When to use it
Use it at the end of a meal to ask the waiter politely for the bill.
“Could you bring the bill, please?” · The sentence in English
In “Could you bring the bill, please?” ‘Could’ softens the request and ‘please’ closes it.
- 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
“தயவுசெய்து பில்லைக் கொண்டு வர முடியுமா?” · The sentence in Tamil
In “தயவுசெய்து பில்லைக் கொண்டு வர முடியுமா?” there is no word for ‘you’: ‘முடியுமா’ (is it possible?) asks impersonally. ‘கொண்டு வர’ (taking, to come) means bring, and ‘-ஐ’ marks ‘பில்’ as the object.
- தயவுசெய்து
- adverb'please', a polite request
- பில்லைக்
- noun'bill' + object marker -ai + sandhi -k
- கொண்டு
- verbkoḷ · form: conjunctive (-ṭu) · koṇṭu vā = bring
- வர
- verbvā · form: infinitive (-a) · 'to come'; koṇṭu vara = to bring
- முடியுமா
- auxiliary verbmuṭi · tense: future · form: question (-ā) · muṭiyum 'is possible' + ā: can it be done?
What changes from one language to the other · English × Tamil
English addresses ‘you’ directly; Tamil asks whether it is possible, and ‘bring’ takes two verbs.
Example conversation
— தயவுசெய்து பில்லைக் கொண்டு வர முடியுமா?
— Could you bring the bill, please?
— சரி, இதோ கொண்டு வருகிறேன்.
— Sure, right away.