General English Level 4 V 3
UNIT 03 Dreams and plans TOPIC 03 Maybe
LANGUAGE FOCUS 02 Asking for and giving advice
Giving advice means helping someone decide what to do. In this activity we look at ways to ask for and to give advice.

Asking for advice

Jin Hee and Steve say:
Jin Hee:
Well I'm not sure if it is a good idea to move my classes... What do you think I should do?
Steve:
Umm, why don't you ask your students what they think?

Jin Hee has a problem - she doesn't know whether to move her Tae Kwon Do class or not. She asks Steve his opinion about what is the best thing to do . She is asking for advice .

Jin Hee asks Steve:
Jin Hee:
So do you think I should say anything to my students?

Jin Hee isn't sure about her idea, so she asks Steve his opinion. She is checking if her idea is good or bad. This is another way to ask for advice .

What do you think I
you
he
she
it
we
they 		should do?
ought to do?
Do you think I
you
he
she
it
we
they 		should
ought to 		study?
play?
go?
move?
talk to John?
ask?
buy this?
Do you think it would be a good idea to

Giving advice

Steve and Jin Hee say:
Jin Hee:
… What do you think I should do?
Steve:
Umm, why don't you ask your students what they th ink?

Steve and Jin Hee say:
Jin Hee:
… If I had more information about the centre, it would be easier to decide….
Steve:
Well, if I were you , I'd speak to Jenny at the council…

Steve and Jin Hee say:
Jin Hee:
You're a genius Steve! You ought to get a job as a counsellor…
Steve:
You'd better watch out or I'll start charging you!

Steve and Jin Hee say:
Jin Hee:
Yeah, that's a good idea but I don't want Harry to know about it. If he knew, he wouldn't be very happy.
Steve:
Oh you shouldn't worry about that. Harry would understand - it's business and you need to do the best thing for your class.

Steve and Jin Hee say:
Steve:
Hey, have you thought about teach ing two classes ? If you taught two classes, you could have one at the new centre and keep the class at Harry's.
Jin Hee:
That's not a bad idea…

Steve uses this language to give advice : Why don't you..? , If I were you, I'd …, you ought to , you shouldn't , you'd better , you need to , have you thought about .. ?

You should ask
go with 		Tom.
You ought to
It would be a good idea to
You need to
You had better / You'd better
If I were you, I would / If I were you, I'd
Why don't you ask
go with 		Tom ?
Have you thought about asking
going with 		To m?

Examples

1 Read the examples.
2 Listen to the examples.
3 Practise saying each example. Use the Pause button.
A:
I want to book a room at the sports centre. What do you think I should do?
B:
You should talk to Jenny at the council.
A: I don't know how to do this. What should I do?
B: Why don't you ask your teach er?
A: What do you think I should take on the trip ?
B: If I were you, I'd take lots of warm clothes. It's very cold at Black Mountain.
A: I want to talk to my teacher about changing classes. What do you think I ought to say?
B: You need to explain why you want to change. You'd better talk to her soon.
A: Do you think it would be a good idea to talk to my students about the problem?
B: Yes, it would be a good idea to talk to them after class.
A: Do you think I should buy a camera for my trip ?
B: Yes. Have you thought about buyi ng a video camera ?
A: No, but that's a good idea.

Now go to 03 LANGUAGE FOCUS The second conditional.