Be Polite In English And Stop Being RUDE | Useful Phrases For Speaking Politely – English Understood (2023)

I want a green tea.Is this sentence polite in English? Let’s find out.

What’s up guys? My name is Shane and today we are talkingabout how to be polite in English and how to stop being rude.

I understand that in many languages if you say I want thisor I want that, it’s okay.

But in English if you say I want this or I want that, it’snot very nice. It has the feeling of being a demand and not a request. And ademand is something that must be done. It needs to be done.

But a request is more like a question and it’s more polite.It’s something that is asked for.

So in today’s lesson, we learn about the basics of beingpolite in English and we learn seven phrases that you can use to start soundingmore polite in English.

And make sure you watch until the end of the video becausethere will be a quiz to test you understanding. Okay, let’s get started.

Basic rules of being polite in English

So the first thing we need to do today is to learn thebasics, to learn the rules of being polite in English.

Rule #1

The first thing you can do is: with polite phrases, whenpossible, use modal verbs.

For example: could or would. So you could say somethinglike: could I have a coffee please? This is very polite.

Or would you like to go to a movie tonight? This is verypolite.

Rule #2

The second thing you can do is: when possible, askquestions, don’t make statements.

For example: I want a coffee. No. Could I have a coffee?Yes.

Rule #3

The third thing you can do is: switch to the past tense whenpossible.

For example: don’t say do you want a coffee. Say did youwant a coffee?

I understand we’re talking about right now but when weswitch to the past tense in English, it makes it more polite.

Rule #4

And the fourth thing you can do is to learn phrases thatnative speakers use when they want to be polite. Let’s look at the first oneright now.

Phrase #1

Let’s pretend you are at a restaurant. And you’re sittingdown at the table looking at the menu. You’re still not ready to order but thewaiter comes over to you and says: are you ready to order yet? What can you sayto ask him for more time?

Don’t say: go away. This is very very impolite.

What you can say is: Could you give me a few minutes please?Could you give me a few minutes please?

This is a very polite phrase to say I’m not ready yet.Please come back soon. I’m not ready yet. Please come back soon.

And when a native speaker says this really quickly, itsounds like this. Couldjyuh give me a few minutes please? Couldjyuh give me afew minutes please?

We don’t say could you, we say couldjyuh. Couldjyuh give mea few minutes please? Now you try. Couldjyuh give me a few minutes please?

Phrase #2

Let’s pretend you are at a café. You’re sitting down andyou’re looking at the menu. You know what you want to order you want to order agreen tea.

And the waiter comes over to you and he says what would youlike to order? How can you ask for a green tea in a very polite way?

Don’t say I want a green tea.

What you can say instead is could I have a green teaplease? Could I have a green tea please?

Another phrase you could use is: I’d like a green teaplease. I’d like a green teaplease. These two phrases are verypolite ways to request for something in English.

Phrase #3

Let’s pretend you are at university and you are doing aproject with your friend and you need him to do something for you. How can you ask him to do something for you?

Don’t say do this for me. Do this for me. No.

What you can say instead is: when you have a second, couldyou do this for me? When you have a second, could you do this for me?

This is a very very polite way to ask someone to dosomething for you. It means when you’refree, can you do this for me please? When you’re free, can you do this for meplease?

Some other examples could be: when you have a second, couldyou call me please? Or when you have a second, could you go to the shop and getme some bread please?

Phrase #4

Let’s pretend you need to ask someone a question. You needto ask about the location of the nearest train station. What can you say?

Don’t say where is the nearest train station.

What you can say instead is: I was wondering if you knewwhere the nearest train station was? Iwas wondering if you knew where the nearest train station was?

I was wondering if a very polite way to ask someone aquestion.

And note here how we say knew, we don’t say know. We sayknew in the past tense because one of the rules of the basics of being politein English is to change things to the past tense.

You can also use this phrase on the phone. For example: hi,I was wondering if you could help me? I would like to speak to someone in theeducation department.

So the next time you need to ask someone something, try thisphrase. It’s very very polite.

Phrase #5

Let’s pretend your friends ask you to go to a party onSaturday night and you don’t really want to go.How can you politely decline or say no to their request?

Don’t say no.

What you can say instead is I would love to, but… I wouldlove to, but.. and then you give a reason.

For example, you could say: I would love to but I have towork. Or I would love to but I have to study for my exam. This is a very politeway to say no to someone.

Phrase #6

Let’s pretend you want to meet your friend for lunch nextweek, and you want to know what days he is free. What can you say to him? Howcan you ask that politely?

Don’t say tell me when you’re free.

What you can say instead is: let me know when you’refree. Let me know when you’re free.

This is a very polite way to ask someone to tell yousomething. Let me know. Let me know when you’re free.

Phrase #7

Let’s pretend you are talking to your boss at work and hesays something that you don’t agree with. You think he’s wrong. How can youpolitely disagree with him?

Don’t say you’re wrong.

What you can say instead is: I understand what you’resaying, but … I understand what you’resaying, but … and then you give yourreasons.

So maybe you could say: I understand what you’re saying, butmaybe you haven’t seen this part of the project yet.

This is a very good phrase, a very polite phrase you can useto disagree with someone.

Quiz

Okay so we have learned some basic phrases for being politein English. But now let’s have a little quiz to test your understanding. I will tell you a situation and I want you totell me which polite phrase you could use in that situation.

Number one. You’re at a shopping center and you see a juicebar and you want to go over there to order a strawberry juice. What could yousay to the waiter?

You could say: could I have a strawberry juice please? Could I have a strawberry juice please?

Remember, could I have is a very polite way to requestsomething.

Number two. You’re talking to your friend about English, howto learn English. And he says learning pronunciation isn’t very important, youdon’t need to do it. And you disagree with that, what could you say to him?

You could say: I understand what you’re saying, but .. Iunderstand what you’re saying, but .. and then give your reasons.

So remember, if you ever want to disagree with someone, youcan always say I understand what you’re saying, but .. and then give yourreasons.

Number three. You’re at work and you’re doing project withyour colleague. And you need your colleague to find some information for you.How can you politely request that your colleague finds that information foryou?

You could say: when you’ve got a second, could you find theinformation for me? When you’ve got asecond, could you find the information for me?

Because remember, don’t say find the information for me. Youneed to say when you’ve got a second. This makes it really really polite.

And that is the end of the lesson today. Now you know the basics of being polite inEnglish.

And if you’re interested in learning more phrases nativespeakers use all the time, then you can check out this video right here. If youhave any questions, please comment down below and if you haven’t subscribedalready, make sure you subscribe right now so you don’t miss any video, justlike this one, that can help you understand English like a native speaker.

If you learned something today, please hit like and pleaseshare this with your friends who are learning English so they can understandhow to be polite in English and stop being rude.

And for daily quizzes, daily posts, videos, updates, lessonsand much much more, make sure you are following me on Instagram and I will seeyou in the next video. But you’re stillnot sure what you want to eat and what you want to. I want a green tea. No, no,no, no. This is very …