Te Mo Ii: Asking Permission, Replies, and Practice

Verb te-form + もいい says that an action is allowed. Add ですか to ask permission: ここに座ってもいいですか, “May I sit here?” The person performing the action and the speaker’s purpose distinguish this from a request with てください.

Form the permission pattern

Keep で when the te-form ends in で: 読んでもいい, not 読んてもいい. For the verb groups and sound changes, use the te-form lesson.

Asking and granting are different turns

A: このペンを使ってもいいですか。— May I use this pen?
B: はい、どうぞ。— Yes, go ahead.

Another answer is 使ってもいいですよ, “You may use it.” Without the question ending, 使ってもいいです usually states permission rather than clearly asking for it. Intonation and context can affect spoken exchanges, but learn the complete question form first.

Compare the intended action

In an ordinary permission question, the speaker wants to perform the action. Broader contexts can refer to another person, so this is a useful conversation model rather than a rule that the grammatical subject is always 私.

Handle a refusal

A hesitant すみません、ちょっと… can signal that permission is not being given. A direct いけません or だめです can sound firm and rule-like. Listen to the whole response and clarify uncertainty before acting.

For a rule, compare てはいけません. For a request not to do something, compare ないでください. Do not interpret every negative answer as a statement that the action is unnecessary; prohibition and lack of obligation differ.

Is ていい a mistake?

No. In conversation, も can be omitted in expressions such as 座っていいですか or 見ていい. They can be natural permission expressions. This lesson practises the full てもいい pattern to make its structure clear; it does not label the conversational form ungrammatical.

Also distinguish なくてもいい: 来なくてもいいです means “You do not have to come.” It does not mean “You must not come.” That absence-of-obligation pattern uses the negative form and has a different meaning.

Practice

1. Ask permission to use this pen: このペンを＿＿もいいですか。 Use 使う.
2. Ask permission to read this book: この本を＿＿もいいですか。 Use 読む.
3. Which asks the listener to open a door: 開けてください or 開けてもいいですか?
4. Give a short positive response to a permission question.
5. Is 座っていいですか always an error because it omits も?
6. Does 来なくてもいいです mean “You must not come”?