12 BEST Ways to Give Advice in English | How to speak better English

Hi there, this is Harry and welcome back to  advanced English classes with Harry. Yep, that's  

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Okay, enough of that. So what do we got for you  today? Well, in the advanced class today, we're  

looking at English speaking. And in particular,  we're going to look at useful phrases that you  

can use for giving advice. Okay, so we have 12  of them. 12 useful phrases for giving advice.  

Whether you want to, or you insist on giving the  particular advice, these are some phrases that  

you can use. I'll go through them. And then I'll  give you some examples. And then we can pick up  

on them again. And at the end, I'll give you our  contact details, if you wish to get in contact  

with us. So all useful phrases, and how you can  offer or give advice to somebody. So let's give  

you a few examples. They are not so difficult.  Problem will be trying to remember them all. And  

as I always say, it's going to be impossible to  remember them all. And the only way to remember  

any of them is to practise. So why don't you  try practising them with a friend next time.  

He or she asks for a view or you want to offer  advice, try and use some of these expressions.

So let's look at the first  one. Isn't it about time...?  

Well, famous one for parents. Isn't  it about time you got a haircut?  

Isn't it about time you got into some study? Those  exams are only a few weeks away. It's almost the  

end of term, you have a lot of work to catch up  on. Isn't it about time you did something? Isn't  

it about time you went to bed? You've been up half  the night and you've been playing those computer  

games, and you've got school tomorrow. So classic  expression for parents, isn't it about time?

Have you thought about the possibility of...  going away to university away from the city?  

Start again, go somewhere new and new beginning.  Have you thought about the possibility of working  

during the summer? Getting some money together so  that you can support yourself in the next term.  

Have you thought about the possibility of changing  your course? Perhaps this one doesn't really suit  

you. You've failed a couple of exams and it seems  to be a little bit of a struggle. And you know,  

it's no harm and changing. You're young, you can  start again, you'll be 23- 24 when you finish  

the course. So what whether you're 23 or 24, is  not going to make a big difference. So have you  

thought about the possibility of changing  something, of doing this, of going here.

The sooner you do something, the better.  The sooner you get down to doing some work,  

the better. The sooner you contact those people,  the better. There... It's not going to fix itself.  

So this might be a situation in work, when you're  trying to give some advice to a younger member of  

staff. The sooner you call the client, the better.  Explain to him what happened. He'll understand  

things happen, mistakes happen, problems happen,  we can get it sorted. It's not the end of the  

world. So the sooner you call him, the better. So  you know, when you do your to-do list. I do one,  

every day. I have my little list of five or six or  10, whatever they happen to be. And the sooner you  

do the more difficult jobs on your to-do list, the  better. You'll feel much better. The sooner you  

get those done, then it's easier to do the rest.  So the sooner you start, the better you will feel.  

The sooner you start on the diet, the better you  will feel longterm. The sooner you start that new  

course of exercises, the better your back will  feel. So you go to the doctor and he tells you,  

you really need to get those muscles in shape. So  you go to the gym, and you get their workout from  

the personal trainer. And like everybody he will  tell you, the sooner you start, the better. So  

let's start today. Let's not waste any more time  do it today. Yeah, tomorrow, the next day, you're  

going to feel a little bit stiff. That always  happens. But you know, when you get used to it,  

you will feel better. So the sooner you start, the  better. Now the sooner you do this, the better.

Next you might as well. And as said with a little  bit of an exclamation, you might as well. What's  

the alternative? If you don't, if this doesn't  work, but you just have to do something else. You  

might as well get the bus because it looks  as if the car isn't going to start today.  

You might as well walk because it's  only 20 minutes. It's a bit of exercise.  

You might as well come home now because  you know it looks as if your friends  

aren't going to turn up. So you're giving  somebody that advice. So you might as well,  

okay. We might as well go to bed because there  doesn't seem to be anything interesting on TV.  

That movie doesn't look so good. And I'm not  really so keen on watching it to one o'clock  

and finding out that it's actually rubbish. So we  might as well. We might as well go to bed. We you  

might as well do this. So you're telling somebody  that they really don't have or doesn't look as if  

they have any other choice, you might as well.  So we're deciding what to do for holidays,  

we might as well just go down the country for a  few days. You know, the airport these days really,  

really busy. It seems to be huge, huge queues,  since this COVID ended. We might as well just  

stay local. The weather seems to be really,  really good. We'll drive down to the country  

get a chance to walk in the countryside. We  haven't done it for ages. So we might as well.

