Learn English – ‘Would you mind’ and ‘Do you mind’

auxiliary-verbspolitenessword-choice

Does the auxiliary verb 'do' work rather than the modal 'would' in the example below in the sense of permission:

Would you mind speaking in English?

Best Answer

Would you mind speaking in English?

is a polite request.

Do you mind speaking in English?

comes across more harshly, and implies you are being inconvenienced somehow by not hearing English. A bit softer than something like:

Do you mind, I am talking on the telephone.

that you might say when someone tries to interrupt you.