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Questions & Answers about Könnten Sie uns bitte sagen, ob in der Warmmiete auch das Wasser enthalten ist?
Why does the sentence start with Könnten Sie ... instead of Können Sie ...?
Könnten Sie ... is a more polite, softer way to ask something. It is the subjunctive form of können and works a lot like English Could you ...?
- Können Sie uns sagen ...? = Can you tell us ...?
- Könnten Sie uns sagen ...? = Could you tell us ...?
Both are correct, but Könnten Sie ... sounds more formal and courteous.
Why is Sie capitalized?
Because Sie here is the formal word for you.
German distinguishes between:
- du = informal you (one person)
- ihr = informal you (more than one person)
- Sie = formal you (one or more people)
The formal Sie is always capitalized, no matter where it appears in the sentence.
What does uns mean here, and why is it in that position?