6. Responding 'yes' to requests

Responding to polite requests: Saying ‘yes’

Wait, what’s the answer? If someone asks you to open the door, what should you say?

There are lots of good ways to answer “yes”! 

Requests	Answer: Yes!
Can you open the door?  Could you open the door?  Would you open the door?  If it’s okay with you, could we open the door?  If you get a chance, could/would you open the door?  When you have a minute, could/would you open the door?	Of course. Sure.  No problem.  Happy to. You bet.  I’ll do it right now.
Would you mind opening the door?	Not at all. Not a problem.

Talk about it

Okay, which request usually gets a ‘negative’ response which means ‘yes’? Why is it different?

Click to show the answer. "Would you mind V+ing...?" usually get a negative response, which means "Yes, I will do that."

What does Would you mind… mean? 

Click to show the answer. "Would you mind V+ing...?" is asking "Is it a problem for you to [do something]?

If someone says, Would you mind opening the door? and you say, Yes, what does that mean? 

Click to show the answer. If you say, "Yes" that means that it IS a problem for you and you are NOT happy to do it! (But don't worry, people often say "yes" to this and then just do it with a smile. ?)

Let’s practice

Your teacher is going to quickly ask you to help them. Respond politely by agreeing to do it, but don’t use the word ‘yes’. Use a different way each time.

Then you try it. Remember, try to use a different way to make a request and a different way to say 'yes' each time. 

For example,

Your teacher: Would you clap your hands? 

You: Sure! (clap hands)

You: Could you give me a hundred dollars? 

Your teacher: _____!