ここに座ってもいいですか。
May I sit here?
ここにすわってもいいですか。You intend to sit; you ask permission.
Ask permission or ask someone to act
Choose a request by who will perform the action. Compare taking a photograph yourself with asking someone else to take it.
What you will be able to do
Distinguish permission from a request for help, form both with the same verb, and explain how context affects the level of politeness.
Lesson 1 of 1 in this Japanese path.
Before you start
You can read hiragana and recognize a verb’s て-form. The forms used here are 撮る（とる）→ 撮って, 座る（すわる）→ 座って, and 書く（かく）→ 書いて. This is an intermediate usage lesson, not a complete て-form course.
How to use this lesson
- Identify who will do the action before selecting an ending.
- Compare each pair and read the worked situation at a photograph counter.
- Write your four answers before checking them; then make a request for a situation you actually encounter.
Learn the pattern
Permission concerns your action
Verb て-form + もいいですか asks whether doing something is acceptable. 写真を撮ってもいいですか normally asks permission for you to take a photograph. The subject is often unstated, so the situation matters. てもよろしいですか is a more formal alternative, not a requirement in every encounter.
A request asks for the other person’s action
Verb て-form + もらえますか asks whether you can receive someone’s help with that action. 写真を撮ってもらえますか asks someone to take a photograph for you. てもらえませんか makes the request more indirect. These are useful patterns, not a mechanical politeness score.
Name the action and reduce the ambiguity
すみません is a useful opening. Add what you need: ここに (here), 名前を (the name), 写真を (a photograph). If you want someone to photograph you, handing over the camera may clarify the request; words alone do not specify every participant. Avoid assuming any polite ending guarantees consent.
Worked examples
写真を撮ってもらえますか。
Could you take a photograph for me?
しゃしんをとってもらえますか。The other person would take it.
名前を書いてもらえませんか。
Could you write the name for me?
なまえをかいてもらえませんか。書いて is the て-form; the negative question makes the request indirect.
ここで写真を撮ってもいいですか。
May I take photographs here?
ここでしゃしんをとってもいいですか。で marks where the action happens; the request concerns your action.
Build it step by step
- You want to use your camera in a room. The action is 撮る and the actor is you.
- Build 撮って + もいいですか, then specify 写真を and ここで.
- Now imagine handing your camera to a companion. The actor changes to the companion, so choose 撮ってもらえますか.
- Open with すみません when appropriate, wait for the answer, and accept a refusal. The two patterns do not describe the same favor.
Try it before looking
Write or say each answer first. Open the explanation to check the pattern, then close it and try again. These are self-checks; your answers are not stored by this page.
1. You want to sit here. Choose 座ってもいいですか or 座ってもらえますか.
Show answer and explanation
ここに座ってもいいですか。
You will sit; you seek permission. The other version asks the listener to sit for you.
2. Ask someone to write the name for you, using the indirect negative question.
Show answer and explanation
名前を書いてもらえませんか。
The listener writes. Attach もらえませんか to 書いて.
3. Change 写真を撮ってもいいですか into a request for the listener to take a photograph for you.
Show answer and explanation
写真を撮ってもらえますか。
Changing the ending changes the expected actor, not merely the level of politeness.
4. Does adding すみません guarantee that a request is appropriate or accepted?
Show answer and explanation
No. It is a considerate opening, not consent.
Relationship, burden and context still matter. Wait for the listener’s answer.
Keep and use the result
Choose the actor first: てもいいですか for permission to act; てもらえますか for receiving someone’s help. Then specify what and where.
Write a permission/request pair with 書いて. Label who acts in each sentence. Keep the pair in your notes, then return to Japanese practice or the pronunciation guide. Existing mimetics and newspaper lessons remain available from Japanese practice.
Sources and scope
Grammar references checked October 25, 2026. Teaching examples and exercises are original. This is a focused learning unit, with no recorded audio or human teaching review claimed.