There is often a bit of confusion between "Do
you mind if….?"
And "Do you mind..?"
"Do you mind if…" asks if it is
permissible to do something.
"Do you mind if I open the window?"
"Do you mind if I close the door?"
"Do you mind if my son sits here?"
"Do you mind…" followed by a gerund, means
we’re asking someone to do something for us.
"Do you mind opening the door, it’s very
warm here."
"Do you mind not singing, the baby is
sleeping"
"Do you mind signing this paper for me."
The verb, "to mind" also means to take
care of.
"I’ll mind the children for you while
you’re out."
"Will you mind my son while I’m at
work?"
"When I was a teenager I always minded
my younger brothers and sisters."
The noun "mind" means intellect or
mentality.
"Please Try to keep your mind on your
work."
"His mind was wandering."
"Make up your mind!"
We can have the students make up sentences for
all of the above ways to use "mind".
How do we answer a request .
"Do you mind if I read this magazine?"
We generally answer, "No, I don t’ mind.", or else, "No,
go ahead.", which means it’s fine with you.
If you wish to answer with a negative, "Sorry, I’d rather you
didn’t."
After they try asking permission, let them use "a
circle" question and answer activity to practice positive and
negative responses.
There is also the expression "Don’t mind me.",
which is used to tell someone who is in the same room as you,
not to pay any attention to you because you don’t want to
interrupt what they’re doing.
Situation: Two people are in the office and a
client arrives for one of them.
The other person looks up and says.
"Don’t mind me. You can talk as you please. I have my
work to finish."
There’s also the expression "I don’t mind."
"Will it bother you if I make a phone call?"
"No, I don’t mind."
"I don’t mind if you want to watch TV
while I’m reading the newspaper."
"I don’t mind if you prefer staying home."
A Nice Thought
"The mind, once expanded to the dimensions of larger ideas,
never returns to its original size."
Oliver W. Holmes