My English teacher said it’s incorrect to say “you go first” when we tell the other person to enter the elevator first, we have to say “after you”. Is that true?

English (US)

Your teacher possibly meant that saying "after you" is more formal we still say "you go first" when we are trying to be polite it's just seen as informal a bit.

English (US)

"You go first" is natural and correct.
"After you" just sounds a bit more polite.

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Simplified Chinese (China)

@Nanno_Val @janines Hmm, so “you go first” is actually commonly used in the US? My English teacher said it’s wrong, it’s incorrect.

English (US)

@studiousboy Yes, I often hear people say "you go first." It's correct.

If anything, I hear people say "after you" less frequently.

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Nanno_Val

English (US)

@studiousboy Yes it's commonly used in both the USA and UK maybe your teacher
hasn't heard it before 🤷🏽‍♀️

Simplified Chinese (China)

@janines @Nanno_Val Thank you both! So “after you” is actually less common than “you go first”. Do you think it would be appropriate for me to say to a client “you go first” when I wanted to tell him to go first?

English (US)

@studiousboy "After you" sounds more polite, so if it's a client then it may be better to say "after you." But both are fine.

Sometimes "you go first" is more natural. If you're in a group, saying "after you" doesn't make as much sense.

You can also say, "you can go first," or "please go ahead first" to be more polite.

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Simplified Chinese (China)

@janines So saying to a client “you go first” is still fine. Do you think “you can go first” and “please go ahead first” are commonly used?

English (US)

@studiousboy
I don't know exactly because it really depends on the activity. What is the situation? Are we going down a slide? Taking a bite of food?

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Simplified Chinese (China)

@janines What if the other person and I are on a narrow bridge that doesn’t allow two people to walk side by side? Will these sentences fit?

1. You can go first.
2. Please go ahead first.

@studiousboy Yupp

Simplified Chinese (China)

@Nanno_Val Ok. Thank you!

English (US)

@studiousboy
If you need to cross the bridge, I'd say "you can go first."

"Please go ahead first" is more of a request, so it isn't as natural in this situation.

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Simplified Chinese (China)

@janines Thank you! And I bet “you go first” is more natural than “after you” in this situation, right?

English (US)

@studiousboy No, I think they are equally natural.
If you need to cross a bridge with a client, "after you" is a perfect choice.

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English (US)

@studiousboy
If we were going down a slide or trying something new, I would probably say "you go first."
If I opened the door for them, I would say "after you."
It's hard to explain, but in general both are natural.

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Simplified Chinese (China)

@janines Thank you for the explanation! I’m wondering, if I opened the door for someone, would it sound natural to say “you go first”?

English (US)

@studiousboy Yes, I think that would be fine.
In reality, we often don't say anything at all. If you're visibly holding a door while moving aside, they'll understand that you are holding the door for them. A lot of people will just go right in if they see that the door is open.

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This is unrelated but I'll explain why "you go first" may sound less polite. In English, saying "you" is not rude at all. However, saying "you" at the beginning of a sentence can sound less polite.

1. Why have you not cleaned the dishes?
2. You didn't clean the dishes?
They have the same meaning but 2 sounds a bit more rude, especially because the sentence starts with "you."

It's NOT a strict rule, but more of a general feeling. Of course, saying "you are handsome" or "you go first" is not rude at all, so it depends on the sentence.

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