Cambridge Grammar of English Hardback with cd-rom a comprehensive Guide

You’re going to and would you like to

413d

Declarative form you’re going to/gonna and interrogative form would you like to

also occasionally occur as commands:

[swimming instructor to learners]

Legs nice and straight. No knees popping out of the water. And 

you’re gonna

look at that window for me

. I don’t want anybody looking at me. Or here.

You’re looking up. Right. Are you ready, crocodiles? Off you go. 

[teacher to student]

Would you like to tell the rest of the class your own definition of what a tower

block is?

686 | Speech acts

Cambridge Grammar of English

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Interrogatives with can, could, will and would

413e

One way to make a directive softer or more polite is to use an interrogative

structure with can, could, will or would rather than an imperative. Such

interrogatives are very frequent, and even people in power and authority 

(e.g. superiors at the workplace) regularly soften commands and instructions 

in this way.

In general, will is heard as most direct, with can, could and would being heard

as progressively less direct/more polite:

[mother to very small child who picks up a knife at the table]

Will you put that down darling

. That’s dangerous, that is.

[adult carer to child]

Be careful David. No! 

Can you go and take that somewhere else please

because

you’re going to break something aren’t you?

[chiropractor (A) examining a patient (B)]

A: And how have you been Nigel? All right? 

B: Well not too bad. 

A: 

Could you raise your left leg

. 

B: Ooh. 

A: And your right leg. 

B: Very difficult. 

(compare the more direct: Raise your left leg.)

[chairperson at business meeting]

Shall we just look at one or two documents that you’ve already looked at

please, 

would you go to page twenty-nine

.