How to get what you want from the hotel receptionist
Deutsch denken, Englisch reden – tun Sie das nicht. Sie könnten sonst – ohne es zu wollen – unhöflich klingen. So vermeiden Sie typisch deutsche Formulierungen.
As regular Secretary Today readers will know, German is much more direct than English, which is why German speakers often tend to sound impolite when they translate things one to one from German into English.
Avoid sounding impolite by following these simple rules.
Requests with can, could, will and would
| informal | formal | more formal |
| Can / Will you confirm that in writing? | Could/Would you confirm that in writing, please? | May I ask you to confirm that in writing? |
We use can, could and may to ask for permission when we want to do something.
| informal | formal | more formal |
| Can I change my reservation, please? | Could I change my reservation, please? | Could I possibly change my reservation, please? |
We can also ask permission with Do you mind if ...?or Would you mind if ...? Note how the verb that follows these phrases changes.
| informal | formal | more formal |
| Do you mind if I call you back? | Would you mind if I called you back? | Would you very much mind if I called you back? |