Point 56 in the category of MODALITY:
‘could I’ to seek permission.
An iWeb search for:
. Could I * *
*We have removed anything that is obviously not asking permission but still many entries contain questions related to possibility.
2 . COULD I GET A 93
MMA5 . COULD I ASK YOU 64
6 . COULD I USE THE 63
7 . COULD I GET SOME 57
8 . COULD I USE A 46
9 . COULD I USE THIS 44
10 . COULD I GET THE 43
11 . COULD I DO IT 41
13 . COULD I MAKE A 40
15 . COULD I PLEASE HAVE 35
17 . COULD I DO THIS 32
19 . COULD I DO THE 28
20 . COULD I JUST USE 27 (most of the examples we checked are about whether or not it is possible)
21 . COULD I PLEASE GET 24
22 . COULD I HAVE SOME 22
23 . COULD I HAVE AN 22
24 . COULD I ASK FOR 22
26 . COULD I MAKE IT 20
27 . COULD I SEND YOU 20
28 . COULD I DO A 20
30 . COULD I SEE A 19
31 . COULD I TROUBLE YOU 18
32 . COULD I USE IT 18
33 . COULD I HAVE THE 18
34 . COULD I DO THAT 18
35 . COULD I ASK WHAT 17
36 . COULD I FIND A 17
37 . COULD I POSSIBLY BE 16 (most examples are ‘possibility’, eg, ‘how could I…’
38 . COULD I MAKE THIS 14
39 . COULD I GET YOUR 13
40 . COULD I BE DOING 13
41 . COULD I REPLACE THE 13
44 . COULD I MAKE THE 13
45 . COULD I USE MY 12
46 . COULD I HAVE YOUR 12
48 . COULD I PUT A 12
50 . COULD I ASK IF 12
A2:
could, if, just, possibly
B1:
replace, trouble