You're going on a bike ride with a friend. She doesn't have a bicycle, so you let her borrow yours. You're taller than she is, so the seat is too high for her. You offer to lower the seat for her:
Here – let me adjust the seat for you.
You're sitting in the window seat in coach on an airplane. You need to go to the restroom, but the person sitting next to you is taking up too much space and you can't get out. You say to him:
Excuse me. Can I slide past you?
This is what you say to strangers to get their attention:
Excuse me, we're taking up donations for the Haiti Relief Fund. Do you have a moment?
Excuse me. Would you mind watching over my stuff for me for just a minute?
The "e" at the beginning is unstressed, so sometimes it sounds like "Scuze me"
This is a polite question to ask when you need to get into a place that's being blocked by someone's body. Some other examples of situations that you can use this in are:
"Can I slide past you?" is a friendly way to ask this. It sounds friendly because the word "slide" sounds so smooth and easy. It's like you're saying, "Can I go past you quietly and without bothering you much?"
If you're more annoyed or if you're a loud and aggressive person, you can ask like this:
Can I get by?
You're on an airplane, sitting next to a stranger. He's big. His arm is on the armrest between you. You think to yourself:
This guy is taking up the whole armrest!
airplane, phrasal verb, progressive aspect, seat, strangers, thoughts 