Commands and requests

Commands. Intonation is the rise and fall of your voice. Imperative sentences (which tell someone to do something) usually take a falling tone: the voice drops at the end.

The poem is full of them:

• 'Go and fetch some rice.'
• 'Come here!'
• 'Seize this magic brush…'
• 'Paint my fortress tall!'

Say each one with the voice falling, and you hear the authority.

An imperative is not only a command. It can also be:

• an instruction: 'Take the second turning.'
• a favour: 'Pass me the salt.'
• a warning: 'Mind the step.'

The tone and the situation tell you which.

Requests. A bare imperative can sound rude. You cannot say 'Organise a class picnic' to a teacher!

Formal requests (to a teacher, the Principal, a stranger) are softer, often as a question:

• 'Would you mind if…'
• 'Do you think you could…'
• 'Would it be possible…'
• 'I would like to…'

Example: 'Ma'am, would it be possible to have an extra sports period this week, as we missed ours last week?' A question leaves the other person free to say no.

Informal requests (to a brother, sister, cousin or parent) can be more direct:

• 'Can you help me finish my project?'
• 'Do you mind if I borrow this?'
• 'I was wondering if you could come over this weekend.'

The Zamindar only knows one way to ask: the bare command. That says a lot about him.