Asking for Advice and Recommendations

Giving advice in English might seem tricky at first. There are several ways to do it
and each uses a slightly sentence structure. So, how do we choose which one to
use? Find out with these five simple ways to give advice in English.

 What do you think I should do?

 What should I do?
 What do you suggest?
 What do you advise me to do?
 If you were me what would you do?
 What ought I to do?
 Do you think that I should…?

Modal Should
You can use the modal SHOULD (debe(n) / debería (n) -to give suggestions in
English

For example

1. I think you should buy a new car.

2. I am pretty sure that she should move to another country.
3. It seems to me that you should pay her back as soon as you can

Ought to

1. You ought to do more exercise.

2. You ought not to drink so much beer.

Had Better

This structure is common in spoken English and it is usually used in the

contracted form. (es mejor que…/ usted major…)

1. You’d better return the answers to the lecturer

2. You’d better not tell anyone that you found them
Questions
You can make questions to make a less direct recommendation

1. Why don’t you do exercises more often?

 2. How about joining a gym nearby?
3. Why don’t you go a jogging?

Conditional
If I were you … is used when giving ADVICE about what you would do in the
same situation as the other person
 If I were you, I would move to Italy next year
 If I were you, I would enjoy my vacation
 If I were you, I would make that hotel reservation right now.
Make Suggestions
A suggestion or recommendation is another good way of giving advice that isn’t to
direct

Some Example of suggestions are:

1. I would suggest playing less video games

2. I would recommend resting more than 8 hours a day
3. I suggest taking a holiday
Use Imperative to Give Recommendations
We can use imperative verbs + ‘-ing’ to give advice.

Check these advices given to a person who wants to be fit

1. Start going to the gym

2. Read more often to improve spelling
3. Try running once a week
4. Consider joining a running team

Useful Phrases to Give Advice in English

Elementary
1. I think that …
2. I believe that …
3. I’m sure that …
4. My opinion is …
Pre-intermediate
1. I agree with …
2. I feel that …
3. I guess/imagine …
4. I have no doubt that
5. I’m certain that …
6. I strongly believe that …
7. I’ve never really thought about this before, but …
 8. My personal opinion is that…
9. To be honest
10. In my honest opinion, …
Intermediate
1. As far as I know
2. I agree with the opinion of …
3. I could be wrong, but …
4. I’d definitely say that …
5. I’d guess/imagine that …
6. I’d say that …
7. I’m absolutely certain that …
8. I’m fairly confident that …
9. I’m no expert (on this), but …
10. I’m positive that …
11. I’m pretty sure that …
12. It seems to me that …
13. It’s a complicated/difficult issue, but …
14. Some people may disagree with me, but …
15. This is just my opinion, but …
16. Without a doubt, …
17. You probably won’t agree, but …
SITUATIONS
1. I visited my Doctor and he told me that I should lose weight so tell me
what I can do since I don’t have too much time to go to the Gym and I
never like to follow a strict diet.

2. I am going to be hired by an American company so I have to move to the

United States in less than a year but the toughest part is that I have to
be proficient in English so tell me what I should do in these few months
to improve it.

3. I am just a high school graduate but I don’t know what major to study or path
to follow, my friends are making quick decisions and some of them are
attending law school and medicine school and I don’t even know where to
start, tell me what I should do first

Taken from: https://englishpost.org/give-advice-in-english/

Compiled by Professor Luz Carime Carmona
English Professor ITM
Dar consejos en inglés

Cómo dar consejos en inglés y español con ejemplos / Giving

advice in English

 Puedes usar la expresión: Should/Should’t (Deber)

+You should talk to your dad about +You shouldn’t smoke because you are
what you said sick
–Deberías hablar con tu padre sobre lo –No deberías fumar porque estás
que dijiste enfermo

+You should take notes in class +You shouldn’t talk to your mom like
–Deberias tomar notas en clase that
–No deberías hablarle a tu madre de
esa forma

 Podemos usar los imperativos para dar consejos. Recuerda que

losimperativos son formas bastante directas y enfáticas de dar consejos.
Úsalos con personas muy cercanas a ti como amigos y familia.

+Remember to study for the Exam
–Recuerda estudiar para el examen
+Clean your bedroom before you leave
–Limpia tu dormitorio antes de irte
+Don’t go out tonight because you
have a cold
–No salgas esta noche porque tienes un
resfriado
+Don’t talk to me like that please
–No me hables así por favor

 Para dar consejos más suaves podemos usar la estructura

del segundo condicional. “If I were you” puede significar: Si fuera tú,
Yo que tú, Yo en tu lugar
+If I were you, I would break up with +If I were you, I wouldn’t laugh at
that guy right away other people
–Si yo fuera tú, rompería con ese tipo –Si yo fuera tú, no me burlaría-reiría de
de inmediato otras personas

+If I were you, I would go to the doctor +If I were you, I wouldn’t sell my car
–Yo en tu lugar, iría al doctor –Yo que tú, no vendería mi auto

 También puedes usar un dos formas de pregunta. Estas

preguntas se usan para dar consejos de forma más suave y menos
directa.

Why don’t you…? ¿Por qué tú no…?

+Why don’t you take a taxi home? +Why don’t you do the homework now?
–¿Por qué no tomas un taxi? –¿Por qué no haces la tarea?

How about…? ¿Qué tal si…? ¿Qué te parece…?

+How about going out for lunch?

–¿Qué te parece salir a almorzar?

+How about going to the gym tomorrow?

–¿Qué tal si vamos al gimnasio mañana?