[Grammar] Conditional - polite request ... if you have (or had) time for a coffee?

[the-good-guy]

Hello

What I know about conditional 1 and 2 is:
Conditional 1 - weather forecast for tomorrow: sunny - If the weather is fine, I will go for a walk.
Conditional 2 - weather forecast for tomorrow: poor - If the weather was fine, I would go for a walk.

What about a polite request:
I would like to ask you if you have (or had?) time for a coffee.


Thank you very much!
Best regards

 

[Gillnetter]

Hello

What I know about conditional 2 and 3 is:
Conditional 2 - weather forecast: sunny - If the weather is fine, I will go for a walk.
This is a comment on your future plans

Conditional 3 - weather forecast: poor - If the weather was fine, I would go for a walk.
This is a comment of what you did in the past.

What about a polite request:
I would like to ask you if you have (or had?) time for a coffee.
I would like to ask if you have time for coffee - Present - Do you have time now?
I would like to ask if you had time for coffee - A question about past events.


Thank you very much!
Best regards

Gil

 

[the-good-guy]

Gil

I heard that is more polite to ask:
"I would like to ask if you had time for a coffee."

Do you agree? Thank you

 

[Rover_KE]

I heard that is more polite to ask:
"I would like to ask if you had time for a coffee."

Do you agree?

It's over-polite to the point of obsequiousness.

'Have you time for a coffee?' is polite enough for anybody.

Rover

 

[anhnha]

Thank you,

'Have you time for a coffee?' is polite enough for anybody.

How about "Do you time for a coffee?"?
Is it polite as the above?

 

[TheParser]

Conditional 2 - weather forecast for tomorrow: poor - If the weather was fine, I would go for a walk.

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello,

You have already received an excellent reply from a teacher, so you should accept his answer

I -- just an ordinary native speaker -- have another opinion (only an opinion):

1. The weather forecast for tomorrow is poor. So you are not going to go for a walk.

I believe that either sentence is correct:

a. If the weather was fine tomorrow [we know that it will not be], I would go for a walk. But since the

weather will be "poor" tomorrow, I will not go for a walk.

b. If the weather were fine tomorrow, I would go for a walk.

NOTES:

* I believe that many native speakers would say "a."

* Americans who try to speak "correct" English prefer "b" -- the so-called subjunctive.

Tom: Are you going for your usual walk tomorrow?

Mona: No.

Tom: Why not?

Mona: The weather will be poor tomorrow.

Tom: So?

Mona: Well, if the weather was / were fine tomorrow, I would go for my usual walk. But since the weather

is going to be poor, I have no intention of going out and possibly getting caught in a downpour [of rain].


James


NOT A TEACHER

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello,

You accidentally forgot the verb "have":

Do you have time for a coffee?

!. I believe that our British friends use "have" to start such questions.

2. Americans feel more comfortable with "do."

Tom: Have you a car?
Mona: No, I haven't.

Maria: Do you have a car?
George: No, I don't.


James

 

[5jj]

I believe that our British friends use "have" to start such questions.

Have you got ...is more common these days.

 

[emsr2d2]

I am a BrE speaker, and I would not say "Have you a car?" unless I were pretending to be a rather posh person from about 60 years ago.

I would use either:

Do you have a car?
or
Have you got a car?

I agree with the others that "I would like to ask you if you had/have time for a coffee" is overly complicated. Apart from anything else, if someone said that to me, I might sarcastically reply "OK. Go on then. Ask me if I have time for a coffee!" All you have said is that you would like to ask me a question. Technically, you haven't actually asked me if I have time for a coffee.

 

[5jj]

I am a BrE speaker, and I would not say "Have you a car?" unless I were pretending to be a rather posh person from about 60 years ago.

Or a 66-year-old non-posh person who is past his prime.

 

[emsr2d2]

Or a 66-year-old non-posh person who is past his prime.

Oops. Open mouth. Insert foot. :-(