Polite requests

If you want to sound particularly polite or if you think the answer may be negative, use “would you mind…?”

“Would you mind…?” has different uses. Let’s see them.

Use 1:

The verbs go in past tense, but the meaning is not in the past.

a. Would you mind if I asked him for the menu again?
Simple past sentence

b. Would you mind if I had another favor?
Simple past sentence

c. Would you mind if I ate with you?
Simple past sentence

When the action will be done by somebody else, you will use the verb + –ing form.

a. Would you mind asking for the menu again?
verb in –ing form

b. Would you mind calling the waiter?
verb in –ing form

c. Would you mind sitting in another table?
verb in –ing form

Note: Don’t use “if” when somebody else will do the action

“Would you mind…?” means “Is it a problem for you?”, so the polite answer when we say “No” means “Yes”. (request accepted).

For example:

a. Would you mind if I asked him for the menu again?
b. No, not at all/ No, of course not / No, I wouldn’t.