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

Would you mind and do you mind

415e

Would you mind

and do you mind are most commonly followed by if when

permission is being requested. With would you mind the tense in the if-clause may

be past (more formal) or present (more informal):

A: 

Do you mind if I take my shoes off

?

B: No.

Would you mind if one of our representatives comes and gives you a free

demonstration?

[referring to the tape-recorder being used to record the conversation]

Would you mind if I turned this off

just for a few minutes? 

✪

Note that the appropriate reply to give permission is no, not yes. Mind means

‘object’, so saying no means ‘I do not object to what you wish to do’.

A: Do you mind if I sit here?

B: No, not at all. Please do.

Less frequently, an object pronoun or noun phrase and a verb in the -ing form may

follow mind:

Would you mind

us

com

ing too?

Do you mind

me

sitt

ing in on the interview?

Do you mind

this towel

be

ing used?

In formal contexts, a possessive pronoun may be used instead of an object

pronoun:

‘

Do you mind

my

smok

ing?’ he asked. ‘Oh, not at all, sir.’

The do-construction with object pronoun and -ing form may be used to check that

something is permitted or acceptable which is already happening or has already

happened:

Do you mind me coming round?

(could be spoken when the person is already at the place referred to)