20 ways to give advice in English

Hey, everyone.

I'm Alex.

Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on twenty ways to give advice in English.

This lesson is intended for intermediate-level English learners, so some of the things I

will review in this lesson, specifically the modals section, I will expect that you're

already familiar with these words-okay?- and their usages.

If you're not familiar with the modals that I give you today, we have a lot of lessons

on engVid that discuss: "have to", "had better", "must", "should", etc.

So, check out those lessons and become more familiar with modals.

However, I'm expecting that you are already familiar with them for this category.

You noticed I said: "category", because I have four cate-...

Four?

Four categories on the board, here.

So, we have modals, we have conditionals, we have formal verbs, and we have casual expressions.

So, you are probably familiar with the modals, maybe the conditionals, and for sure you've

seen, like: "suggest", "recommend", etc., but this casual section is probably new for

quite a few of you.

But let's not get too far, and start from the beginning.

So, first: Modals.

You have a wide variety to choose from when you're giving advice in English.

We'll start from the top: "You have to..."

So, if you are telling someone that they have to do something, this is an obligation.

Okay?

They don't have a choice.

So: "I lost my passport.

Oh my goodness.

What do I do?"

You can say: "Okay, you have to go to the passport office" or "You have to get a new one."

Okay?

This is my advice to you.

It's your obligation to do this.

"You had better..."

Okay?

So: -"Okay, I lost my passport."

-"You'd better go to the passport office" or "You'd better report that to the police",

maybe if it was stolen by someone and you saw the person running.

So: "You'd better..." as a reminder, this means, you know, it's a strong advice and

there will be negative consequences if you don't follow this action.

All right, so we have: "You should..." and "You ought to..."

These are in the same family.

Right?

So, these are, like, well, advice: "I think it's a good idea for you to do this".

-"I always feel tired."

-"You should sleep more."

-"I always feel tired."

-"Okay, well, you ought to eat better."

Okay?

Or: "Tell me what you're eating.

You ought to eat better.

You should eat better."

When you are speaking: "You ought to", you can also say: "You oughta".

So, repeat after me: "You oughta".

"You oughta sleep more."

Good.

All right?

And then: "You could..."

So, "You could..." means: "Well, this is an option."

I'm not saying you should, I'm not saying you have to.

I'm saying: "Hey.

Have you considered this option?"

That's over there.

We'll talk about that later, too.

So: "You could..." means, like, this is a possibility.

This is an option.

Like: -"Ah, I don't know what to get from the lunch menu."

-"I don't know.

Like, what do you feel like?"

-"I don't know.

Like something that has protein."

-"Okay, well, you could get the steak, or you could get a hamburger, or you could get

something else with protein."

So you're giving them options.

You're advising them of what is possible.

Modals, we're okay?

So many of you are like: "Alex, I...

I don't know what's going on."

Check out the other modal videos.

Next, let's go to conditionals.

So, let's start with the most common, like, advice conditional where you say: "If I were you…"

I am not you; that is impossible.

Maybe in the future that's something that is possible, but for now it's not possible.

So, you're using the second conditional in most of these.

So: "If I were you, I'd"...

"I'd" means "I would".

So, second conditional you always have the past form of a verb.

So, here you have: "If I were you, I would do something."

It's like: -"Uh-oh.

I think I lost my wallet."

-"Well, if I were you, I would retrace your steps".

"To retrace your steps" means to go back and follow your steps; where you went before.

Right?

So: "Retrace your steps.

If I were you, I would retrace your steps.

Where did you go before here?

Did you go in the living room?

Did you go to the post office?

I don't know where you went."

Okay?

All right.

Another way to say: "If I were you", very common: "If I were in your shoes", right?

"If I were in your shoes, I would do something."

So, if your friend says: -"I want to get a new laptop, but I don't have enough money."

-"Okay, well, if I were you, I would consider getting another job."

Or: "I would maybe ask your Mom if she can help you, ask a family member".

Okay?

Next: "Listen, if you want my advice, I think..."

So, obviously they want your advice.

Sometimes they don't, but you can clarify by saying: "Hey, if you want my advice, I think..."

So, this is the zero conditional.

Right?

Like: "...you want my advice" - present, "I think" - present, and give your thoughts on

whatever the topic is.

Next: "If you really want to know, I would..."

Okay?

So, maybe your friend asks you: -"If you were me, what would you do?"

-"What would I do?

Well, if you really want to know, I would ask someone else because I give terrible advice."

Maybe this is you; I don't know.

Next, this is another way to say: "If I were in your shoes..."

You can just say: "If I were in your position, I would..."

