You are welcome to answer questions posted in the Ask a Teacher forum as long as your suggestions, help, and advice reflect a good understanding of the English language. If you are not a teacher, you will need to state that clearly at the top of your post. Please note, all posts are moderated by our in-house language experts, so make sure your suggestions, help, and advice house the kind of information an international language teacher would offer. If not, and your posts do not contribute to the topic in a positive way, they will be subject to deletion.
Would you mind opening the window? - it's a request
Would you mind if I open the window? - it's asking for permission
Would you mind not smoking? - it's asking sb to stop smoking; or not to start doing it when we see sb is going to do it
Would you mind if I smoke? - it's asking for permission to smoke