ask, request, command

Though flawed in many ways, modern English has figured a few things out. After 500 years of usage, standard words now exist that allow its user to inquire, to entreat, and to issue orders. Using these standard words, the English speaker is able to express himself clearly, concisely, and efficiently. The following are examples of some simple words and standard usages that, if used correctly, allow for streamlined communications.

The English speaker seeking to ask a question about someone’s ability to do something ought use the word ‘can.’ “Can you put the toilet seat down?” is a question about someone’s ability to put the toilet seat down, not a request for him to do so.
The English speaker seeking to request something of someone else ought use the word ‘will,’ or a variant thereof. “Would you put the toilet seat down?” is a request for someone to perform that act in the immediate future.
The English speaker seeking to direct the actions of another ought use the accusative form of the appropriate verb. “Put the toilet seat down!” is a command directed at someone else, a way to tell someone else to do something - not tomorrow, not later, but now.
These standard words and usages developed for a reason; they are not interchangeable, and efforts to use them in place of one another leads quickly to confusion.

Asking someone if they ‘want’ to do something is not the same as asking them to do that thing - it’s an inquiry into their personal desires and aspirations. Trying to turn a question into a request by using the word ‘please’ in conjunction with ‘can’ as a substitute for an inquiry or command is a crutch. Physical crutches are something a person discards as soon as he is well enough to move around without them. Similarly, linguistic crutches ought be discarded as soon as a person is comfortable with the standard words and usages mentioned above.

For more information, please read a book named ‘The Elements of Style’ by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White.

© JPR / whorphan / americanifesto / 場黑麥