--- title: "British Etiquette: The Dos and Don’ts for non-native English speakers" description: Do you want to speak like an English person? It’s not about your pronunciation, but how you speak! The British are very polite when they speak, so one of our teachers has given you tips on how to be polite! image: https://blog.speakuplondon.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/British-Etiquette.png --- [![speakuplondon](https://blog.speakuplondon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/1200x1200%20-%20Logo.jpg?width=600&height=600&name=1200x1200%20-%20Logo.jpg "speakuplondon")](https://blog.speakuplondon.com/) Open main menu Close main menu - [Speak Up London](https://blog.speakuplondon.com/blog) [british culture](https://blog.speakuplondon.com/sul-blog/tag/british-culture) [Culture](https://blog.speakuplondon.com/sul-blog/tag/culture) [communication](https://blog.speakuplondon.com/sul-blog/tag/communication) # British Etiquette: The Dos and Don’ts for non-native English speakers [Admin](https://blog.speakuplondon.com/sul-blog/author/admin) [Share this blog post on Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=I+found+this+interesting+blog+post&url=https://blog.speakuplondon.com/sul-blog/british-etiquette-the-dos-and-dontsfor-non-native-english-speakers) [Share this blog post on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://blog.speakuplondon.com/sul-blog/british-etiquette-the-dos-and-dontsfor-non-native-english-speakers) [Share this blog post on LinkedIn](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.speakuplondon.com/sul-blog/british-etiquette-the-dos-and-dontsfor-non-native-english-speakers) ![](https://blog.speakuplondon.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/British-Etiquette.png) Life in the UK can be difficult, especially when you’re not a native English speaker. Small changes in language can communicate small changes in meaning. Here are some do’s and don’ts for communicating in English. ## **DO: Use ‘would you like?’ instead of ‘do you want?’** If you’ve got a job – as a waiter, for example – try not to ask questions like “Do you want a glass of milk?”. Instead, try “Would you like a glass of milk?”. In fact, there are many examples of when using modal verbs like ‘could’ and ‘would’ is much more polite. Here are some examples: “I can help you” -> “I could help you if you’d like.” “Give me a glass of water” -> “Could you give me a glass of water?” ## **DO: Use Indirect Questions** “Where is the bathroom?” seems like a reasonable question to ask. For some, it might seem rude. Try using an indirect question. This changes the question to “Can you tell me where the bathroom is?” It’s easy to do. Just take a direct question – “Why are you here?” – and add one of the following to the start of the question: - Could you tell me… - Would you mind telling me… - Have you any idea… - Will you please tell me… The end of the indirect question “Have you any idea when **the train arrives**?” is the same as a positive sentence. The answer to the indirect question is “**The train arrives** at 9:30am.” It’s a bit different when you use a closed question – a question without a ‘question word’ (when, where, why, who, what and how) – like “Are you okay?” or “Do you eat lasagna?”. Closed questions only need a yes or no answer. When making these closed questions into indirect ones, you will need to add “if” before the **subject**. For example “Could you tell me **if** you are okay?” Start asking questions like this, and people might find you to be more polite! ## **DON’T: Use the wrong intonation** If you’re wondering what intonation is, it’s basically how our voices rise or fall in tone. Let’s compare two ways of speaking. A question like “Could you pass the salt, please?” has two different meanings depending on how you say it. If your voice rises at the end, it is very likely the British people whom you are trying to impress will find you to be very polite. However, if you speak in only one tone, or the tone of the sentence falls at the end of it, people might be offended. Here’s another example of how you might be misunderstood. Using a falling, or even a flat intonation, often makes you sound more rude. The sentence *“*I need you to send the report*,”* spoken with no change or a falling tone, sounds too direct. Increasing the tone as you speak makes it sound more polite. This, paired with an ‘indirect question’, can help you sound much more friendly. The example then changes to “I was wondering if you could send the report?”*.* Together, these tips can ensure that people think of you as a polite English speaker! [Join our courses](https://speakuplondon.com/our-courses/) in the mornings, afternoons, evenings or Saturdays to help improve your English across the four core skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening. Author: Kit, a teacher at Speak Up London. ### Leave a Comment ## Related Articles [IELTS](https://blog.speakuplondon.com/sul-blog/tag/ielts) ### [Common IELTS writing mistakes and how to avoid them](https://blog.speakuplondon.com/sul-blog/common-ielts-writing-mistakes) The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a critical exam which could change your life for reasons such as working and living abroad. However, it is... 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