English Language & Usage Asked by Chinese Brad Pitt on November 14, 2020
I have recently joined a new company and realized there are some employees fond of adding “, please” at the end of sentence in emails. E.g.
“I would like to send you the files in PDF format for your easy reference, please.”
“For your information, please.”
Although I think the usage is weird, I send “FYI, please.” to my boss last time because it seems more polite than just “FYI.”
But the whole please thing is still weird and grammatically incorrect, right?
-thanks
"Weird" is when you are woken in the night by the sound of strange music, you look out the window and you see flying turtles landing - that's "weird".
I confess to hyperbole.
However the OED's first sense of the word is:
- Having the power to control the fate or destiny of human beings, etc.; later, claiming the supernatural power of dealing with fate or destiny.
Later senses and examples are slightly more everyday, but the most urbane example of "weird" I was able to find in the OED was:
1855 C. Dickens Holly-tree Inn: Guest in Househ. Words Extra Christmas No. 5/2 He was a man with a weird belief in him that no one could count the stones of Stonehenge twice, and make the same number of them.
So writing "please" at the end of a sentence hardly qualifies as "weird" I would maintain.
Nonetheless, I do agree that using "please" in the way you describe is non-idiomatic.
My own way of giving that expression would be something like:
Please find attached the files for your information or
I have pleasure in attaching the files you require.
Answered by WS2 on November 14, 2020
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