“Do you mind if I ask what your ethnic background is?”

You're talking to a guy at a party. He speaks with a normal American English accent, so you think that he grew up in the U.S. But you're curious what country his parents or other ancestors came from. You ask:

Do you mind if I ask what your ethnic background is?

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“Excuse me. Can I slide past 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?

Excuse me

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"

Can I slide past you?

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:

• when you're walking through a crowd of people.
• when you need to walk past people sitting in your row to get to your seat in a theater.

"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?

“This guy is taking up the whole armrest!”

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!

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“I love your work.”

You go to an art show. You really like the art, and the artist is there. You walk up to him and tell him:

I love your work.

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“Yeah, no problem.”

You're sitting in a coffee shop. Someone who you don't know asks if you will watch over her stuff for her. You don't mind, so you say:

Yeah, no problem.

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“Go right ahead.”

You're in a coffee shop. Someone asked to use the chair next to you by asking "Is this seat taken?". You're not using it, so you say:

Go right ahead.

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“Is this seat taken?”

You're in a coffee shop. You're looking for somewhere to sit, but there aren't many empty tables. You see a chair with no one sitting in it, but there's someone sitting next to it. You want to ask the person if it's OK to use this chair before you take it. You say:

Is this seat taken?

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“Excuse me. Would you mind watching over my stuff for me for just a minute?”

You're studying in a coffee shop by yourself. You want to get up to use the bathroom, but you're worried that someone will take your books or move them. You ask a woman who's sitting next to you:

Excuse me. Would you mind watching over my stuff for me for just a minute?

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“It's all yours.”

You were in a restaurant bathroom, and someone knocked on the door to get in. Now you've finished and you're leaving the bathroom. The person is waiting outside. You say:

 It's all yours.

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“It's occupied!”

You're using the bathroom at a restaurant. There's only one toilet. Someone is trying to open the door, and you want to let them know that they can't come in because you're already in there. You yell:

It's occupied!

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