please

Everyday

1. Please is the polite word you add when you ask for something: Can I have some water, please? tree →
2. «Yes, please» is a polite way to accept something. tree →
3. To please someone means to make them happy or satisfied. tree →
4. «As you please» or «whatever you please» means whatever you want. tree →

In the lessons

In manners lessons «please» and «thank you» are called the magic words: say please when you ask, thank you when you get. Saying please does not mean you must get what you ask for. In stories a character who begs says «please, please». Being «pleased» means being happy about something. Phrases: yes please, please and thank you, please yourself, hard to please, pleased to meet you.

Examples

• Can I have a glass of water, please? tree →
• «Would you like some cake?» «Yes, please!» tree →
• Please close the door. tree →
• Please be quiet in the library. tree →
• She tried hard to please her teacher. tree →
• I'm pleased with my test result. tree →
• Pleased to meet you! tree →
• My cat is hard to please; she only likes one kind of food. tree →
• "Please let me go," he pleaded. tree →

Note

«Please» can go at the start («Please sit down») or end («Sit down, please»), with a comma before it at the end. «Pleased» (feeling happy), «pleasant» (nice), «pleasure» (enjoyment) come from the same word. Saying «please» is polite, but someone who uses polite words can still be asking for something unsafe; you can still say no.

In Jewish tradition

To be pleasing or acceptable to someone, especially to God or a king. The prophets use it for sacrifices that God finds pleasing or not.

Interpretation. Jeremiah's words are read as saying that offerings alone do not please God without justice and a faithful heart.

Examples

• And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son. (Torah GEN.34.18, JPS 1917) tree →
• And when Moses heard that, it was well-pleasing in his sight. (Torah LEV.10.20, JPS 1917) tree →
• and Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; (Torah GEN.28.8, JPS 1917) tree →
• Your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing unto Me. (Prophets JER.6.20, JPS 1917) tree →
• And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel. (Prophets 2SA.17.4, JPS 1917) tree →
• And the speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing. (Prophets 1KI.3.10, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

«Please» can go at the start («Please sit down») or end («Sit down, please»), with a comma before it at the end. «Pleased» (feeling happy), «pleasant» (nice), «pleasure» (enjoyment) come from the same word. Saying «please» is polite, but someone who uses polite words can still be asking for something unsafe; you can still say no.