if you please
phrase
- (formal) please
Longman
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if you please | meaning of if you please in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English | LDOCE
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishif you pleaseif you pleaseold-fashioned a) formalASK FOR something/ASK somebody TO DO something used to politely ask someone to do something Close the door, if you please. b) BELIEVE British English used to show that you are surprised, angry, or ...
Cambridge Dictionary
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Meaning of if you please in English - Cambridge Dictionary
IF YOU PLEASE meaning: 1. used to express surprise and anger: 2. used to make a request more polite: 3. used to express…. Learn more.
As you please... If you please ... Rude? | WordReference Forums
I often pause after I wrote "if you please" if this expression is really not rude! Click to expand... This one's gone a while without an answer, Cheshire. There's an old-fashioned expression in BE, to mind one's p's and q's; it means to be careful to say please and thank-you to people. More on forum.wordreference.com
Does "if you please" have any relation to "s'il vous plait" ("if it pleases you," but read literally, "if it you please")?
Yes that's Etymology 2 for please on wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/please More on reddit.com
The word "please" in "if you please" - English Language Learners Stack Exchange
To please, to be pleasing or agreeable to, to suit (someone). Now arch. Originally with dative. 1767 .. tr. Plautus Comedies .. Hold—I have a thought;—See, if it likes you. Arch. here stands for archaic. One of my favourite quotes about this is the Middle English one that a professor cited in the class in which I learned about this phenomenon in the first place. It's a little too much to go into its structure here, but it appears to literally mean... More on ell.stackexchange.com
What was the original meaning of “please,” and how exactly did it function?
In French, the phrase for "please" is "s'il vous plaît", which means "if it pleases you". The English word "please" as a polite request comes from a similar origin. More on reddit.com
Collins Dictionary
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IF YOU PLEASE - Meaning & Translations | Collins English Dictionary
If you please is sometimes used as a very polite and formal way of attracting someone's attention or of asking them to do something.
Merriam-Webster
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IF YOU PLEASE Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
The meaning of IF YOU PLEASE is —used to make a polite request. How to use if you please in a sentence.
Wiktionary
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if you please - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
The construction is unusual since ... and please as a verb in the third-person singular subjunctive, such that if you please actually meant if it may please you....
TheFreeDictionary.com
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If you please - Idioms by The Free Dictionary
Reginald, bring the car around, if you please—I'm ready to leave.
WordReference
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As you please... If you please ... Rude? | WordReference Forums
May 8, 2007 - There's an old-fashioned expression in BE, to mind one's p's and q's; it means to be careful to say please and thank-you to people. They are the essential lubricants of our social contacts and I think it's often good manners to thank people ...
Collins Dictionary
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IF YOU PLEASE definition in American English | Collins English Dictionary
If you please is sometimes used as a very polite and formal way of attracting someone's attention or of asking them to do something.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/etymology › does "if you please" have any relation to "s'il vous plait" ("if it pleases you," but read literally, "if it you please")?
r/etymology on Reddit: Does "if you please" have any relation to "s'il vous plait" ("if it pleases you," but read literally, "if it you please")?
December 20, 2021 -
I've always wondered why "please," a verb that means to bring pleasure to another person, is used when asking a favor/permission. The older "if you please" is still odd, but the French "s'il vous plait" ("if it pleases you") makes more sense. The L is often dropped in pronunciation so it sounds like "si vous plait," which, although I think it wouldn't make sense in French, would literally translate to "if you please."
Does anyone know if this is anywhere near the mark? Is it possible that the phrase is a slight mistranslation of the French?
Cambridge Dictionary
dictionary.cambridge.org › dictionary › english › please
PLEASE | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
4 days ago - Thank you and thanksWe use expressions with thank you and thanks to respond to something politely and to show we are grateful for something. Thanks is more informal than thank you. We often add other words to make the response stronger: … ... I shall go out with whomever I please. ... They want £200, if you please, just to replace a couple of broken windows!
Vocabulary.com
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Please - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms | Vocabulary.com
To please someone is to give them pleasure or to make them happy. This is also a word for polite requests like, "Could you please pass the milk?"
Longman
ldoceonline.com › dictionary › please
please | meaning of please in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English | LDOCE
pleases• The client pays the bar to take her off, to do what he pleases.• The porter holds the car door as if restraining a very strong, young Galapagos tortoise from doing what it pleases.• Within a considerable range, he is permitted to believe what he pleases.• A proper place with real women who understand what pleases a man.• What pleases me may not please you, and my recommendation may disappoint you - and then what would you think?• And he categorises what pleases the imagination as what is great, what is new, and what is beautiful.• Have the courage of your convictions to play what pleases you.• Do you know what pleases your partner most?Origin please2 (1300-1400) Old French plaisir, from Latin placere “to please, be decided”
Merriam-Webster
merriam-webster.com › dictionary › please
PLEASE Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
2 days ago - The meaning of PLEASE is to afford or give pleasure or satisfaction. How to use please in a sentence.
Cambridge Dictionary
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Conditionals: other expressions ( unless, should, as long as ) - Cambridge Grammar
Unless means something similar to ‘if … not’ or ‘except if’. The verb forms in the examples are similar to sentences with if: we use the present simple in the unless-clause and shall, should, will, would, can, could, may or might in the main clause: Unless I phone you, you can assume the train’s on time.
Cambridge Dictionary
dictionary.cambridge.org › dictionary › english › if-you-will
IF YOU WILL | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
4 days ago - IF YOU WILL definition: 1. used to say that a particular expression is one way of saying something, especially to suggest…. Learn more.