I came across a question where someone asked how to use "Please" in a sentence. He got an answer from a native speaker and it was well explained and pretty convincing. But I thought, "Please" is a word whose work is to show "politeness" in a sentence. So how does it matter if someone uses it in the beginning or at the end or in the middle of a sentence!!! So to confirm it, I stood up in front of the mirror and requested my image to tell me the truth by using three sentences. The sentences were similar in the meaning but different in construction.
1-Please, tell me the truth.
2-Tell me the truth, please
3-Could you please tell me the truth.
But yes, surprisingly I found the three tones different from each other!!!
Let me share what evidence I got from my own tone.
1- I felt the lack of politeness in this tone when I once reached the end of the sentence. And that may be because there is no "Please" available at the end of the sentence. But at first, I noticed the tone of politeness and after that, the politeness got decreased and sounded more demanding or commanding.
2- I found it very polite after completing the sentence and that might be due to the presence of "Please" at the end!! But at first, it sounded like the last part of the sentence 1.
3- It sounded like the mixture of sentence 1 and 2. I mean, it maintained a politeness throughout the sentence. As "Please" is in the middle of the sentence, that's why it balanced the overall politeness in the sentence and made it the most polite among the three.
So placing "Please" does really matter in a sentence. But while writing, it is not noticeable and every sentence has the same degree of politeness. It only matters while speaking with someone. But still, I don't think anyone matters if someone uses "Please" at the beginning of the sentence!!!
So Would you please like to give your view on this??? :)
1) Body language and tone of voice are far more important than details like word order.
2) The differences in tone communicated by word order are only noticed when they send the same message that is also sent by the speaker's rhythm, intonation, facial expressions, and body language. They don't send a message, they reinforce the message sent in other ways.
3) If I sense that you are a foreign speaker, then I hear your words literally and I don't make the same subtle analyses I make when I am listening to a native speaker.
The example you give is a rather difficult one, because the words "tell me the truth" are basically impolite to begin with. It's impolite to suggest that someone hasn't told you the truth, or isn't planning to tell you the truth. It's basically a hostile thing to say, and using the word "please" doesn't really make it polite, no matter where you put it.
On the other hand, I don't believe there's any difference in politeness between
"Please pass the salt," and
"Pass the salt, please."
I really enjoyed reading this! :)
For American spoken English:
1. #1 does sound more like a command and is often used this way. However, the right tone of voice can make it polite.
2. #2 same as #1.
3. #3 can come across more as begging, depending again on the tone. "Could you" makes it almost an accusation. Translation: "Do you even have the ability to tell me the truth?" This sentence would not be viewed as polite. The only time I have ever used it this exact phrasing was when I was frustrated with a family member. :)
4. Personally, I only use "please" when I am asking a favor. To ensure I am being polite, I use questions like "would you mind..", "is it ok if..".
5. Since your focus on this post seems to be about politeness, I will tell you my thoughts on these sentences concerning politeness. :) To tell someone to "please tell the truth" in any way, implies you are accusing them of not telling the truth or not wanting to tell you the truth. The polite assumption is that the other person will tell you the truth when you converse with them. Therefore, there is no need to mention anything about telling the truth. If you do, that is not polite.
6. If you want someone to tell you what they are thinking, you might say, " Please let me know your thoughts on this". In this way, you are asking them to tell you what they think. Again, it is polite to assume that they will tell you the truth.
I hope this was helpful. :)
Thank you @Dan for your important analysis on this matter:) You raised a very important point which is worth following i.e, the body language and tone of voice. From your comment, I got one thing that it is not important what you say rather how you say!!! So "Please" is just the word that "makes" the sentence polite but it's our "body language" and "voice of tone" which "convey" it to a person.
You are completely right that the sentence I made was not a polite one as @Verna also pointed out. But it may feel polite if I change the sentence structure or change my body language with a slow or mild tone!!
And again, I agree with you that there is not any difference in politeness between the sentences you mentioned. But still, it all depends on how I ask that person!!!
Thank you @Verna for your view and for a nice explanation:) I completely agree with you on the first and second sentence that the sound is more commanding. and yes, as you said the fault is in the sentence itself, that might be the main reason behind making the sound less polite and more commanding.
So, if at all we want to know something, say truth then we should follow the sentence as you said in the point-6.
BTW, I was asking my image to tell the truth and that's why it was difficult to know what it was!!!:):)
