How to be polite in British English | Part II

[0:00]I need you on Friday. Do try that again, but as though you were raised with civility. What should I have said? 'I was hoping you might be free on Friday.' Gentle, civil, practically upholstered. But it's the same message. Ah, but one is a command, the other is a sigh disguised as syntax. We use the past continuous to soften the blow— to imply that we've been hoping, waiting, pining. It makes requests feel less like a demand, and more like a shared dream. So not, 'I need you to proofread this.' But rather, 'I was wondering if you might glance over this trifling manuscript.' And not, 'join me at the theatre.' 'I was hoping you might join me, if your evening isn't otherwise burdened by duty or ennui.' I see. The past continuous: the language of polite desperation. Precisely. Desperation steeped, strained, and served with cream. Marvellous. Then I shall revise my note to Lady Ormsby. See that you do. And this time, try not to sound like a bailiff.