MAKING SUGGESTION & REQUESTING SOMETHING

Making Suggestion

Making suggestion is how you express your suggestion to someone. It’s like to remind someone of something, to make someone think that something is likely to exist or to be true, to tell someone about something that may be useful or suitable for a particular purpose, or to offer an idea or a plan for someone to consider.

We often suggest ideas or things to do. Here are some common examples :

Language for making suggestions
Question opener	+ subject	+ infinitive without 'to'
Why don't	I you we they	buy...? go...? meet...?
Why doesn't	he/she
Shall	I we
Question opener		+ infinitive without 'to'
I, you, he, she, we	should could	say... arrange... talk... eat... get...
Let's Why not
Note : §  The most common way to make a suggestion in English is to use either "should" (if you think something is really a good idea) or "could" (if you are just talking about one possible suggestion). You could add the words "maybe" or "perhaps" (more formal) to your suggestion to make it softer. Here are some sample sentences: -       You should study harder if you want to be successful. (A good idea!) -       The city should add more public transportation as the population grows. (Another good idea!) -       We could go to a restaurant to eat if you're too tired to cook. (Just an idea.) -       Maybe you could find a tutor to help you study in the evenings. (Again, just an idea.) §  You can also use some polite English phrases, when making a suggestion. For example: -       I would suggest that we... -       If I may suggest an idea, perhaps we could... §  When suggest means 'to offer an idea or a plan for someone to consider', it is never followed by an infinitive. Use the pattern suggest doing something: ✗ The government suggested to construct another railway link to the mainland. ✓ The government suggested constructing another railway link to the mainland. §  When suggest and the verb that follows it have different subjects, you can use the pattern suggest that someone should do something: -       The therapist also suggested that Pamela should tell her parents more about what she was doing. §  Suggest is never followed by a direct personal object. Use the preposition to: ✗ If this happened to one of your friends, what would you suggest her? ✓ If this happened to one of your friends, what would you suggest to her? ✗ He suggests parents that they should adopt a different way of bringing up their children. ✓ He suggests to parents that they should adopt a different way of bringing up their children. §  These common English question used for making suggestion : 1)        WHAT ABOUT/HOW ABOUT ... + Base form + -ING •       What about going to the swimming pool tomorrow? •       How about going to the swimming pool tomorrow? 2)         WHY + Negative •       Why don't we go to the swimming pool tomorrow? 3)         IMPERATIVE: Let's + Base form •       Let's go to the swimming pool tomorrow!  4)         COULD •       We could go to the swimming pool tomorrow. 5)         DO YOU WANT + the infinitive •       Do you want to go to the swimming pool tomorrow?

Ways of suggesting something

How about...?/What about…?	an informal way of suggesting something
What if I...?	an informal way of suggesting something that you can do to help someone
Let's...	an informal way of suggesting to the people you are with something that you could all do together
Why don't I/you/we/they...?	a way of suggesting something when you are introducing a new idea that other people have not thought of
What would you say to...?/What do you say I/we...?	a way of asking whether someone would accept a suggestion
Perhaps we/you/they could...	a way of suggesting something, especially when you are not completely sure if it is a good idea
We/You could always...	a way of suggesting something when most other possibilities have already been considered
May/Can I suggest...?	a polite and formal way of suggesting something
May/Can/Could I make a suggestion?	a way of suggesting something, often used when interrupting people who are already discussing what to do
I suggest...	a way of suggesting something in a slightly annoyed way, especially when you think someone has been silly or has done something wrong

Making a Suggestion	Responding
•         I suggest that … •         I would suggest that … •         My suggestion is … •         What about … •         Perhaps we should … •         We’d better/ we must … •         A possible solution  to your problem is …	•         That’s a good idea •         It’s a good suggestion, thanks. •         You are right. •         Yes, let’s do it •         I think so •         Yes, you’re right. •         That’s what is in my mind

Requesting Something

Requesting something is what we say when we want to ask someone to do something for us or a formal demand for something. And it is important to be polite when you ask for something.

You can make a request by using:

·         (Simple imperative verb): - Help me.

·         Please + verb (more polite) - Please help me.