Your only option is to... Well, when you give  this sort of advice, it appears as as if there's  

no alternative. Your only option is to go to the  boss and tell him that you made a mistake. What's  

he going to do? He's not going to fire you. You  know, it's not that serious. But your only option  

because if he finds out later on, and you didn't  tell him well, of course, then the problem is  

going to be that much worse. Your only option is  go to the teacher and and tell her you lost the  

book. Yeah, she lent you the book, you can't find  it, you must have left it on the park bench. Or  

you must have left it on the table at school and  somebody's taken it. So your only option is to  

hold up your hands, apologise, say, Yep,  it was my fault. That's your only option.  

Well, if you ask me, your only option is to  go to the doctor tell him you haven't been  

feeling. Well, tell him the symptoms. Don't be  worried about it. I mean, it could be nothing.  

But you might just need a bit of rest. Or  you might need a little bit of medication,  

or something like that. So I think your only  option to understand what's happening is to go  

and see the doctor. Otherwise, you're just going  to drive yourself and myself mad. Is it this? Is  

it that? Looking up Google, you know, it's no  way to... to self medicate. Okay, so your only  

option is to go make an appointment with the  doctor. It'd be fine. Everything would be okay.

When you have no alternative, well, you have no  choice but... Okay. So you're wanting to know  

what you do. You've been looking at the window,  and you see somebody behaving a bit strangely.  

But I think you have no choice but to call the  police. You know, that's, that's not normal.  

That's not natural. Why would somebody be climbing  over the wall when they can knock on the door.  

So your only option is to call the police.  You have no choice, but to call the police.

It might be in your interests to... Well, when can  we use this when we're giving advice to somebody,  

it might be in your interest to do a pre-course  before you start the new course. It seems to me  

to be a lot involved. So if you spend a couple  of weeks doing a little bit of pre-study,  

it might make things a little bit more interesting  or a little... a little bit easier for you.  

It might be in your interest to let them know  that you want this job. You know, there's a  

vacancy in your department, and you're wanting  to know whether they will offer it to you. But  

if you don't let them know that you're interested,  how are they supposed to know. So it might be in  

your interests, it might be to your advantage  to let them know that you would really like to  

be considered for that particular position. Okay.  So when you say it might be in your interests to  

there's an advantage, there's a definite advantage  for you. And letting somebody know that, Yeah, you  

really would like to be considered. So it might be  in your interests to do this. It might be in your  

interest to take a few days off. Why don't you  relax a little bit? You've been working very hard  

recently. That work you did it over the winter was  really, really difficult. So you know, take a few  

days off, take a break, and you feel a lot better.  So it might be in your interest just to chill out.

You might want to call him. You might want  to do something else. So say when you give  

advice you might want to it means you think  that the person might like to do... take a  

certain action. You might want to call him  and tell him you're going to be late. I think  

the traffic is really really heavy. So if you if  you don't call him, he might leave. So you know,  

you don't want him to leave before you get there.  So you might want to call him. You might want to  

call on the... to the supermarket on the way home  and pick up a few pieces of food because there's  

nothing really in the fridge. And if we're going  to stay in tonight, then we'll need to eat. So  

we need to cook something. So you might want to  call into the supermarket. Okay, yeah, good. What  

will I get? So they give you the list and you  to call in to the supermarket on the way home.

You might want to consider taking a holiday in  July. That new project is going to start in August  

and you won't have any time to take holidays then.  So you might want to consider taking your annual  

holidays in July. And that way you'll be really  refreshed when it comes down to this new project,  

this new assignment that you're going to have.  You might want to consider taking an extra year  

and... in university. This is really getting on  top of you. You've failed a couple of exams. And  

you might want to consider repeating year  two or year three, just so you get really  

on top of it. And you're not putting yourself  under undue pressure to complete the course,  

in the four years, four or five years,  it doesn't really make any difference.  

So you might want to consider doing this.  Or you might want to consider doing that.

Make sure you do or make sure you don't. Make sure  you turn off the lights when you leave the house.  

Make sure you don't leave on the  lights before you leave the house.  

Make sure you let the dog out in the morning.  Make sure you don't leave the dog in the house  

all day without taking him for a walk. So, bit of  advice. Make sure you feed the goldfish only but  

only once a week. Make sure you don't forget  to feed the goldfish while I'm away. Okay,  

so to make sure you do and make sure you don't,  it's the same meaning but just in a slightly  

different way one in the positive one in the  negative giving somebody advice. Make sure you  

take those tablets. It says in the packet two a  day with meals. Make sure you don't take too many,  

or make sure you don't forget to take them  again, the same instruction, the same advice.

