Can, Could, May and Would: requests, permission, offers and invitations

a) Asking people to do things (requests).

We often use can or could when we ask someone to do something:

Can you wait a moment, please?

Ann, can you do me a favour? = Can you help me?
Excuse me. Could you tell me how to get to the station?
Do you think you could lend me some money?
I wonder if you could help me.

To ask something you can say Can I have..?/Could I have..?/May I have..?

- (in a shop) Can I have these postcards, please? - (at table) Could I have the salt, please?

-Asking for and giving permission

We often use can, could, and may to ask permission to do something:
- (on the telephone) Hello, can I speak to Tom, please?
- ‘Could I use your telephone?’ ‘Yes of course.’
- ‘Do you think I could borrow your bicycle?’ ‘Yes, help yourself.’
- ‘May I come in?’ ‘Yes please do.’
To give permission, we use can or may (but not could):
- You can (or may) smoke if you like.
Use can / can’t to talk about what is already allowed or not allowed:
- You can drive for a year in Britain with an international licence.
- If you’re under 17, you can’t drive a car in Britain.

 We sometimes use can when we offer to do things:

- ‘Can I get you a cup of coffee?’ ‘That’s very nice of you.’
- (in a shop) ‘Can I help you madam?’ ‘No, thank you. I’m being served.’

 For offering and inviting we use Would you like..? (not ‘do you
like’) - Would you like a cup of coffee?
- Would you like to come to the cinema with us tomorrow evening?

I’d like (=I would like) is a polite way of saying what you want, or what you want to do:
- I’d like some inforation about hotels, please.
- I’d like to try on this jackets, please.

Exercises

Read this situation and write what you would say. Use the words given in brackets.
Example: You’ve got a pound (uang gede/utuh) note but you need some change. You ask somebody to help
you. (can you…?) Can you change a pound?

1. You want to borrow your friend’s camera. What do you say to him/her? (Could I …?)
Could I borrow your camera ?
2. You have a car and you want to give somebody a lift. What do you say? (Can I …?)
Can I give you a lift ? because you look really tired
3. You have to go to the airport but you don’t know how to get there. You ask a passer-by. (Could you …?)
Could you tell me the direction to the airport is, please
4. You are telephoning the owner of a flat which was advertised in a newspaper. You are interested in the flat
and you want to come and see it today. (Do you think I …?)
Do you think I can come to see the flat today ?
5. You are at an interview. You want to smoke a cigarette. What do you ask first? (May I ….?)
May I smoke here ?
6. You want to leave work early because you have some important things to do. What do you ask your boss?
(Do you think I …?)
Do you think I can leave work early boss? Because I have some important things to do
7. You want to invite someone to come and stay with you for the weekend. (Would you like … ? )
Would you like to stay with me in the weekend ?
8. The person in the next room has some music on very loud. How do you ask him politely to turn it down? (Do
you think you …?)
Do you think you can lower the volume ? because its very loud

This time you have to decide how to say what you want to say.
Example: You have to carry some heavy boxes upstairs. Ask someone to help you. Do you think you could give me a
hand with these boxes?

1. A friend has just come to see you in your flat. Offer him something to drink. Would you like to drink some
wine?
2. You want your friend to show you how to change the film in your camera. What do you say to him/her? Can
you show me how to change the film in this camera ?
3. You’re on a train. The woman next to you has finished reading her newspaper. Now you want to have look at
it. What do you say? Excuse me ma`am, could I borrow the newspaper ?
4. You need a match to light your cigarette. You haven’t got any but the man sitting next to you has some. What
do you ask him? Excuse me Sir, could I borrow your lighter ? I need it for my cigarette
5. There is a concert on tonight and you are going with some friends. You think Tom would enjoy it too. Invite
him. Hey Tom ! would you like to come to concert tonight ? we are going with some friends too
6. You’re in the post office. You want three stamps of Japan. What do you say? Excuse me Sir,
Do you think you could give me three stamps of Japan ?
7. You are sitting in a crowded bus. There is an old lady standing. Offer her your seat. Excuse ma`am, would
you like to sit here? I don’t mind it tho
8. You’re in a car with a friend, who is driving. He is going to park the car but there is a No Parking sign. You see
the sign and say: Oh look ! theres is sign that we can`t park here, maybe you should park somewhere
else

Reading

Is that an invitation?

In Canada and the United States, people enjoy entertaining at home. They often invite friends over for a meal, a party,
or just for coffee and conversation. Here are the kinds of things people say when they invite someone to their home:

“Would you like to come over for dinner Saturday night?”

“Hey, we’re having a party on Friday. Can you come?”

To reply to an invitation, either say thank you and accept, or say you’re sorry and give an excuse: “Thanks, I’d love to.
What time would you like me to come?” or “Oh, sorry. I have tickets for a movie.”

Sometimes, however, people use expressions that sound like invitations but which are not real invitations. For example:
“Please come over for a drink sometime.”
“Let’s get together for lunch soon.”
“Why don’t you come over and see us sometime soon?”

These are really just polite ways of ending a conversation. They are not real invitations because they don’t mention a
specific time or date. They just show that person is trying to be friendly. To reply to expressions like these, people just
say: “Sure, that would be great!” or “OK, yes, thanks.” So next time you hear what sounds like an invitation, listen
carefully. Is it a real invitation or is the person just being friendly?

Writing
1. Make up three invitations to interesting or unusual activities. write the on cards.
There’s a dog and a cat show on Saturday. Do you want to
Would you like to go see Godzilla Meet Superman come with me?
tonight?

2. Write three response cards. One is an acceptance card:

That’s sound great! What time do you I’d love to, thanks. Where do you want
want to meet? to meet?

The other two cards are refusals. Think of silly or unusual excuses:

I’d like to, but I’m taking my bird to a

singing contest

3. Now use your cards for the exercise below.

 I’m sorry I can’t. I’m taking cooking lessons. We’ve learning how
to boil water that day.

What an invitation! What an excuse!

Class activity. Put all the invitation cards in one pile and the response cards in another pile face down. Then shuffle
each pile. Each student takes three invitation cards and three response cards.

Now go around the class. Use your cards to invite people to do something. Accept or decline any invitations you get.