Giving Advice

# Definition

Giving Advice is any kind of suggestion regarding a possible course of action for another person.

There are lots of different ways to give advice in English.

We are going to look at three:

1. Imperatives

                   An imperative is a command or an order. To form an imperative, you use the bare infinitive form of the verb without a subject – it should be clear to the person you are speaking to that the imperative is about them.

For example:

- Wear warm clothes when you visit the UK.

- Don’t be afraid to talk to people.

2. Using modal verbs

          There are three useful words/phrases we use to give advice. These are called modals.

If you think something is a good idea, you can use the word: should

If you think something is a bad idea, you can use the word: shouldn’t

For example:

- You should eat fruit and vegetables every day to stay healthy.

- You shouldn’t eat too much spicy food.

3. Why don’t you. .

Another way to give advice is to use the question form ‘why don’t you…?’ This is a nice way of making a suggestion – if you are not sure about the advice, you can use this form.

For example:

- Why don’t you take an English course before you go to the UK?

- Why don’t you give her a chocholate?

There are several different structures that you can use when giving advice

# Should

                   This is probably the most common of the structures for giving advice. After should, and its negative - shouldn't - we use the base form of the infinitive of the verb:

You should wise up
We shouldn’t cheat
It is common to use 'I think' and 'I don’t think' with should:
I think you should put the answers back
She doesn't think they should use them

# Had better

This structure is common in spoken English and it is usually used in the contracted form. After had better, and its negative - had better not, we use the base form of  the infinitive of the verb

-You'd better return the answers to the lecturer
-You'd better not tell anyone that you found them

# Ought

This is the most formal of the structures used for giving advice, and so it isn't so common.
After ought, and its negative - ought not (oughtn't), we use the full infinitive of the verb:

You ought to contact the police
You ought not to cheat in exams

# If I were you

This version of the second conditional is often used when giving advice, especially in spoken English. Note the use of were with I in the first clause.
In the second clause, we use would - contracted to d - and wouldn’t.

After would and wouldn’t, we use the base form of the infinitive of the verb:

If I were you, I’d give them back to the lecturer
If I were you, I wouldn’t use the answers

Example dialogue :

Mariona: Hi Clàudia, You look worried. What's the matter?
Clàudia: Er.. it's nothing.
Mariona: Is it the exam tomorrow? You shouldn't worry. You'll pass easily.
Clàudia: I know.
Mariona: Come on, tell me. What are you worried about?
Clàudia: OK... it's Mark. I think he has started smoking. I was talking to him   yesterday about this topic and he says me that isn't smoking.
Mariona: That's serious. What are you going to do?
Clàudia: I'm not sure. I should tell someone. What do you think I should do?
Mariona: If I were you, I'd speak to his older sister. She's really friendly.
Clàudia: I've never met her. Can you com with me?
Mariona: Yes, of course. Let's go and find her.