Usage of “Excuse Me” I’ve come across the following English translation with the usage of “excuse me”: Mary: Hello, sir. John: Hello. Excuse me, what's your name? I’ve always found it very strange, for John to be saying “Excuse me” to Mary just before requesting for Mary’s name. Since both parties are already actively engaged in an active conversation, and it was not John who had to get Mary’s attention in the first place. 1. I just wanted to confirm with native English speakers, if there’s ever such a use case of “excuse me”. 2. I suspect, the essence of the translation should’ve been a more polite way of requesting for Mary’s name, rather than translating to “excuse me” E.g. “May I know your name?” “What’s your name, please?” Are there any other very polite ways of requesting for someone else’s name? 3. What are some of the situations that you use “Excuse me” in the midst of an active 1 to 1 conversation? i.e. aside from using “Excuse me, I need to go”, “Excuse me” to interrupt someone prior to the start of a conversation, “Excuse me” to show displeasure/disagreement with the other party’s remarks, “Excuse me” to apologise for a sneeze/cough. Could you also share where you’re from too?