Is the second conditional more polite than the first?

Asked Dec 06 '17 at 15:40

Active Dec 30 '20 at 15:51

Viewed 732 times

I have learnt that the difference between the first and second conditionals is a possibility: the former implies higher likelihood than the latter.

However, in spoken English, I hear the second conditional sentence more often, as in the following pair.

If I am offered the job, when will I start?

If I was offered the job, when would I start?

Does 2 sound more natural/polite? If so, is it because of the odds?

edited Dec 30 '20 at 15:51

fev

asked Dec 06 '17 at 15:40

Eunsil Kim

1

Yes, I think the first conditional (as it's termed) comes across as being more direct than the second conditional. Politeness is often associated with being less direct than absolutely necessary, so the second form can come across as more polite. Whether it is more natural depends a lot more on local factors. Some societies value directness; others shy from it. – Lawrence Dec 06 '17 at 15:49
1

Thanks a lot! I totally got it, I feel like it's very similar to express the politeness across countries :) – Eunsil Kim Dec 06 '17 at 15:52
You're welcome. Glad it helped. :) – Lawrence Dec 06 '17 at 15:53
You might look at the article Native speakers and the use of conditional statements. – Rob_Ster Dec 06 '17 at 15:58

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