More Ways to Make Requests

Up until now, making a request essentially consisted of using a verb's て form plus ください. Well there's a billion more ways to do it, but this chapter covers three more. Here they are, ranked from polite to casual.

いただけませんか
くれませんか
くれない

It's best to use いただけませんか when making a polite request to someone above you, or to a stranger.

ちょっと待っていただけませんか？
Could you please wait for a second?

かばんを預かっていただけませんか？
Could you please look after my bag?

くれませんか is roughly equal to ください in terms of politeness, and Genki states that it's the form most appropriate for speaking to someone like a host family.

ノートを貸してくれませんか？
Would you lend me your notebook?

この机を組んでくれませんか？
Would you put this desk together?

Finally, くれない is the most casual of them all (barring just using plain て form) and is used to very casually ask for a favor. Genki says it's good for speaking with members of your peer group.

財布取ってくれない？
Pass me my wallet, will you?

ドアを閉めてくれない？
Close the door, will you?