How To Make Suggestions
In this post we will look at how to make a suggestion in English and the ways we can do this. Take a look first at this informal email where you can see some examples of this type of language and many should be familiar to you.
Hey,
I hope you’re doing well! I know we were talking about this weekend and I was thinking that if the weather stays nice, we should definitely make the most of it. I’ve got a few ideas so see what you think of them.
If you’re up for it, how about going for a hike along the coast? I know we both like it so that might be an option. Or, if you prefer something more relaxed, we could just grab a coffee and stroll around the park.
Another idea I had was going to the beach even if it’s a bit cold for swimming but maybe we could even bring a picnic and make a day of it. What do you think?
If you’re not into any of those, perhaps we could check out that outdoor market that’s on in the town square. I’ve heard it’s pretty cool.
Let me know what you’re in the mood for!
Using Modal Verbs
As we can see from the email we have a number of modal verbs we can use for suggestions.
- should – If you’re not into any of those, we should check out that outdoor market that’s on in the town square.
- could – We could just grab a coffee and stroll around the park.
Other verbs we can use are
- ought to: You ought to see that film, it’s great. (ought to has the same meaning as should)
- might: You might want to think about replacing your old phone.
In our email there is also an example of maybe. Both maybe and perhaps are used with modal verbs for suggestions.
- maybe: maybe we could even bring a picnic and make a day of it.
- perhaps: Perhaps we could check out that outdoor market that’s on in the town square.
Other ways of making suggestions
Question words
There are a number of question word expessions we can use with suggestions.
- Why don’t you talk to her about it?
- How about going to the beach tomorrow?
- What if we start earlier tomorrow?
Let’s
This is another expression we can use with suggestions.
- Let’s:Let’s go for a hike this weekend.
- Let’s not: Let’s not tell anyone our news yet so it will be a surprise.
Using Imperatives
While imperatives are very direct we can still use them to suggest ideas. A common verb we use to suggest ideas is try.
- Try: Try taking an aspirin for your headache.
If Expressions
The most common of these is if I were you which can be used instead of any of the other examples we have looked at.
- If I were you, I’d take some time off.
More formal suggestions
We can use words like recommend or suggest to make the suggestion more formal.
- I suggest you get some rest before the meeting.
- I recommend reading the instructions first.
You may also be interested in our other posts on futures, preferences and conditionals.