student asking question

Isn't it okay to say "won't you" instead?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Yes, it would be perfectly fine to replace "will you" with "won't you" in this case. "Will you" and "won't you" are very similar, however they have slightly different nuances. "Won't you" is normally more polite than "will you". Ex: Take a seat, won't you? Ex: Take a seat, will you? "Won't you" in the first example is a little bit more polite because the negative implies that you should take a seat, and therefore it sounds more polite. In the second example, the affirmative "will you" doesn't imply that you should take a seat and so it is a little less polite than "won't you".

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