CARROTTA
carrotta.net
🙏 Compendium
Grammar
EN
English — would you mind + -ing
A polite way to ask someone to do something, or to ask permission. Both patterns literally ask "would it bother you?", so agreeing means answering in the negative — Not at all.
1
How it works
✓ Rule
To ask someone to act, use Would/Do you mind + verb-ing: Would you mind closing the door? To ask permission for yourself, use Would you mind if I + past tense: Would you mind if I sat here? The reply that grants the request is negative — Not at all or Of course not.
2
Examples
| Example | Use |
|---|---|
| Do you mind opening the window? | Request (neutral / everyday) |
| Would you mind closing the door? | Request (more polite) |
| Do you mind if I open the window? | Permission (neutral) |
| Would you mind if I sat here? | Permission (more polite, if + past) |
| Not at all. / Of course not. | Reply that grants the request |
| Actually, I'd rather you didn't. | Polite refusal |
3
Good to know
⚠ Note
The trap is the reply: mind means "object to", so a positive Yes grants nothing — it means it does bother me. To say "go ahead", answer negatively: Not at all or No, go ahead. Say Yes, I do mind only when you actually refuse.