Asking, refusing and disagreeing without giving offence
I can make a request, refuse and disagree while staying polite
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Could you pass the water?
Sorry, it won't be possible today.
You're right, but there's one more thing.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
A flat नहीं is rare. The pattern is apology, reason, alternative: माफ़ कीजिए, आज नहीं हो पाएगा, कल देखते हैं. And कोशिश करूँगा functions as a soft no that both sides understand.
Direct contradiction is avoided. आप ठीक कह रहे हैं, लेकिन... opens almost every disagreement, and शायद ऐसा हो softens a counter-claim into a possibility.
Apply this grammar in B2 course exercises
Practice ExercisesRefusing with a bare nahin, and contradicting directly.
Refusal made with a bare nahin
Apologise, give a reason, offer an alternative.
Direct contradiction
Open with aap thik kah rahe hain, lekin...
Could you pass the water?
A question is the softest request in both languages.
Sorry, it won't be possible today.
Apology plus impossibility, avoiding a bare no.
You're right, but there's one more thing.
The standard opening for a disagreement.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in B2 course exercises
Yamuna Kachru's reference grammar; the descriptive account relied on for aspect, valency and clause structure.
Kamta Prasad Guru's grammar, the standard prescriptive reference for Hindi morphology and syntax.