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Thread: Are these 2 sentences beginning with "May I know" grammatical?

  1. 02-Jan-2013, 09:41 #1
    thincat
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    Default Are these 2 sentences beginning with "May I know" grammatical?

    Hi,

    Could anyone tell me whether the following sentences are grammatical and natural?

    1. May I know if you will go to school tomorrow?
    2. May I know will you go to school tomorrow?

    I tried to search for the usage of "May I know" in both British and American corpora, but I cannot find any "May I know if" pattern... It makes me wonder whether it is an idiomatic English saying or not...

    Thank you!
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  2. 02-Jan-2013, 09:46 #2
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    bhaisahab
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    Default Re: Are these 2 sentences beginning with "May I know" grammatical?

    Quote Originally Posted by thincat View Post
    Hi,

    Could anyone tell me whether the following sentences are grammatical and natural?

    1. May I know if you will go to school tomorrow?
    2. May I know will you go to school tomorrow?

    I tried to search for the usage of "May I know" in both British and American corpora, but I cannot find any "May I know if" pattern... It makes me wonder whether it is an idiomatic English saying or not...

    Thank you!
    No, it's not idiomatic.
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  3. 02-Jan-2013, 11:49 #3
    Tdol
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    Default Re: Are these 2 sentences beginning with "May I know" grammatical?

    Could you tell me/let me know work better for me.
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  4. 02-Jan-2013, 20:00 #4
    thincat
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    Default Re: Are these 2 sentences beginning with "May I know" grammatical?

    How about if I would like to ask in a more polite way, what should I say?
    Can I say "May I ask if you will go to school tomorrow?"
    Or is there any better way of saying?
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  5. 02-Jan-2013, 20:15 #5
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    bhaisahab
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    Default Re: Are these 2 sentences beginning with "May I know" grammatical?

    Quote Originally Posted by thincat View Post
    How about if I would like to ask in a more polite way, what should I say?
    Can I say "May I ask if you will go to school tomorrow?"
    Or is there any better way of saying?
    "Are you going to school tomorrow" is a perfectly acceptable and polite way of saying it.
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