Make Suggestions in English — 12 Effective Sentence Starters

Hey, it's Annemarie with Speak Confident English.

This is exactly where you want to be every week to get the confidence you want

for your life and work in English.

If you feel nervous or shy about sharing your ideas in English with

friends, family members, or coworkers today, we are going to solve that problem.

You're going to learn 12 different ways to make a suggestion using sentence

starters so that you have absolute confidence about the combination of words

you're using and the grammatical structure. As a result,

you'll be able to easily make a suggestion when you want to share your idea

or a plan that you want others to consider.

You'll also be able to use these when you want to offer an alternative

suggestion to someone else's idea.

All of the examples in this lesson are perfect for brainstorming conversations

and problem solving as well.

Not only are you going to learn sentence starters you can use in casual and

professional conversations,

but I'm also going to share with you some examples you can use when you know,

you have an idea that might seem a little bit strange or even surprising at the

beginning,

but you really want others to listen to you and to allow you to finish your

idea before they immediately say no or disregard it.

So be sure to stick with me to the end,

Let's start with a few casual sentence starters we can use.

If you're making dinner plans with friends,

organizing a surprise party or doing some problem solving with a coworker.

Before I tell you the first one,

I actually just used a sentence starter for making

suggestions.

I used the word let's and that is our first sentence starter.

Let's is a contraction for let us. Let's begin.

Let's start. Let's try. Let's reschedule.

Let's check in.

Do you notice any patterns in those examples?

I'm beginning with the contraction let's and I'm following it with the simple

form of the verb. Here's some example sentences.

Let's try the new Thai restaurant down the street.

Let's check in with the accounting department to see if there are any updates

before we make a decision. Let's reschedule this meeting for next week.

Another great sentence starter to use in casual conversations

if you're making plans with friends or family members is how about.

How about that new Thai restaurant?

How about a movie on Friday night?

How about driving to the mountains for a little getaway?

Both of those examples I've shared so far let's and how about are

fantastic in brainstorming conversations when everyone's throwing out

ideas. Now in that sentence,

I just used a fantastic phrasal verb to know,

and a great collocation as well.

The phrasal verb was to throw out.

And that one's interesting because it has multiple meanings.

To throw out could mean to throw something in the trash or to remove it.

For example, you might throw out some old food that has gone bad,

but when we talk about ideas or suggestions,

if someone is throwing out ideas, they are expressing them.

And that is where the collocation comes in to throw out some ideas.

You might hear someone begin a problem solving meeting by asking the question,

does anyone have some ideas to throw out? In other words,

does anyone have some ideas to share or express?

We're going to come back to this collocation so don't forget about it,

but for now,

let's go on to two more examples that are similar to let's and how

about, but they're more polite and professional.

The first one is, shall we, shall we try that new Thai restaurant?

Shall we check in with the accounting department to get an update before we make

a decision? Shall we reschedule for next week?

And similar to shall we is why don't we, or why don't you.

Why don't we try that new Thai restaurant?

Why don't you check in with the accounting department to see if there are any

updates? Why don't you reschedule the meeting for next week?

That last example, when we use it with the word you,

why don't you?

It's a fantastic way to ask someone to do something,

but to state it as a suggestion, not a command.

Why don't you reschedule the meeting?

Why don't you check in with the accounting department?

You'll notice I'm using the exact same sentences.

All I've done is made little changes to the beginning of the sentence and

change the level of formality.

Now let's move on to some sentence starters that use modals such as could,

should and would, and here we're going to have a bit of fun. Again,

we're going to have some examples that are very similar and they have

nearly the same meaning,

but there is a subtle difference when you're making a suggestion.

You could also use a sentence starter such as we could, or you could,

and we should, or you should,

before we talk about the subtle difference,

let's take a look at two examples sentences.

You could try doing yoga if you want to get into shape.

You should try doing yoga if you want to get into shape.

As I said, those two sentences are nearly the same.

