Because I have read a lot of books and watched a lot of television programs set in Great Britain I’ve known for years about the royal “we”. It is traditional that a king or queen refers to him/herself as “we” when expressing desires.
And , of course, everyone knows about the plural “we” when expressing desires that two or more people, including yourself, should do something.
Yesterday I learned about the singular “we”. I’ve used it many times but I didn’t think much about it until last night’s campfire discussion by the Escapees Class of ’08 members. The singular “we” is when you say, “We should do such and such,” when what you mean is, “Would you, please, do that dear?” One of the wives said something about, “We should…” and the husband answered, “Is that the singular ‘we’?” I like it.
TTYL,
Linda