Okay?

So, maybe the boss at, you know...

At my job, he caught me stealing a stapler.

Well, if I were in your position, I would update your resume.

Okay?

So if your boss catches you stealing from your job, you should probably look for a new

job, unless your boss just gives you a warning or is nice, and says: "Ah, that's fine.

We have 500 staplers."

Maybe.

I don't know.

Okay.

Let's move on to the formal verbs.

So, we have formal verbs, like: "suggest", "recommend", "urge", and "advise", or in this

situation: "I would advise", which is a conditional phrase, really, but I put it here because

it sounds more formal.

So: "I suggest that you..." and, here, use a base verb.

Okay?

So: "I suggest that you try again.", "I recommend that you study hard.", "I urge you to reconsider

your position" or reconsider your offer, reconsider your answer.

Okay.

-"I have a big test tomorrow, but it's also my third cousin's birthday party tonight.

What should I do?"

-"Well, I would advise you to skip your third cousin's birthday party because they won't

even know you're not there, so it's okay."

They're your third cousin.

Your first cousin, a little more important.

Third cousin, you should study.

"I would advise you to study."

One more thing before we continue: With "suggest" and "recommend" you can use this structure:

"I suggest that you...", "I recommend that you..."

plus a base verb; or if you just use "suggest", if you just use "recommend", you can follow

them with a gerund.

So: "I suggest working harder.", "I recommend calling your mother."

Okay?

So make sure that you follow them with a gerund.

Okay?

All right.

Now, casual.

Yeah.

This is the good stuff, right?

So, casual advice.

-"Well, what would you do if you were me?

Like, my mother just...

My Mom kicked me out of my house.

I have no place to live."

-"Well, you're gonna wanna find a new place to live."

So, here you see: "gonna wanna" - "You are going to want to".

Now, I know that sounds a little strange, but in giving advice in a casual, loose setting,

this is a very common phrase.

Okay?

"You're gonna wanna get a new job.", "You're gonna wanna, you know, help your Mom.", "You're

gonna wanna" plus the base verb.

Okay?

Base verb, base verb, base verb here.

Okay.

What about this one?

"You might wanna consider..."

Okay?

So, if you have had no job for five months, for example, and your friend asks you: "Have

you been trying to get a new job?"

It's like: -"Well, no.

I'm just, you know, relaxing.

I'm developing my skills at home."

-"Have you sent any resumes to companies?"

-"No, no, no.

I'm not ready for that."

-"Okay, but your rent is due soon.

You might wanna consider updating your resume.

You might wanna consider looking for a new job."

Okay?

So, you might, maybe - this is polite; you're being nice.

You're saying: "Have you thought about this?

You might want to think about this."

All right?

Let's go to "should", so: "You should probably consider..."

Softer advice than "should", right?

You are editing...

Not editing.

Modifying - that's the word.

You're modifying "should" with the adverb "probably": "You should probably consider...",

"You should maybe think about..."

Okay?

If you want to switch "should" with "ought to" in these situations, just make sure you

put "probably" before "ought to", so: "You probably ought to do something.", "You maybe

ought to do something."

But if you use "should", you have to put the adverb after.

That's a bonus.

Bonus to the 20.

Now you have 22 ways to give advice in English.

"You should maybe think about..."

And you have heard me use this already today, but: "Have you thought about, I don't know,

anything else?

Have you thought about a different option?

Have you thought about a different way to do this?"

Okay?

So you're asking them if they have considered an option.

You can say: "Hey.

Have you considered doing something?"

Okay?

And here: "think about", "thought about", because you have a preposition - make sure

you follow this with verb-"ing"; a gerund.

Right?

"Hey.

Have you thought about trying something different?" or "You should maybe think about eating less",

for example, or "eating less junk food".

All right, and finally...

Huh.

"Well, listen, what you really ought to do" or "What you ought to do is..."

This is, again, a more casual way to say: "You ought to", "I think you ought to".

"What you really ought to do...", "What you probably ought to do...", "What you ought

to do is..." blank base verb.

Okay?

Whew.

I think you got more than 20 things in this video, and that's not a bad thing.

But if you want to test your understanding of this material today and you want to see

if you remember how to use all 20 of these things, there are 20 questions waiting for

you on the quiz that I created for this video, so check those out underneath at www.engvid.com.

And while you're at engVid, like I said, check out the other videos we have on modals and

advice; we have tons of them, so, have a look.

If you're still not sure about modals or conditionals, we have all this stuff there.

And yeah, just check it out.

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That's it.

So, right now you should go do that quiz.

And I have to go, so till next time, thanks for clicking.