The Life Starter
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Course Library · Lesson 2 of 6
Life · Guided lesson

Ask a focused request politely

About 9 minutes · 3 reading + 6 practice and checks
Time includes reading, practice, and questions. Extra videos or further study are optional.
See this course’s project requirements

Six completed written English exchanges using request, clarification, time, location and confirmation frames, plus a combined service conversation.

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What to include

  • Complete six original written English exchanges from the supplied cases.
  • Use an introduction and focused polite request.
  • Confirm an explicit date, time and arrival instruction.
  • Choose repetition or meaning repair appropriately.
  • Finish a combined service conversation and a truthful confirmed/unconfirmed next-step summary.

Review and revise

Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.

  • Method: applies the course-specific rules to the supplied cases with visible intermediate work.
  • Accuracy: results agree with the stated facts, units, boundaries and independent checks.
  • Reasoning: explains why the result follows and identifies a limitation or unresolved question.
  • Transfer: completes changed cases and revises the final project when a relevant assumption changes.
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Before you begin

The idea in everyday life

Original exchange: Learner: Could you show me where the application form is, please? Staff: It is on the blue table. Learner: Thank you. Is this the form for the evening class? Staff: Yes.

The idea

Could you plus a base verb forms a practical polite request. Name what help is needed. Please can mark courtesy, but it does not replace the action or details. Staff may decline or offer another route; language practice does not guarantee service access.

Follow along

Ask a focused request politely — worked practice

Could you plus a base verb forms a practical polite request. Name what help is needed. Please can mark courtesy, but it does not replace the action or details. Staff may decline or offer another route; language practice does not guarantee service access.

Original exchange: Learner: Could you show me where the application form is, please? Staff: It is on the blue table. Learner: Thank you. Is this the form for the evening class? Staff: Yes.

Original practice material

Paste at A1.

AMaterialBSupplied text
CaseOriginal exchange: Learner: Could you show me where the application form is, please? Staff: It is on the blue table. Learner: Thank you. Is this the form for the evening class? Staff: Yes.

Copy as plain text
  1. 1. 1. Locate action

    Identify the requested help.

    You should see: Show where the application form is.

  2. 2. 2. Frame

    Use Could you + base verb for a new task.

    You should see: Could you explain this question, please?

  3. 3. 3. Specify

    Add the item needing explanation.

    You should see: Question four about the class time.

  4. 4. 4. Confirm

    Write a reply to the supplied blue-table answer.

    You should see: Thank you. Is this the form for the evening class?

Now change one thing

Choose the base verb after Could you: explain or explains. Enter the exact word.

Your work

What to finish

Three focused written requests and one confirmation exchange.

Common mistake

Watch for this

Language can communicate a request clearly, but staff permissions, service conditions and availability still determine what can be provided.

How can I tell I understand it?

Adapt a request to a new item while preserving a genuine option for an alternate answer.

Try 3 questions

Quick knowledge check

Answer all 3 questions. Get at least 2 right and the lesson completes automatically.

Not yet passed

You’ll get an explanation for each answer. Signed in? Your results save to your account.

1Which is a focused polite request?
2What does the original learner confirm after finding the table?
3Why can a polite request still receive a no?
0 of 3 answeredApply the lesson to a short question, then review the explanation.
2
Finish this lesson

Pass the check. We’ll save the progress.

Answer all 3 questions above and get at least 2 right. You can review the explanations and try again.

Go to the knowledge check
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Sources and further reading

Explore the references behind this lesson.

U.S. Department of State: modals and requests
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Web open/search showed the official page, its topic heading and relevant concept description. This is a content/source check, not a provider endorsement.

Access: Official page retrieved with the web reader on 2026-10-01; interactive tools and videos were not certified by retrieval.

Reuse: Original fictional teaching cases, calculations, questions and examples; link and short factual paraphrase only. No copied source exercises or illustrations.

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