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:

Ø  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.

Example :

- Wear warm clothes when you visit the UK.

- Don’t be afraid to talk to people.

Ø  Using Modal Verb

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

Example :

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

- You shouldn’t eat too much spicy food.

Ø  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.

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 :

a.      Should

This is probably the most common of the structures for giving advice.

Example :

-        You should wise up

-        We shouldn’t cheat

b.      Had Better

This structure is common in spoken English and it is usually used in the contracted form.

Example :

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

c.       Ought

This is the most formal of the structures used for giving advice, and so it isn't so common.
example :

-       You ought to contact the police

-       You ought not to cheat in exams

d.      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.

Example :

-       If I were you, I’d give them back to the lecturer

-       If I were you, I wouldn’t use the answers

-          Example :

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.