This week we received a question from Evewero in Nigeria.What is the difference between "please" and "kindly."Some ... use the two words together, e.g. "please kindly assist." - Evewero, NigeriaDear Evewero, Thank you kindly for writing to us."Kindly" can be an adverb, a word that usually describes a verb.If your teacher says, "Kindly hand in your homework," she is using kindly as an adverb to make a polite request.Another way to use the word as an adverb is:The animal doctor always treats our pets kindly."Kindly" is also an adjective. If someone helped you at the post office, you might say:A kindly man helped me mail my letter.There, kindly describes "man" which is a noun. You could also use the word "nice" to express the same idea."Please" can be an adverb or a verb. It also can be used to make a request politely:Would you please pass the salt?Please give me your homework.And, Americans almost always use "please" when making a request in the form of a statement as opposed to a question:
