Making Requests: Can, Could, Will, and Would

To ask someone to do something for you, we use the modal verbs can, could, will, and would.

The choice of modal verb depends on how polite or formal you want to be.

1. Informal Requests: Can and Will

We use can and will when speaking to friends, family, peers, or in casual daily situations.

Structure: Will you + Verb 1 + ...?
Note: While expressing a request, will can sound slightly more like an order or command than can.
Example: Will you close the door behind you?
Example: Will you turn down the volume?

We use could and would to show respect, when speaking to strangers, bosses, teachers, or in business contexts.

A highly common polite structure in English is Would you mind followed by a gerund (Verb-ing).

Structure: Would you mind + Verb-ing + ...?
Example: Would you mind opening the window?
How to Answer: Since the question literally asks if the action causes you trouble (“mind”), to agree to the request, you must say “No” (as in “No, I don’t mind”).
- Agreeing: No, not at all. / No, I’d be happy to.
- Disagreeing: Actually, I do mind, because…

Modal	Politeness Level	Tone	Example
Can	Informal	Friendly and casual	Can you help me?
Will	Informal	Direct command-like	Will you sit down?
Could	Polite	Respectful	Could you wait here?
Would	Polite	Soft and accommodating	Would you mind waiting?

Next, we will explore Offers & Suggestions to complete our modal verbs module.