Polite Requests beyond the Bare Imperative | Arabic (Modern Standard) Grammar

Arabic has no special “polite imperative” conjugation. A bare command such as أرسل الملف can be a neutral instruction, but speakers adjust its social force with expressions such as من فضلك “please,” هل يمكنك أن...؟ “could you...?”, and أرجو أن... “I ask/hope that...”.

The important grammatical distinction is that these expressions do not all govern the next verb in the same way. من فضلك can soften an imperative without changing it; أنْ after يمكنك or أرجو makes the following imperfect subjunctive. Politeness comes from the whole request, its register, and the relationship between speakers—not from translating English “please” word for word in every sentence. When the command also contains “it,” “me,” or “them,” see object pronouns on commands.

من فضلك: “please” beside an imperative

من فضلك is literally “from your favor.” It is a prepositional phrase, not a mood particle, so it does not change the imperative. Its final possessive suffix agrees with the person or people addressed:

Addressee	Vocalized phrase	Command
one man	مِنْ فَضْلِكَ	أَرْسِلْ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ
one woman	مِنْ فَضْلِكِ	أَرْسِلِي مِنْ فَضْلِكِ
two people	مِنْ فَضْلِكُمَا	أَرْسِلَا مِنْ فَضْلِكُمَا
masculine/mixed group	مِنْ فَضْلِكُمْ	أَرْسِلُوا مِنْ فَضْلِكُمْ
all-female group	مِنْ فَضْلِكُنَّ	أَرْسِلْنَ مِنْ فَضْلِكُنَّ

In unvocalized writing, masculine and feminine singular both appear as من فضلك. The verb or the addressee’s name often supplies the gender distinction.

أرسل النسخة الموقعة من فضلك

ʾarsili n-nuskhata l-muwaqqaʿata min faḍlik

Please send the signed copy. (Addressing one man; polite neutral request.)

أرسلي رقم الحجز من فضلك يا هناء

ʾarsilī raqma l-ḥajzi min faḍliki yā hanāʾ

Please send the reservation number, Hanaa.

انتظروا هنا من فضلكم حتى يصل المسؤول

intaẓirū hunā min faḍlikum ḥattā yaṣila l-masʾūl

Please wait here until the official arrives. (Addressing a masculine or mixed group.)

من فضلك is ordinary polite MSA (formal and neutral). In official notices, repeated personal “please” can sound conversational; impersonal يرجى or a verbal noun is often more suitable. In everyday regional speech, pronunciation and alternatives vary (regional), but the forms here belong to formal contemporary MSA.

💡

Match both pieces to the addressee: أرسلي ... من فضلكِ for one woman and أرسلوا ... من فضلكم for a masculine or mixed group. Adding “please” does not neutralize Arabic agreement.

هل يمكنك أن...؟: ask about possibility, request an action

هل يمكنك أن ترسل الملف؟ literally asks “Is it possible for you to send the file?” Pragmatically, it is a courteous request comparable to English “Could you send the file?” The governor is أنْ, which places ترسل in the subjunctive. يمكن itself is an indicative imperfect in this construction; the attached suffix identifies the person for whom the action is possible.

Addressee	Request frame	Subjunctive sign
one man	هَلْ يُمْكِنُكَ أَنْ تُرْسِلَ؟	final fatḥa
one woman	هَلْ يُمْكِنُكِ أَنْ تُرْسِلِي؟	nūn deleted
two people	هَلْ يُمْكِنُكُمَا أَنْ تُرْسِلَا؟	nūn deleted
masculine/mixed group	هَلْ يُمْكِنُكُمْ أَنْ تُرْسِلُوا؟	nūn deleted
all-female group	هَلْ يُمْكِنُكُنَّ أَنْ تُرْسِلْنَ؟	feminine-plural nūn remains

هل يمكنك أن ترسل لي عنوان المكتب الجديد؟

hal yumkinuka ʾan tursila lī ʿunwāna l-maktabi l-jadīd?

Could you send me the address of the new office? (Addressing one man.)

هل يمكنك أن تتصلي بي بعد انتهاء المحاضرة؟

hal yumkinuki ʾan tattaṣilī bī baʿda ntihāʾi l-muḥāḍara?

Could you call me after the lecture ends? (Addressing one woman.)

هل يمكنكما أن تراجعا الأرقام قبل نشرها؟

hal yumkinukumā ʾan turājiʿā l-ʾarqāma qabla nashrihā?

Could you two check the figures before they are published?

هل يمكنكم أن تنتظروا عشر دقائق أخرى؟

hal yumkinukum ʾan tantaẓirū ʿashra daqāʾiqa ʾukhrā?

Could you wait another ten minutes? (Addressing a masculine or mixed group.)

English uses past-looking “could” to soften a present request. Arabic normally does not copy that tense shift. هل استطعت أن تفتح الملف؟ uses perfect استطعت and asks whether the person actually managed to open it; it is not simply a more polite version of هل يمكنك أن تفتح الملف؟.

هل استطعت أن تفتح الملف الذي أرسلته أمس؟

hali staṭaʿta ʾan taftaḥa l-malaffa lladhī ʾarsaltuhu ʾams?

Did you manage to open the file I sent yesterday? (A real question about completed ability, not merely a polite request.)

