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Spoken English > Learn Spoken English > Is there a difference between Shall I come in and...
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Is there a difference between Shall I come in and May I come in?

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Shall I - Asking what to do May I - Asking for permission or future possibility
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Trainer

One big difference is that may is more formal second difference is shall has probability Wether the doer is asking to go in or not... where as may has courtesy to ask the person to whom your are addressing.
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English Language Tutor, GRE Verbal and Writing Tutor

Yes. The former is less polite than the latter. "Shall" indicates a strong assertion while "may" asks for permission and indicates possibility.
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.Net and WPF coaching with interview cracks and mock interviews

There is a very subtle difference. You will ask "May I come in?" when you want to go in and are asking for permission and say "Shall I come in?" when you don't really want to go but will go in if someone says "Yes please come in." The latter is used like, if your dad is reading his paper on the couch...
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There is a very subtle difference. You will ask "May I come in?" when you want to go in and are asking for permission and say "Shall I come in?" when you don't really want to go but will go in if someone says "Yes please come in." The latter is used like, if your dad is reading his paper on the couch and he hears a big crash in the kitchen and is concerned your mom must have fallen but its a big inconvenience to actually get up and go and see, so he will shout from the couch, "What was that? Are you ok dear? Shall I come and help you?." If your mom says yes then he goes in else he doesn't bother. read less
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teacher with passion

Yes of course...shall and may are two modal auxiliary verbs.shall is mainly used expressive of offers, , suggestions and requests. May is used to ask for permission.
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Yes Ganeshan. There is a difference between these two. When you ask someone ''Shall I come in?'', it sounds like you are ordering someone to let you in. However, when you say ''May I come in?'', it is more polite and sounds like you are requesting a person to allow you to come in. That's the only difference...
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Yes Ganeshan. There is a difference between these two. When you ask someone ''Shall I come in?'', it sounds like you are ordering someone to let you in. However, when you say ''May I come in?'', it is more polite and sounds like you are requesting a person to allow you to come in. That's the only difference between these two. When you ask someone's permission to allow you to do something, you should be polite in your language because you want his/her permission.So, you are requesting that person politely by asking him ''May I come in?''. ''Shall'' is a bit harsh, so it doesn't go well with asking permission to do something. Now, I hope I have cleared your doubt Ganeshan. read less
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Tutor

yes may i come in is a polite way of getting permition.where as shaii i come in shows that u r just want to enter with out any care
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Certified IELTS Tutor with 15 yrs of teaching experience.

Shall and may are both modal auxiliary verbs. However ; Shall is used when making suggestions, offers or requests. Whereas ; may is used mainly when asking or granting permission
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Financial Accounting Expert

Shall I come in, conveys a simple question asking whether he will come in at a future point of time. Think in terms of an actor seeking directions in a play, that whether he will enter or not. The word 'may' in the question conveys the act of seeking permission at that instance only.
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Improver

Shall i come in means if there is your requirement or not in the room. May i come in means you yourself want to go in and just want to get in
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