In the context of linguistic theories of politeness, it is possible to consider the concept of a continuum of politeness that includes degrees of speaker egocentricity. It is proposed that directives in Brazilian Portuguese follow a hierarchy of politeness forms based on a theory of pragmatic markedness: that the more marked for politeness a directive form is, the more indirect it is in illocutionary force from the very direct base form. Degrees of politeness are related to a shift away from the speaker's egocentric focus, with the speaker relinquishing linguistic control and becoming increasingly dependent on the will of the hearer in complying with the request. The theory is illustrated with examples in Brazilian Portuguese of the use of the conditional tense and first- and second-person reference as strategies to express politeness. (MSE)