I'll = I am doing it. Shall I = do you want me to?

Would You Like To Invites; Would You Like Offers a Thing

Would you like followed by a noun offers an object or a serving: Would you like a biscuit? Would you like followed by to plus a verb invites someone into an activity: Would you like to sit with us? Mixing them produces odd sentences: Would you like to a biscuit does not exist, and Would you like sit with us is missing to.

Would you like a window seat? Would you like to sit by the window?

a thing offered, then an activity invited

Noun after like: offer. To plus verb: invitation.

Requests Are Not Permission

Can I / Could I / May I ask for permission to act yourself. Can you / Could you / Would you ask the other person to act. Learners mix the two because both start with a modal, but the subject tells you which act it is. Can I borrow your charger? is permission. Can you lend me your charger? is a request. Both can be refused, but they put the action on different people.

Could I leave my coat here? Could you keep an eye on my coat?

permission for me to act, then a request for you to act

I after the modal: permission. You after the modal: request.

Common Mistakes with Requests, Offers, and Invitations

Incorrect: Could you to help me with this box?

Correct: Could you help me with this box?

Could, can, and would are followed by a bare infinitive, with no to. To appears only in would like to and in the invitation pattern Would you like to…. Mixing the two is the most common request error.

Incorrect: Would you mind to wait here?

Correct: Would you mind waiting here?

Mind takes an -ing form, never a to-infinitive. The same is true of the related patterns Do you mind and I don't mind.

Incorrect: Yes, I mind. (accepting Would you mind opening the window?)

Correct: No, of course not. / Not at all.

Mind means object to, so Yes, I mind is a refusal. To agree to the request you have to say no to the minding. If that feels backwards, avoid mind and use Could you instead, where Yes, of course is the acceptance.

Incorrect: Shall you help me with the bags?

Correct: Could you help me with the bags?

Shall I and shall we make offers and suggestions. Shall you is not a request form in modern English. To ask another person to act, use can, could, or would.

Would You Mind, and How to Reply

Two details that cause more trouble than the basic patterns: the grammar of mind, and the shape of a natural reply.

Would you mind and do you mind

Mind takes an -ing form, not a to-infinitive. A yes/no answer is easy to get backwards, because mind means object to: No, I don't mind means yes, you may. To accept the request, say No, of course not or Not at all. To refuse, say I'm afraid I do, or simply explain why you cannot.

Would you mind opening the skylight?: mind plus -ing, not to open
Do you mind if I sit here?: do you mind if plus a clause: asking permission, not making a request
Not at all. Go ahead.: accepting: you do not object

Would you mind not smoking in here? puts not in front of the -ing form and is a polite way to stop an action rather than start one.

Replies that match the act

Offers take Yes, please or That's kind, but…. Invitations take I'd love to or I wish I could, but…. Requests take Sure, Of course, or I'm afraid I can't plus a reason. Echoing the modal (Yes, I can. Yes, I would.) is grammatical but stiff in conversation.

A: Shall I take your coat? B: Oh, yes please.: accepting an offer
A: Would you like to come to the opening? B: I'd love to.: accepting an invitation
A: Could you proofread this tonight? B: I'm afraid I can't; I have a deadline of my own.: refusing a request with a reason

I'd love to is the standard warm acceptance of an invitation. I'd like to is cooler, and I would often sounds incomplete without love or like.

Quick Check: Requests, Offers, and Invitations

Rewrite each line as a request, an offer, or an invitation, using the pattern in brackets.

1. I want you to move your car. (Could you)

Answer: Could you move your car?

could you plus bare infinitive

2. I am willing to print another copy, if you want one. (Shall I)

Answer: Shall I print another copy?

shall I checks rather than commits

3. I want you to come to the preview with me. (Would you like to)

Answer: Would you like to come to the preview with me?

to plus infinitive after like

4. I want you to turn the music down, very politely. (Would you mind)

Answer: Would you mind turning the music down?

mind plus -ing

5. I will collect you from the airport, decided. (I'll)

Answer: I'll collect you from the airport.

I'll commits to the action

Requests, Offers, and Invitations FAQs

How do you make a polite request in English?: Start with Could you or Would you plus a bare infinitive: Could you send me the invoice? Would you wait here, please? For a bigger favour, use Would you mind plus -ing: Would you mind sending me the invoice? Can you is fine among friends and equals; it is simply more direct. Please helps, but the modal is what carries the politeness.
What is the difference between Can you and Could you?: In requests, both ask someone to do something now. Could you is one step more polite because it treats the action as hypothetical. Can you is the everyday form and can also be a real question about ability (Can you swim?). If there is any chance the listener will hear ability instead of a request, Could you removes the ambiguity.
How do you offer help in English?: Use I'll when you are going ahead (I'll take that), I can when you are presenting ability as a willingness (I can take that), and Shall I when you want a yes or no first (Shall I take that?). Let me is a more informal, often physical offer: Let me take that. A rising voice on Shall I turns it into a genuine check rather than a decision.
How do you invite someone in English?: The standard form is Would you like to plus a verb: Would you like to come to the preview? Informal British English also uses Do you fancy plus a noun or -ing form, and How about plus -ing. To refuse, thank the person and give a reason: I'd love to, but I'm working that night. A bare I can't is grammatical but cold.
Is Would you mind a request or a permission question?: Both, depending on what follows. Would you mind opening the window? asks the other person to act (a request). Do you mind if I open the window? asks for permission for you to act. The if-clause is the clue that the speaker wants to do the action. Answers reverse as well: Not at all means go ahead in both cases, because you do not object.