أرجو أن...: a stated request or hope

Form I final-weak رَجَا / يَرْجُو “hope/request,” root ر-ج-و, appears here as first-person indicative أرجو “I ask/I hope.” It takes أنْ + subjunctive. Context determines whether the sentence is a courteous request to the listener or a hope about someone else.

أرجو أن ترسلي النسخة المعدلة قبل الظهر

ʾarjū ʾan tursilī n-nuskhata l-muʿaddalata qabla ẓ-ẓuhr

Please send the revised copy before noon. (Addressing one woman; courteous and somewhat formal.)

أرجو منكم أن تحافظوا على سرية هذه المعلومات

ʾarjū minkum ʾan tuḥāfiẓū ʿalā sirriyyati hādhihi l-maʿlūmāt

I ask you to preserve the confidentiality of this information. (Addressing a masculine or mixed group; formal.)

With منكم, the requested party is explicit. In a letter, أرجو التكرم بـ... “I kindly request...” is more ceremonious (formal). Do not use it for every small favor; its bureaucratic weight can sound excessive between friends.

أرجو التكرم بإرسال إيصال الدفع إلى العنوان المذكور

ʾarjū t-takarruma biʾirsāli ʾīṣāli d-dafʿi ʾilā l-ʿunwāni l-madhkūr

I kindly request that the payment receipt be sent to the stated address. (Formal correspondence.)

💡

After أنْ, listen for subjunctive morphology: أن ترسلَ but أن ترسلي، أن ترسلا، أن ترسلوا with deletion of mood nūn. The politeness formula never licenses an indicative أن ترسلين.

Titles, reasons, and impersonal official requests

A title can acknowledge social distance: يا أستاذة ليلى “Professor/Teacher Layla,” سيدتي “Madam,” or سيدي “Sir.” Titles help, but an elaborate title cannot repair an abrupt or unreasonable demand. A brief reason often softens a request more naturally because it shows why the action matters.

أستاذة ليلى، هل يمكنك أن تؤجلي الاجتماع إلى الساعة الثانية؟

ʾustādhata laylā, hal yumkinuki ʾan tuʾajjilī l-ijtimāʿa ʾilā s-sāʿati th-thāniya?

Professor Layla, could you postpone the meeting until two o’clock?

اخفضوا أصواتكم من فضلكم، فهناك امتحان في القاعة المجاورة

ikhfiḍū ʾaṣwātakum min faḍlikum, fahunāka mtiḥānun fī l-qāʿati l-mujāwira

Please lower your voices; there is an exam in the next room.

Official MSA commonly uses impersonal passive يرجى “it is requested/please” with a verbal noun or أنْ + subjunctive. This is (formal) and appropriate for signs, notices, and institutional correspondence.

يرجى إبراز بطاقة الهوية عند الدخول

yurjā ʾibrāzu biṭāqati l-huwiyyati ʿinda d-dukhūl

Please present identification upon entry. (Formal notice.)

Bare imperatives also remain normal in recipes, software interfaces, emergency directions, and step-by-step instructions (neutral/formal). Their directness is functional, not automatically rude.

Common Mistakes

Copying English “could” with an Arabic perfect

❌ هل استطعت أن ترسل الملف الآن؟

Incorrect as a routine present request — this asks whether the person already managed to send it.

✅ هل يمكنك أن ترسل الملف الآن؟

hal yumkinuka ʾan tursila l-malaffa l-ʾāna?

Could you send the file now?

Keeping indicative nūn after أنْ

❌ هل يمكنك أن ترسلين العنوان؟

Incorrect — أنْ makes the feminine-singular imperfect subjunctive, so ترسلين loses nūn.

✅ هل يمكنك أن ترسلي العنوان يا سارة؟

hal yumkinuki ʾan tursilī l-ʿunwāna yā sāra?

Could you send the address, Sarah?

Using masculine agreement for an all-female group

❌ انتظروا هنا من فضلكن

Incorrect — an all-female group requires imperative انتظرن, matching من فضلكنّ.

✅ انتظرن هنا من فضلكن حتى تفتح القاعة

intaẓirna hunā min faḍlikunna ḥattā tuftaha l-qāʿa

Please wait here until the hall opens. (Addressing an all-female group.)

Making أرجو an imperative

❌ ارج أن ترسلوا الرد اليوم

Incorrect for ‘I ask/hope’ — the speaker uses first-person indicative أرجو, not an imperative.

✅ أرجو أن ترسلوا الرد قبل نهاية اليوم

ʾarjū ʾan tursilū r-radda qabla nihāyati l-yawm

Please send the reply before the end of the day. (Addressing a masculine or mixed group.)

Treating politeness as a substitute for lexical valency

❌ هل يمكنك أن تتصلني غدا؟

Incorrect — formal MSA اتصل ‘contact/call’ governs بـ: تتصل بي.

✅ هل يمكنك أن تتصل بي غدا بعد الاجتماع؟

hal yumkinuka ʾan tattaṣila bī ghadan baʿda l-ijtimāʿ?

Could you call me tomorrow after the meeting?

Key Takeaways

من فضلك softens a command but does not govern its mood; match its suffix to the addressee.
هل يمكنك أن...؟ is a courteous request, with أنْ + subjunctive.
أرجو أن... is somewhat more formal and can state either a request or a hope.
Use titles and brief reasons to manage social distance; use يرجى for impersonal official requests.
English polite “could” does not require an Arabic past tense.

Now practice Arabic

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Arabic →