Like when I use て form to ask someone to do something does it convert to ます if its formal or no? I’ve only seen it in the sense of 行って or 食べて
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You just need to add please at the end of the sentence to make it more polite like
食べてください or 座ってください (Eat please or Please have a seat/ Please sit down).
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Perhaps you may be referring to this form (but there are many subtleties to be aware of in any type of request or command):
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It would help to give some ideas on what you are imagining by “formal” as well. The social standing of people involved is also relevant. A boss to an employee is different from one equal to another equal is different from a customer service rep to a customer, etc. There are many ways to make requests or give commands.
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Good Point, I was thinking when talking to strangers, or someone older than me. (I’m planning on going to Japan in the fall and don’t want to be rude to people lol)
Giving commands to people is inherently kind of rude. If in doubt avoid it and instead make requests…
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In this case, let’s say you want to let an elderly person sit on a crowded bus/train, you can simply gesture with an open palm towards the seat while saying dozo with a slight bow.
This will really help you.
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Just use the imperative: 行け, 食べろ. This way you’ll sound like a local. It’s a joke don’t do that.
More seriously if you don’t want to ruffle any feathers you probably want to avoid making direct requests as much as possible. There are many ways to do that, such as putting it in the negative question or the volitional (食べませんか? 食べましょうか? お食べもらえませんか?)
Reliably figuring out which one to use in every situation is way above my skill level so… Good luck.
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