·         Can you . . . ? - Can you help me?

·         Will you . . . ? - Will you help me?

·         Could you (please) . . . ? - Could you help me?

·         Would you (please). . . ? - Would you please help me?

·         Would you mind (V+ing) . . . ? - Would you mind helping me?

·         Could you possibly . . . ? - Could you possibly help me out here?

·         (very polite) Would you be so kind as to . . . ? - Would you be so kind as to help me (with this)?

			There are many different ways of making polite requests in English. Would you…? / Could you…? / Would you like to…? If you are asking other people to do things, you would normally use Would you or Could you + infinitive. Would you like to…? is also a very polite way of suggesting or requesting something, politer than Do you want to…? Compare the following: Would you please bring your library books back today as they are needed by another borrower? Could you join us on Saturday? Tom's back from Sydney and we're having a barbecue. Would you like to join us on Saturday? We're having a barbecue in the back garden. Would you care to join us on Saturday? We're celebrating Tom's return from Sydney. Do you want to join us on Saturday? We're having a bash in the garden. Would you like…? + infinitive / Would you mind…? If you want to sound particularly polite, or if you think the answer may be negative, you can also use Would you mind + verb-ing as the preferred alternative to Could you…? Would you mind…?literally means: Would you object to…? Would you mind locking the door when you leave? ~ No, not at all! Could you please lock the door when you leave? ~ Yes, certainly!  If you're not busy at the moment, would you mind helping me with my homework? If you're not busy at the moment, could you give me a hand with my homework?

			Can I / could I / may I / might I If you are requesting something for yourself, all of these forms are possible. May and might are considered to be more polite, more formal or more tentative than can and could, but can and could are usually preferred in normal usage. Compare the following: Can I ask a favor of you? ~ Of course you can. Could I ask you to collect Deborah from school tomorrow ~ Of course you can. Could I possibly have another cup of coffee? ~ I don't think you should. You won't sleep tonight if you do. If you've finished with the computer, may I turn it off? ~ Yes, please do. Might I leave work a bit earlier today? I've got a doctor's appointment at 5. Might is more frequently used in indirect questions, as an indirect question softens the request. Note the further polite alternatives that we can use: I wonder if I might leave work a bit earlier today? I've got a doctor's appointment. Would I be able to leave work a bit earlier today? I've got a dentist appointment at 6. Would it be OK if I left work a bit earlier today? I've got to take our cat to the vet.
			Would you / Do you mind if I…? Similarly, if we use Do / Would you mind if I…? to make a request, we may be anticipating possible objections: Would you mind if I put off talking to Henry until tomorrow? ~ I think that's a mistake. I think you should speak to him today Note the difference between: Would you mind…? and Would you mind me/my…?: Would you mind filling the ice trays and putting them in the freezer? (= you do it) Would you mind me/my filling the ice trays and putting them in the freezer? (= I'll do it)

Things to remember about making a request:

§   "Would you mind..." is followed by a gerund (verb+ing)

Example: "Would you mind lending me your book? "

§   The response to the following request: "Would you mind giving me your book? "

-       "No, I don't mind."(which is a positive response to the request. It means that I accept to lend you my book)

OR

-       "Yes." (which is a negative response to the request. It means that I don't want to lend you my book.)

Responding a request
Positive Response	Negative Response
·       Sure. ·       Why not. ·       Okay. ·       Sure, I’d be glad/happy to … ·       Of course. ·       Certainly. ·       No problem. ·       Sure. Just a moment. ·       With a pleasure. ·       I'd be glad to. ·       No. I don't mind. ·       No, that would be fine. ·       No, of course not.	·       Not at all. ·       Yes, I do mind. ·       I’d loved to, but … ·       It sounds great, but … •       I’m sorry, but … •       Sorry to say that … •       I am sorry I can't.

Sample conversation:

A        : Excuse me, could you do me a favor?

B        : Sure, what is it?

A        : Could you help me move these chairs?

B        : No problem.

A        : Thanks a lot.

http://www.teacherjoe.us/LearnEnglish206.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1756_how_to_discuss/page2.shtml
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/suggest