¿Cuál es la diferencia entre 1) "Could not you tell me" y 2) "Couldn't you tell me" y 3) "Could you tell me" y 4) "Can you tell me" y Could you build a descending politeness ladder from these phrases? ?Puedes dar oraciones como ejemplo.

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"Could not you tell me" Is incorrect. It sounds very old-fashioned! "Couldn't you tell me" and "Could you tell me" have different meanings. "Could you tell me..." Is a request for information (i.e. "Could you tell me your name?"), but "Couldn't you tell me..." is a question about the past (i.e. "Why couldn't you tell me?"). "Could" and "can" have the same meaning here, but "could" is more polite.

Thank you! So if I say "Couldn't you tell me your name please", you will consider it as unnatural?

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