They have almost the same meaning, but there's just a little difference.

When we use could, for example,

you could try doing yoga or we could reschedule the meeting.

You're simply offering another idea.

It's one option or one idea among many.

But when we use should, you should try doing yoga.

You should reschedule the meeting.

Not only are you offering an idea,

but you're indicating that you think this is the best idea.

You're including your opinion on the topic.

Let's look at two more examples,

sentences in a brainstorming or problem solving conversation.

Someone might say we could postpone the product launch

until next week.

This is one of many different ideas or suggestions,

but they could also say we should postpone the product launch

until next week. Again, it's one idea of many,

but there's also a feeling that the person saying it thinks

this is the best option.

Now what about situations when you feel that someone isn't making the

best choice or maybe they haven't considered all the options?

A great way to offer a suggestion in those situations is to use something like,

have you considered, would you consider,

have you thought about. For example,

would you consider getting a second opinion before you have the

operation? Have you thought about working with a different firm?

Have you thought about trying yoga?

We have just a few more example sentence starters to take a look at for making

suggestions. Because we're talking about suggestions.

It's important to see how we use the word suggest as a verb.

And then I'm going to share with you examples that you can use when you know,

your idea is a little odd or surprising, but again,

you want everyone to listen to you.

So first let's start with suggest. I suggest...

I suggest giving him a call before the end of the day.

I suggest sending that email right away.

I suggest getting a second opinion.

What do you notice about the pattern in those sentences?

I suggest giving, I suggest sending,

I suggest getting. In those examples,

I have my subject, I, the verb suggest.

And then a gerund one of those words that ends with ING.

I suggest going, I suggest scheduling.

I suggest postponing. Again,

I want you to give this a try and share an example with me in the comments below

and make sure that you follow that same sentence structure or pattern.

And now let's move on to the last few examples for our lesson today.

Sometimes if you're problem solving or brainstorming,

you have an idea that, you know, might seem a little strange or surprising,

but you want everyone to listen to you.

We have an expression in English.

You want someone to hear you out.

It means you want them to listen to you fully without interrupting you or

immediately saying no.

So here are some things that we might say in those situations.

I'd like to throw out an idea that may seem a little strange, but hear me out.

Do you notice? I also used, I'd like to throw out an idea.

We talked about that phrasal verb and collocation earlier.

I'd like to throw out an idea that may seem a little strange, but hear me out.

You're giving your listeners, your coworkers or family members, a warning.

You know that your idea again, might seem strange or odd,

but you need some time to explain it.

You want them to listen to you fully before they say anything.

And especially before they say no, a similar example is,

Hear me out for a moment. What if we...

What if we postpone the product launch? Now,

if you have ever been involved in a product launch, you know,

deadlines or serious and no one wants to delay,

but sometimes things happen.

That idea may be unpopular at the beginning.

And some people might have a strong reaction to it.

And you're anticipating that strong reaction.

You're warning them that your idea might seem a little strange,

but you want them to listen to you and really think about it carefully.

Hear me out for a moment. What if we...

how would you use that example as always,

you can give it a try and share with me in the comments below,

and now we've got our last one for today. Again,

if you have an idea that you know is surprising or a little more creative or

innovative, you could also say something like:

this is a little outside the box, but what if we...

In that sentence starter, you were acknowledging that, yes,

your idea might seem a little strange at the beginning,

but you have a good reason for it. You have some rationale,

you have some data or statistics or experience that

makes you think this could be a really good idea.

And with that you have 12 sentence starters to help you make suggestions in

English easily. Before we finishe today, I do have one more question for you.

I want to know what is your favorite from today's list?

Did you learn a new sentence starter that would be useful to you in a team

meeting or when you're making plans for a vacation with family members?

You can share those with me in the comments below.

And if you want to review the examples I shared with you more carefully,

I've also provided them in written form in the online lesson,

on my website as well with that, have a fantastic week.

Thank you for joining me and I'll see you next time for your Confident English

lesson.