Auxiliary Verb (Imperative Form) (Basic ㊦ 209)
An auxiliary verb which indicates a polite request.
Equivalent: Please do something
| (i) Vて | 下さい | |
| 話して下さい | Please talk | |
| 食べて下さい | Please eat | |
| (ii) Vnegative | ないで下さい | |
| 話さないで下さい | Please don’t talk | |
| 食べないで下さい | Please don’t eat |
1. ください is the polite imperative form of くださる, the honorific version of くれる 'give (me)' and is used as an auxiliary verb with the て form of verbs.
(⇨ くれる2)
2. どうぞ emphasizes the speaker's request and makes it more polite.
3. In very informal speech, ください may drop. (This form of request is often used by female speakers.)
4. The negative question form, seen in (3), makes a request more polite.
5. くれ, the imperative form of くれる, can also be used in place of ください in informal male speech. {Verbて/Verb negative ないで}くれ is the least polite request form.