Enclosed is a comment extracted from another list. I would appreciate the comments of other grammarians on the two questions posed. 1. (But do you really think "you" in phrases like "if you please" can be called a direct object? This construction is at least 500 years old. 2. (Would "if you like" be the same?) Scott Catledge Professor Emeritus history & languages To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/