The usage of May I ask

[Lim Choon Yen]

Could somebody explain to the usage f "May I ask/know"? Are my sentences correct?

A.) May I ask how old you are?
B.) May I ask where you came/come from?

Thanks.

 

[emsr2d2]

It's just a very polite way of saying "How old are you?" You are politely asking the person if it is OK to ask them the question. We also say "Do you mind if I ask how old you are?"

 

[TheParser]

B.) May I ask where you came/come from?

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello, Lim Choon Yen:

In my opinion, I should not use "came" if you wanted to know a person's country of origin.

Lim Choon Yen meets a foreign tourist: Welcome to my country.
Tourist: Thank you very much. I really like your beautiful country.
Lim Choon Yen: Thank you. May I please ask where you come from? / May I please ask where you are from?
Tourist: I come from Chile. / I'm from Chile.


James

 

[emsr2d2]

However, "May I ask where you came from?" is a perfectly legitimate question. I used to work at an international airport and it was important for me to know where people had flown in from. The quoted question was almost exactly what I used to ask them.

 

[Winwin2011]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello, Lim Choon Yen:

In my opinion, I should not use "came" if you wanted to know a person's country of origin.

Lim Choon Yen meets a foreign tourist: Welcome to my country.
Tourist: Thank you very much. I really like your beautiful country.
Lim Choon Yen: Thank you. May I please ask where you come from? / May I please ask where you are from?
Tourist: I come from Chile. / I'm from Chile.


James

Hi TheParser

Long time no see! I am so glad that we are back.