BBC Learn English

Making suggestions
3

go south
American English informal if a situation, organization, or set of standards goes south, it
becomes very bad although it was once very good:
It seems like all our moral standards have just gone south.
In this programme, we look at language you can use when you want to make a
suggestion.
We listen to a discussion in the BBC Learning English offices. A member of the team is
leaving to go and work somewhere else and her colleagues are planning a party for her.
We look at some of the expressions they use as they come up with ideas about what to do
for the party.
When you've listened to the programme, don't forget to practise what you've learned with
the quizzes below!
Listen - realmedia

Download - mp3 (1.8mb)

Script (pdf - 21k)

Language for making suggestions

Question opener

+ subject

+ infinitive without 'to'

Why don't

I
you
we
they

buy...?

Why doesn't

he/she

Shall

I
we

Question opener
I, you,
he, she, we

go...?
meet...?

+ infinitive without 'to'

should
could

say...
arrange...

Let's
Why not

talk...
eat...
get...

Note
Perhaps and maybe can both be used before 'could' and 'should' if you want to sound
more polite.
Examples:
Perhaps we could phone them.
Maybe we should have a big party.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT?

Now it's time for you to have a go at practising the language we've looked at in this
programme. Part A is a short listening activity and part B is a multiple choice quiz. Good
luck!
A. LISTENING ACTIVITY Listen to the conversation. How many times does someone
make a suggestion?
Listen - realmedia

Download - mp3 (312k)

Script (pdf - 13k)

B. READING ACTIVITY
Five multiple-choice questions on making suggestions. How well will you do?

http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/communication-lessonsuggesting.php

SPEAKING
Making and responding to suggestions

Suggestions

The following English phrases and expressions are all used to make suggestions and give
advice to people.
Making suggestions:

Lets revise our lessons.

What about going to the cinema tonight?
How about playing cards?
Why don't we do our homework?
Couldn't we invite your grandmother to our party?
Shall we have a walk along the river?
What would you say to a cup of coffee?
Don't you think it is a good idea to watch TV?
Does it matter if we use your car?

Accepting suggestions:

Ok. Yes, let's.

Yes, I'd like to.
Yes, I'd love to.
What a good idea!
Why not?
Yes, with pleasure.
Yes, I feel like taking a walk.
That sounds like a good idea.

Refusing suggestions:

No, let's not.

No, I'd rather not.
I don't feel like it.
I dislike going for a walk.
What an awful / bad idea!

Things to remember about suggestions:

1.The verb "suggest" can be followed by either:

should + verb = I suggest (that) we should go to the theater.

a verb (in the subjunctive form)= I suggest (that) we go to the movies.

2."That" is optional:

"I suggest that we should visit Paris."

"I suggest we should visit Paris."

Dialogue:
Two friends talking about where to go this evening:
You know Alan, why don't we go to the cinema to watch
Titanic?
No, let's not. We've seen the film many times before. What
Alan: about going to the library? We have to finish our school
project!
That sounds like a good idea. But when we finish let's go to the
Alice:
caf.
Alan: Yes, I'd love to.
Alice:

http://www.ihbristol.com/useful-english-expressions/example/makingsuggestions/8
Useful Expressions > Advanced

Making suggestions

We often suggest ideas or things to do. Here are some common examples with seeing
a film. You can use the structures to talk about other things, of course.
Ten Expressions to Use In Speaking And Writing

1. Why don't we go to the cinema?

2. Let's go to the cinema. What do you think?
3. How about going to the cinema?
4. How do you feel about seeing a film?
5. Fancy seeing a film?
6. I'd like to see a film. How about you?
7. We could always see a film.
8. Why not go and see a film?
9. Seeing a film's one idea.
10. It would be nice to see a film.

How To Use These Phrases In Your English

1. 1 and 3 are structures that are frequently taught in coursebooks.

2. 2 and 4 are different because you are asking for your friend's opinion, so
they are less forceful, especially 4.
3. 5 is very common in spoken English but is not often taught in coursebooks.
It's short for 'Do you fancy '
4. 6 is also like 2 because you put your own idea first as a preference. You can
also say 'What about you?'
5. 7 notice the use of 'always' here in a suggestion. It doesn't refer to time or
frequency. It means this is a possibility.
6. 8 is a version of 1, using a negative question. However, 8 can also be used
when making a suggestion for someone else to do something. The speaker
may or may not be included.
7. We use 'one idea' or 'one possibility' meaning: it's one thing we could do.
8. 10 is quite a strong way of politely expressing your own preference, like 6.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/suggestions

Suggestions
from English Grammar Today
If we make a suggestion, it means that we mention a possible course of action to
someone. There are a number of expressions which we can use to make suggestions.

How about/what about + -ing?

How about starting a book club?
What about opening your present now?

How about + present simple?

A:
How about I pick you up at eight oclock on my way to the airport?
B:
Great. Ill see you then.
We often use how about and what about + noun phrase when we make suggestions about
food or drink. These suggestions are invitations:

A:
Are you hungry?
B:
Yeah, how about some lunch?
What about a coffee?
See also:

Invitations
How
What
Supposing

Why not ? and why dont ?

We can use why not to make a general suggestion. We often find it in advertising:
Why not take a break in the south-west?
Why not treat yourself to a meal at the Icon Restaurant?
We can use why dont ? to make a specific suggestion:
You look really tired. Why dont you take some time out and rest?
Its getting late in the evening now. Why dont we stop now and work on this tomorrow
morning?
See also:

Why

Lets and lets not

We use lets (let us) to make suggestions about doing something with someone:
Lets call Michael and see if he knows how to fix it.
Lets make a curry tonight.
We use lets not to make negative suggestions:

Lets not argue about this.

