Learn English: Can I / Could I / May I

Hi, everybody.

大家好。

I'm Esther and in this video I'm going to teach you how to ask someone for permission

我是 Esther，在这个视频中，我将教您如何请求某人的许可。

Okay so before I teach you that,

好的，在教您之前，

let's first talk about what permission means.

让我们先谈谈许可的含义。

Okay so...

好吧……

When you want to ask someone if it's okay to do something, you're asking for permission.

当你想问某人是否可以做某事时，你就是在请求许可。

Okay again, you want to do something, you don't know if it's okay, so you ask someone.

好吧，你想做某事，你不知道是否可以，所以你问别人。

For example, maybe you want to borrow something.

例如，也许你想借一些东西。

Then you should ask someone.

那你应该问问别人。

If you just take it that's stealing, right?

如果你直接拿走那就是偷窃，对吗？

So you have to ask.

所以你必须问。

Is it okay? Alright?

可以吗？好吧？

So there are three ways to ask for permission in English.

所以用英语请求许可有三种方式。

The first way is to say, "Can I...?" "Can I...?" Okay.

第一种方法是说：“我可以……吗？” “我可以吗...？”好的。

The second way is "Could I...?" "Could I...?"

第二种方式是“我可以……吗？” “我可否...？”

And the third way is, "May I...?" "May I...?" Okay.

第三种方法是，“我可以……吗？” “我可以...？”好的。

So 'can I', 'could I', and 'may I' are all good ways to ask for permission.

因此，“can I”、“could I”和“may I”都是请求许可的好方法。

But the third one, 'may I', is more polite. Okay.

但第三个“我可以吗”就更有礼貌了。好的。

So if you want to ask somebody who has more power,

因此，如果你想问一个更有权力的人，

maybe your parents, may be your teacher,

也许是你的父母，可能是你的老师，

then you should say 'may I'.

那么你应该说“我可以”。

Maybe even to somebody that you don't know very well,

也许即使对于不太熟悉的人，

it's better to say may I because again it's more polite.

也最好说“may I”，因为这又更礼貌。

So let's look at these examples.

让我们看看这些例子。

Okay so I've written 'can I', 'could I', and 'may I' on the board.

好的，我在黑板上写下了“我可以吗”、“我可以吗”和“我可以吗”。

Remember, after these three, you have to say a verb.

记住，在这三个之后，你必须说一个动词。

Okay so let's look at the verbs.

好吧，让我们看看动词。

'help' 'see' 'have' 'call' 'borrow' 'go' 'speak' and 'go' again.

“帮助”“看到”“拥有”“打电话”“借用”“去”“说”然后再次“去”。

Okay so I know I went through that a little bit quickly but

好吧，我知道我过得有点快，但

we're going to go through it slowly now.

我们现在要慢慢地过一遍。

Okay so here's what we'll do.

好的，这就是我们要做的。

I'm going to read and try to switch some around. Okay?

我要阅读并尝试改变一些内容。好的？

So... "Can I help you?"

那么……“我可以帮你吗？”

"Can I help you?"

“我可以帮你吗？”

let's try that a little bit faster.

让我们尝试更快一点。

"Can I help you?"

“我可以帮你吗？”

"Can I help you?"

“我可以帮你吗？”

Now remember, you can also say 'could I' and 'may I'.

现在记住，你也可以说“could I”和“may I”。

For example, if you're walking through a department store,

例如，如果您走过一家百货商店，

and the salesperson comes to you,

销售人员向您走来，

they would probably say, "May I help you?" because they want to be polite to the customer.

他们可能会说：“我可以帮助您吗？”因为他们想对顾客有礼貌。

So again, "May I help you?"

又问：“我可以帮你吗？”

Okay.

好的。

"Can I see you again?"

“我可以再见到你吗？”

"Can I see you again?"

“我可以再见到你吗？”

A little bit faster.

快一点。

"Can I see you again?"

“我可以再见到你吗？”

Maybe you like someone you met them and you like them

也许你喜欢某个你见过的人，你喜欢他们

and you want to see them again next time,

，你想下次再见到他们，

So you say, "Can I see you again?"

所以你说，“我可以再见你一次吗？”

Okay.

好的。

"Can I have some water?"

“我可以要些水吗？”

"Can I have some water?"

“我可以要些水吗？”

A little bit faster.

快一点。

"Can I have some water?"

“我可以要些水吗？”

Okay.

好的。

Let's try a couple with 'could'.

让我们尝试几个带有“could”的词。

"Could I call you later?"

“我可以稍后给你打电话吗？”

"Could I call you later?"

“我可以稍后给你打电话吗？”

Again, remember, you can use all three, but we're doing 'could'.

再次记住，您可以使用所有三个，但我们正在做“可以”。

"Could I call you later?"

“我可以稍后给你打电话吗？”

"Could I borrow some money?"

“我可以借点钱吗？”

Okay. You usually borrow money from a friend or somebody that you know,

好的。您通常会向朋友或认识的人借钱，

so that's why it's better to say maybe 'can I' or 'could I'.

因此最好说“can I”或“could I”。

"Could I borrow some money?"

“我可以借点钱吗？”

Okay.

好的。

"Could I go?"

“我可以走了吗？”

"Could I go?"

“我可以走了吗？”

You want to leave, so you're asking if it's okay.

你想离开，所以你问是否可以。

"Could I go?"

“我可以走了吗？”

Okay and remember 'may I' is polite okay

好吧，记住“我可以吗”是礼貌的，好吧，

you want to say that to someone who's a little bit more important,

你想对一个更重要的人（

maybe someone you don't know.

也许是你不认识的人）说这句话。

Again you would use 'may I'.

你会再次使用“我可以吗”。

So "May I speak to mr. Kim?"

那么“我可以和金先生通话吗？”

Maybe you called his office, okay, so you say,

也许你打电话给他的办公室，好吧，所以你说：

"May I speak to mr. Kim?"

“我可以和金先生通话吗？”

And the last one -

最后一个——

"May I go to the bathroom?"

“我可以去一下洗手间吗？”

This one is maybe if you're asking a teacher.

如果你问老师的话，这个可能是。

Right? You're in class and you have to go, you can ask a teacher

正确的？你正在上课，你要走了，你可以问老师

"May I go to the bathroom?"

“我可以去一下洗手间吗？”

Again, 'can I' 'could' 'can' and 'could' are both okay.

再说一次，“我可以”“可以”“可以”和“可以”都可以。

But maybe it's more polite....

但也许这样更有礼貌……

If you want to be polite, you should say,

如果你想有礼貌，你应该说：

"May I go to the bathroom?"

“我可以去洗手间吗？”

And I'm sure the teacher will like that better because you're being polite.

我相信老师会更喜欢你这样，因为你很有礼貌。

Okay. So...

好的。所以......

In this video we learned three ways to ask for permission.

在这个视频中，我们学习了三种请求许可的方法。

Let's go through them one more time.

让我们再过一遍。

can I

我

could I and may I

可以吗？我可以

Okay well I hope I helped and I'll see you guys next time bye.

吗？好吧，我希望我能帮上忙，下次再见。