In making a request and asking for permission.

Asking for permission to do something is also a request. Permission is

asked in the form of affirmative questions with the help of MAY, COULD,

CAN. MAY asks for formal permission, COULD is less formal, and CAN

asks informal permission. MAY and COULD are more polite than CAN.

Permission is given with the help of typical responses to requests mentioned above or with the help of MAY (formal permission) and CAN (informal permission). If permission is not given, "can't" is generally used.

"May not" is used in formal situations. Look at these examples:

Formal style: Mrs. Brown, may I stay at your house till Wednesday? –

1. Yes, you may. 2. No, you may not. / I'm afraid it's not possible.

Less formal: Could I stay here till Wednesday? – 1. Yes, of course. / Certainly. / Yes, you can. 2. I'm afraid it's not possible. / Sorry, you can't.

Informal: Can I stay here till Wednesday? – Sure.

More examples with "can't":

You can't do it!

Sorry, you can't park here.

Please tell him that he can't use my car without permission.

The phrase "be allowed to"

The substitute phrases "be allowed to do something, be not allowed to do

something" can be used for describing permission in the present, future,

and past. 26

Examples:

I am not allowed to leave the house.

You will be allowed to see the patient soon.

We were allowed to take his car.

They weren't allowed to stay there.

She wasn't allowed to go there alone.

Note:

CAN and MAY are also used in polite offers, often in an offer of help. Examples: Can I help you? (less formal) – May I help you? (more formal).

Can I help you with anything? Can I help you with your home assignment?

Can I help you (to) wash the dishes? Can I help? Can I offer you a drink?

The phrase "Would you mind"

The phrase "Would you mind" is widely used in making requests and asking for permission.

Request to do something: Would you mind + gerund

Would you mind opening the window? (Meaning: You ask someone to

open the window.) – Of course not. / Not at all.

Would you mind repeating what you said? (Meaning: You ask someone to

repeat what he said.) – Of course not. I said...

Would you mind not smoking here? (Meaning: You ask someone not to

smoke here.) – Oh, I'm sorry.

Would you mind not using my CD player without permission? – Oh, I'm

sorry.

Asking for permission: Would you mind + if I + simple past

Would you mind if I opened the window? (Meaning: You ask someone

whether you could open the window.) – Of course not. / Not at all. / No, I

wouldn't mind. Would you mind if I smoked? (Meaning: You ask someone

whether you could smoke here.) – I'd rather you didn't. I'm allergic to

smoke.

Would you mind if I didn't come to the meeting? I don't feel very well.

(Meaning: You ask someone whether it will be all right if you don't come

to the meeting.) – No, I wouldn't mind. / No, that would be all right. 27

Would you mind if I didn't go to the party with you? I'm really tired. A

standard refusal covering formal and informal situations would be: “I’m

sorry, I’m afraid not. I don’t allow other people to use my books.”

“Sorry, no chance of giving you a lift.” (a strong refusal and would only

ever be used between close friend or equals) “No, of course not.” “Yes, I

do/ would mind.” “No, it’s not all right.” “I’d rather you didn’t if you

don’t mind.” (These are strong and firm refusals used in informal situations) The phrase “Well (I’m sorry, I’m afraid) I’d prefer you not, if

you don’t mind” is considered to be polite.

Note: Sometimes in informal situations in spoken English, the simple present is used instead of the simple past in the second part after "if", e.g.,

"Would you mind if I open the window?" instead of "Would you mind if I

opened the window?" It is advisable for language learners to use only the

standard variants in formal and informal polite requests in speech and writing.

The phrase "Do you mind"