Read & Listen: Could & Would
OVERVIEW
On this page, you will learn about questions with could and should.
- First, read the text and study the chart.
- Then, listen to audio of the text.
READ & LISTEN
Read:
When you ask someone to do something, you need to be polite. Sometimes we use can in English, but it is more polite to use could or would. These two words, could and would, are used to make polite questions. To make the question more polite, you can use please at the end of the question. Could and would are modal verbs (also called modal auxiliary verbs), so you use them with a main verb.
Use the following pattern to form yes / no questions with could or would:
modal verb + subject + main verb + rest of sentence
Study the grammar chart to learn about how to ask questions using could and would.
| Modal Verb | + Subject | + Main Verb | + Rest of Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Could | I | have | tomorrow off, please? |
| Would | you | clean | the office area, please? |
| Could | you | help | me with this task? |
| Would | she | be | able to help? |
| Could | she | stay | late tonight? |
| Would | he | like | to work more hours? |
| Could | he | send | the email, please? |
| Would | they | work | late? |
| Could | they | clean | the floors again, please? |