Can I vs "May I"?

Question

You may have heard the argument "it's not **can** I go to the bathroom, it's **may** I." If this is true, then any question such as *"can you get me a glass of water?"* could have the same argument applied to it. It's understood what is meant, but what is the grammatically correct way to phrase the question?

Answer 1

“Could you please get me a glass of water?” would be a more polite way of asking.

Putting the verb can into the conditional tense could, and adding please indicate respect for the person you address.

By the way, using “can I” in requests is pretty much standard here in the U.S. now. “May I” really doesn’t get a lot of use anymore. (And yes, you are hearing the bitter tears of countless schoolteachers crying in their graves after all their lectures on “May I?” were forgotten...)