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md.mahfuzur Rahman
Use of can/could/should I make a call?
Feb 22, 2023 8:04 PM
Answers · 2
Some extra info, not super necessary, but 'may' would be the most polite way to ask for something. May I use your phone to make a call? May I make a call? Old fashioned grammarians/teachers, as example would stop and correct a student if they use 'can' or 'could' when asking for permission. If you were a kid in school and you asked: "Can /Could I go to the bathroom?" A pedantic, old-fashioned grammarian teacher.would sarcastically say: "I don't doubt that you can / could go to the bathroom,  but may you go to the bathroom?" This is because can / could specifically means the ability to do something. Don't worry too much about this, but when asking permission, 'may' is the most polite, especially with older people.
February 22, 2023
Can I make a call? -- say this when you want to use someone else's telephone. (For example, you are at the front desk of a hotel and want to call a restaurant, and you don't have your phone with you. You are asking to use someone else's telephone) Could I... ? Same thing, but more polite. Should I make a call? -- this is asking someone's advice about making a telephone call. So you and your friends want to go to a restaurant and you are not certain the restaurant is open at the time you want to go. You ask your friends "Should I make a call?"
February 22, 2023
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