I was wondering (if): Is this expression only for asking a favor?
I was wondering. Did you lock the door?
I was wondering if you had locked the door?

I was wondering if you could cook dinner by yourself tonight.
I’m wondering if you can cook dinner by yourself tonight.

Do some of the above sentences sound only like I’m asking a favor? Or do they depend on the situations?

Thank you

Question

I was wondering (if): Is this expression only for asking a favor?
I was wondering. Did you lock the door?
I was wondering if you had locked the door?

I was wondering if you could cook dinner by yourself tonight.
I’m wondering if you can cook dinner by yourself tonight.

Do some of the above sentences sound only like I’m asking a favor? Or do they depend on the situations?

Thank you

Answer

Thank you Sophie. It’s clear now

Answer

I was wondering (if) is a phrase used to ask things, doesn’t have to be a favour.

Here is an example that isn’t a favour:
I was wondering if you wanted to come to my house after school

Answer

The sentence “ I was wondering if you had locked the door?” is not asking for a favour because you are asking them if they had locked the door. Meaning you are not really asking him to lock the door, you are just seeing if the person has locked it.

The other two would be favours though, if you want to make them more assertive, remove I was just wondering and say can you or could you.

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