When to use it
Use it at the end of a meal. In German restaurants you can also just say "Zahlen, bitte!" ("Pay, please!").
“Could you bring the bill, please?” · The sentence in English
"Could you bring the bill, please?" is a polite request. "Could" softens it, the subject "you" follows, and "bring" stays in its base form after the modal.
- Could
- auxiliary verbcan · form: conditional · modal verb; "Could you…?" is a polite request
- you
- pronounpersonal pronoun
- bring
- verbbring · form: base form (infinitive without "to") · after a modal verb the main verb has no "to"
- the
- determinerdefinite article
- bill
- nounnoun; the check at a restaurant
- please
- adverbpoliteness word
“Könnten Sie mir bitte die Rechnung bringen?” · The sentence in German
"Könnten Sie mir bitte die Rechnung bringen?" uses "könnten", the Konjunktiv II of "können", which is the polite form in German. "Sie" with a capital letter is the formal "you". "Mir" means "to me", and the infinitive "bringen" goes to the very end.
- Könnten
- auxiliary verbkönnen · mood: subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II) · person: third · number: plural (polite Sie) · "could"; the Konjunktiv II makes the request polite
- Sie
- pronounpolite "you", always with a capital letter
- mir
- pronoundative of "ich": "to me"
- bitte
- adverb"please"
- die
- determinerdefinite article, feminine: "the"
- Rechnung
- nounfeminine noun: "bill", "check"
- bringen
- verbbringen · form: infinitive · the infinitive goes to the end of the sentence
What changes from one language to the other · English × German
Both languages use a softer form of "can" to be polite. German sends the main verb to the end of the sentence; English keeps it next to "could you". German also says "to me" ("mir") where English leaves it out, and it has a special polite "Sie".
Example conversation
— Könnten Sie mir bitte die Rechnung bringen?
— Could you bring me the bill, please?
— Gern. Zusammen oder getrennt?
— Of course. Together or separately?