This strikes me as one of those fossilized forms, like "methinks" or
"meseems," that now seem archaic.  "If you please," while not so
archaic, has a very formal feel to it.  All the OED says of it is 

 

 b. To be pleased, to like; to have the will or desire; to have the
inclination or disposition; to think proper; to choose. Chiefly Sc.in
earlier use.
  Equivalent in sense to the passive in sense 4b.
  Chiefly used in constructions where the desirable action or state is
implied or understood; now rarely with this expressed by an infinitive
clause.

 

I don't think the "you" is like the "me," though, an archaic preverbal
indirect object.  Rather, as the OED indicates, the active has taken on
the meaning of the passive.

 

Herb

 

From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Scott
Sent: 2008-04-27 10:24
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: RSVP

 

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

 

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