Making Suggestions in English - Spoken English Lesson

Hi, I’m Martin. Welcome to Oxford  Online English. In this lesson,  

you can learn how to make and accept suggestions,  using the right phrases and vocabulary.  

You’ll also see how to reject  someone else’s suggestion politely.

Making suggestions is useful for  your everyday English conversation.  

In social situations, being able to make, accept  and reject suggestions politely is important!

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Let’s start by seeing different ways to  make and accept suggestions in English.

Let’s listen to two friends talking  together.

As you listen, think about two questions.

One: what language is used to make suggestions? Two: what language is used to accept suggestions? 

Ready? Let’s listen to the dialogue.

It’s a lovely day. Why don’t we go out somewhere? Sure. Why not? 

How about going for a walk? Maybe along the river? Sounds great. 

Shall we stop somewhere for some lunch? That’s a good idea. 

Let’s try that new restaurant by the park. Great. I’m in!

Could you hear all the different ways to make  and accept suggestions? Let’s look together. 

One of these phrases has a different structure  to the other three. Do you know which one? 

‘How about’ is different, because  you use it with a verb plus -ing.  

The other three are all followed by infinitive verbs, without 'to'.

Let's practise.

Complete these suggestions with your own ideas.

Pay attention to the verb form.

What suggestions did you make? Of  

course, there are many possible  answers! Here are some examples.

It’s a beautiful day. Let’s go to the beach. I’m hungry. How about going out for a pizza? 

I’m free this morning. Why  don’t we go to the market? 

There’s a movie on channel 4. Shall we watch it?

Were your suggestions the same as mine?

Now, let’s see phases you can use to  accept a suggestion. In the dialogue, you heard:

There are many other phrases you could use.  

You could just say something simple  like ‘yeah’ or ‘yeah, why not?’ 

If you want to sound a little less  casual, you could say something like  

‘I would like that’ or ‘That  sounds like a good idea.’ 

But, what if you don’t want to do what the  other person is suggesting? Let’s look.

Sometimes, even though it’s a bit difficult,  you’ve got to reject a suggestion have to  

say ‘no’ to people.

In this case, it’s important to be  polite, even if you’re talking to a friend.

Let’s see a dialogue which shows you how *not*  to do this. Listen and try to find the problems.

It’s a beautiful day. Shall we go out somewhere? 

No, I don’t want to. Oh, come on!  

Why don’t we go for a walk along the river? What an awful idea. 

Well, let’s go somewhere for some lunch. No, let’s not. 

Well, how about watching a movie together? Count me out.

What do you think? 

You *could* use phrases like this  to reject someone else’s suggestion… 

but it doesn’t sound polite.

So,  how could we improve them? Listen  again and see the difference.

It’s a beautiful day. Shall we go out somewhere? I’d rather not, if you don’t mind. 

Oh, come on! Why don’t we go  for a walk along the river? 

I don’t really feel like it, I’m afraid. Well, let’s go somewhere for some lunch. 

Maybe another time.

Did you hear the four polite phrases  you can use to say ‘no’ to a suggestion? 

Let’s look together.

These are polite ways to reject a suggestion.

The phrase – ‘can I take a rain check?’  – means that you want to do something, but  

not right now. You’ll do it another time.

It’s a lovely day. Why don’t we go shopping? 

Maybe another time. I’ve got a lot to do today. How about going for a walk? Maybe along the river? 

I don’t really feel like it,  I’m afraid. I’m a bit tired. 

Well, let’s go somewhere for lunch. I’d rather not, if you don’t mind.  

I’m not very hungry right now. Then how about going to the park? 

Can I take a rain check? I’m  a bit busy at the moment.

When you say  

‘no’ to someone’s suggestion, you can  sound more polite by adding a reason.  

Can you remember the reasons  you heard in the dialogue? 

You heard these.

Now it’s over to you.

Like we did before, I’m going to make  some suggestions. After you hear each suggestion,  

pause the video, reject the suggestion  politely, and add a reason. Ready to start?

It’s a lovely day. Let’s go for a picnic. 

I’m thirsty. How about a cup of tea? I’m free this afternoon. Why don’t  

we go to the cinema?

There’s a new restaurant in Queen  Street. Shall we go there this evening?

How did you do? Here  

are some possible reasons you could use.

Were any of your reasons the same as mine?

If not, don’t worry! There are  many possible answers here.

Now, you should know different ways to make,  accept and reject suggestions politely in English.

Are we done? Not yet! There’s  one more important point.

When you’re accepting a suggestion,

intonation is critical. Even if  you use correct, polite language,  

you can still sound unfriendly  if your intonation is not right.

Compare two answers. Shall we go shopping? 

That’s a good idea. That’s a good idea! 

Can you hear it? The same words can  have a completely different meaning  

if you change the intonation.

When you’re accepting rejecting a  suggestion, try to sound a little apologetic.

Now, I’m going to reject a suggestion  twice, using different intonation. Listen;  

which answer has the correct,  apologetic intonation?

I can’t, I’m afraid. I’ve got some work to do. 

I can’t, I’m afraid. I’ve got some work to do. Could you hear? Which one sounded more polite?

The first answer had polite intonation. The  second one didn’t, and could sound unfriendly.

Now it’s your turn to practise. 

You’ll hear four suggestions. After each one,  

either accept it, or reject it.  Focus on using polite intonation.  

This is also a great chance to check if you  remember all the language from this lesson! Ready?

It’s a lovely day. Let’s go for a picnic. I’m thirsty. How about a cup of tea? 

I’m free this afternoon. Why  don’t we go to the cinema? 

There’s a new restaurant in  Queen Street. Shall we go there? 

How did you get on? Did you manage to sound  enthusiastic or apologetic? It’s not always  

easy to judge your own intonation, so you might  want to ask someone else if you sound natural.

Although polite intonation is important, you  don’t want to overdo it. It will sound weird.

That’s everything. Thanks for watching.

See you next time!