Something is worth a try. But we use this  expression about advice. When... well,  

what harm can it do? So it's worth a try. It might  not work, it might not succeed. But you know what?  

If you don't try, you won't know. So anything and  everything is worth a try. Do you think they still  

have some of those jackets that I was looking at  it? I looked at one last week. Sure go in and see,  

it's worth a try. But why don't you check it  on the internet first of all. You might see  

it. Or they might tell you, it's sold out. So  it's worth a try. So when you want something,  

and you're not quite sure what the advice you  can give somebody, Yeah, it's worth a try. If you  

don't succeed, what have you lost? If you don't  try, you'll never never know. It's worth a try.

It might be a good idea to... Well, it might be  a good idea to think about it before you do it.  

Okay, so sit back, remember the last time you...  you did something without really thinking about  

it, and you made a big mistake. So it might be  a good idea to think this over before you... you  

apply. You've got a few days left, I don't think  the closing date for applications is until next  

week. So don't rush into it and do it immediately.  It might be good idea, maybe to talk to your  

professor, to talk to your teacher. So it would  be a good idea to check things out. It would be a  

good idea to do a little bit of investigation. It  would be good idea to do a little bit of research.  

Check it out, see what other people think. It  might be a good idea to check out the reviews on  

the Internet. It might be a good idea to check out  whether this place is as good as they say it is,  

as good as the advertisement. So it looks  wonderful in the pictures, but you know  

what pictures can do? They can airbrush them. So  why don't we check it out online? See what the  

reviews are like before we book the hotel, before  we book the holiday because we don't want to get  

there and find out it's not what we had expected.  Okay, so it might be a good idea to do something.

And then finally, just simply how about. That's  a great way to start a bit of advice. How about  

going out for a meal tonight? How about going  away for a few days? Just the two of us, the  

kids are away. How about getting those bicycles  out of the garage, cleaning them off and going  

for a cycle? How about joining the gym? We keep  promising we're going to do. So whatever it is,  

we can give advice by just simply saying How  about? Okay. And it introduces you to everything  

very, very open. Very gentle. Very easy. Very  informal way for you to offer advice to somebody.  

How about improving your English? Why don't you  join one of those courses? How about joining a  

book club? Yeah, we can... we love reading,  and it'd be nice idea good way to meet some  

new neighbours, some new friends. It might be  interesting to see a few new faces. How about?

Okay, so all interesting ways in which you can  give some nice advice, whole hearted advice,  

friendly advice, personal advice to somebody  that you know and hold dear to your heart.

So let me give them to you again.  Isn't it about time you did something?  

Have you thought about the possibility of going  away? The sooner you do it, the better it will be.  

You might as well because it looks as if  there's no other alternative. You might as well.  

Your only option is to put your hands up and admit  to it, you made a mistake. Your only option is...  

You have no choice but to go with it.  

It might be in your interests, or indeed it  might be in your best interests to do this.  

You might want to consider reapplying. You might  want to consider doing your driving test sooner  

rather than later. You might want to make  sure you do or make sure you don't. Make  

sure you switch off the lights. Make sure  you don't forget to switch off the lights.  

The sooner you start, the better. The sooner  you do something, the better you will feel.  

It's worth a try. Now, everything is worth  a try. Who knows you might be successful,  

it's worth a try. It might be... it might  be a good idea to reconsider. It might be  

a good idea to think carefully. It might  be a good idea to do some research. It  

might be a good idea to... And then finally,  just simply How about? How about this? How  

about this? Or that? How about going here?  How about going there? Okay, so how about?

So all ways of using expressions to give  advice. So this is all about English speaking  

all about useful ways that you can offer advice  to friend or family or whoever it might be. Okay,  

so, as I said before, and then  all the other classes we've had,  

practise a few of them. Try and use a few  of them today tomorrow with your friends.  

You don't have to remember them all. Some of  them can be a little bit confusing at first,  

but just keep practising. And anytime you're  asked for advice, try and use one or two of them.

And if you have any problems, well, then you can  contact me at www.englishlessonviaskype.com. If  

you need some more examples, I'll gladly  give them to you. If you have some ideas  

or something that you want me to include in  future advanced classes, then let me know.

As always, I really appreciate your  listening. I really appreciate your watching,  

and I really really would appreciate it  if you can like us and we can get to do  

more and more of these classes for  you. As always. Join me again soon.