Lets not spend all night talking about my problems.
See also:

Let, lets

Could
We often use phrases with could to make suggestions. Some are neutral, some are strong.
The negative form, couldnt, is stronger than the affirmative form:
Strong
A:
I only have three chairs. There will be four of us for dinner.
B:
Couldnt you use the one in your bedroom?
A:
I need to finish this essay by tonight.
B:
Couldnt you get up early in the morning to finish it?
Neutral
A:
I have nothing to wear to the party.
B:
You could wear your red dress and your black shoes.
A:
Well need to have at least 300 for the concert tickets, the accommodation and the train.
B:

We could cut lawns and wash cars and that kind of thing. Or we could borrow the money
from our parents and pay them back.
See also:

Could

Cant you ?
We can use cant you to make a strong suggestion. It can sound very direct when it is
addressed to someone who is present:
[mother to child]
Cant you finish your homework before going?
[a woman is talking about her husband who wants a new television]
A:
I think our television is fine. I dont want it to be replaced really.
B:
Mm.
A:
And hell want one of those wide screens.
B:
Oh dear. Cant he manage with the one you have?

I thought we might/could
We can use phrases with I thought we might or I thought we could to make weak
suggestions, especially when we dont want to sound too forceful:
On Saturday, I thought we might go to town and see the Farmers Market and then I
thought we could have lunch in a nice little caf by the river.

You could always

We can use the phrase you could always or we could always to make weak suggestions:

A:
Oh no! Were out of olive oil.
B:
We could always use butter. I know its not as healthy, but itll taste good.

Theres always
We use the phrase theres always to make very weak suggestions. It is sometimes used
when someone is trying to cheer someone up or trying to be funny:
A:
How did it go?
B:
We lost four nil. Thats it for this year. Were out of the championship now.
A:
Dont worry. Theres always next year.
[friends are chatting about the Beatles; Paul and Ringo are the names of two of its
members]
A:
I always liked Paul.
B:
I once dreamt that I married Ringo.
A:
Oh no! That was a nightmare!
C:
Theres always divorce!
We also use suggest and shall to make suggestions.

See also:

Suggest
Shall
How

(Suggestions from English Grammar Today Cambridge University Press. Need

grammar practice? Try English Grammar Today with Workbook.)

Shall
from English Grammar Today

Shall: forms
Affirmative form
Shall comes first in the verb phrase (after the subject and before another verb). We use it
mostly with I and we:
I shall post it to you tomorrow.
Shall cannot be used with another modal verb:
I shall have to be at the airport by 5 pm.
Not: I shall must be or I must shall be
Shall can be followed by have to, need to and be able to:
We shall have to tell him what happened.
The good news is I shall be able to join you at your meeting next week.

Negative form
The negative form of shall is shant. We dont use dont, doesnt, didnt with shall:
I shant be home tomorrow night.
We shant know the result of the tests till Tuesday.
We can use the full form shall not in formal contexts or when we want to emphasis
something:

[a public notice in a restaurant]

The management shall not be responsible for damage to personal property.
We dont often use the negative form.
See also:

Modal verbs

Question form
The subject and shall change position to form questions.
Warning:
We dont use do, does, did. The question form, with I and we, is the most common use of
shall:
Shall I come round to the office?
Not: Do I shall come round to the office?
We use shall in question tags:
Ill phone you later, shall I?

Shall: uses
Offers, suggestions and advice
We use shall I and shall we to make offers and suggestions, and to ask for advice.
offer
Shall I carry your bag?
suggestion
Shall I call again on Thursday?
seeking advice What shall we do with this?

Predictions and intentions

We use shall instead of will with I and we in rather formal contexts to make predictions
and to talk about intentions or decisions. It is much less common than will.
Compare
formal
less formal
We shall remember this day forever. We will remember this day forever.

Warning:
We use shall only with the first person pronouns I and we to make predictions or express
intentions:
The new business cards will be ready at the end of the month.
Not: The new business cards shall be ready at the end of the month.

Commands
Warning:
In very formal contexts, we use shall to give commands:
[public notice]
This door shall be kept closed at all times.
See also:

Will and shall

Commands and instructions

Shall: typical error

We use should, not shall, for advice and suggestions:

In my opinion, we should book another hotel.

Not: In my opinion, we shall book another hotel.
See also:

Should
Suggestions

http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/comparatives.html

Using Comparative Adjectives

Download this explanation in PDF here.
Read about how to make the comparative here.

Comparative structures: things or people that are the same

First, we can use 'as ... as' with a normal adjective (not a comparative) to say two things
are the same:
John is as tall as Luke (= they are the same height).
The red shirt is as expensive as the blue shirt (= they are the same price).
We can use 'not as ... as' to say that two things are not the same.
Lucy is not as tall as Helena (= Helena is taller than Lucy).
Paris is not as big as London (= London is bigger than Paris).
Comparative Structures: one thing or person is more than another thing or person
We can say that something is more than another thing by using a comparative adjective
with 'than'.
France is bigger than Scotland.
Luke is taller than Lucy.
Your book is more interesting than my book.
We can make the comparison stronger by using 'far' or 'much' or 'a lot' before the
adjective. We can make it less strong by using 'a little' or 'a bit'.
Canada is far bigger than Scotland.
Your book is much more interesting than my book.
Amanda is a lot younger than Julie.
This exercise is a little more difficult than that exercise.
We can say that one thing or person is less than another thing by using 'less ... than':
Scotland is less big than France.
Lucy is less tall than Luke.
My book is less interesting than your book.
To show something is changing, we can use 'comparative and comparative' or 'more and
more adjective'.
That child is getting taller and taller.
The climate is getting hotter and hotter.
This city is becoming more and more crowded.