This study investigated the mode of directness of requests and refusals and the background variables that explain this production in two trilingual populations in Israel (i.e. native speakers of Arabic for whom English is an L3, and Hebrew, an L2, and native speakers of Hebrew for whom English is an L2 and another language is their L3). Data were collected using language background questionnaires and a Discourse Completion Task. The findings revealed that both groups preferred indirect over direct requests but the L1 Hebrew participants produce it more than the Arabic L1 cohorts. There was no difference between the two groups in the production of either direct or indirect refusals. Explanatory background variables as exposure to English, language use for specific purposes and language proficiency were linked with the level of directness in the non-native English productions of both populations.