VOA慢速英语2018--提出和回应建议

Making and Responding to Suggestions

Imagine that you haven’t seen a good friend in a month. In a telephone call, your friend tells you she would like to get together for dinner but can’t think of a restaurant to go to. So, you offer an idea.

Listen to a short conversation:

I’d love to have dinner on Friday but I’m not sure where.

How about we go to Chez Philip?

Great idea! I haven’t been there in over a year.

The phrase How about is one common way to make a friendly suggestion in English. To make a suggestion means to offer an idea or plan for someone to think about.

You probably already know a few ways to make suggestions in English, using words such as could or should.

But, on this Everyday Grammar program, we’ll talk about common phrases you can use for making friendly suggestions. We use many of these phrases in question form.

How about…?

Let’s start by talking a little more about the phrase How about.

When you ask a question using How about, you are asking someone if they agree with what you are suggesting.

There are two structures for using this phrase. The first is:

How about + subject + simple verb form

Let’s listen to the first example again:

How about we go to Chez Philip?

In this example, the subject is we, and the verb is go.

The second structure for using How about is:

How about + gerund

Listen:

How about going to Chez Philip?

In this example, the subject is still we, although is not directly stated. Instead, the subject is implied¹. And, going is the gerund form of the verb go.

You can also use How about + gerund to make a suggestion for an action that does not involve you. For example:

How about starting a group for English learners?

What about…?

The phrase What about is very similar to How about.

You can replace the phrasing How about + gerund with What about + gerund to express the same meaning. For example:

What about going to Chez Philip?

However, What about + gerund is less common in American English than in other types of English.

Something that English learners will notice is that native English speakers often leave out both the subject and verb when we use What about and How about to make suggestions. Listen:

How about Chez Philip?

What about Chez Philip?

Why don’t..?

Why don’t is very similar to How about and What about. The difference here is that we ask the question using the negative don’t.

The structure is: Why don’t + subject + simple verb form

Let’s hear our example again, but this time with Why don’t:

Why don’t we go to Chez Philip?

Why not..?

Why not also uses the negative not. But this phrase is a little different from the other phrases. It is usually used to make more general suggestions. Advertisers often use Why not for selling products or services.

The structure is Why not + simple verb form

Listen:

Why not treat yourself to a Caribbean holiday?

In this example, the subject is you, but it is not directly stated. And, the verb is treat.

Shall…?

Using Shall is another way to make a suggestion. However, it sounds a lot more formal and is more common in British English than American English.

The structure is: shall + subject + simple verb form

For example:

Shall we go to Chez Philip?

One thing to note when using Shall to make suggestions: it is only used with the subjects I and we. We would not say, Shall you to offer an idea.

Let’s…

Sometimes, suggestions are expressed in statements instead of questions, such as with the phrase Let’s.

Let’s is a contraction² for the words let us. It is used to tell someone what you want to do with them.

The structure is Let’s + simple verb form

Listen:

Let’s go to Chez Philip!

In this sentence, the subject is us.

So, how do you respond to friendly suggestions? You can either accept or decline³.

Accepting

A few phrases for accepting a suggestion are:

That’s a good/great idea!

That sounds good/great.

Perfect!

Thanks! I’d love to.

Declining⁴

A few phrases for declining a suggestion include:

I’d prefer…

That’s a good idea but…

I’m not sure.

When you decline a suggestion, you may want to then politely suggest something else. For example:

I’m not sure. Chez Philip is not my favorite. How about Fearless Farmers?

Making and responding to suggestions in English takes practice. But it’s one of the more fun things you can do with a classmate, friend or family member.

You can also practice in our comments section. Try using a few of the phrases you learned⁵ today to make a friendly suggestion.

I’m Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

conversation – n. an informal talk involving two people or a small group of people

gerund – n. an English noun⁶ formed from a verb by adding -ing

imply⁷ – v. to express something without saying or showing it plainly

negative – n. a word or statement that means “no” or that expresses a denial⁸ or refusal⁹

formal – adj. suitable for serious or official speech and writing

prefer – v. to like something better than something else

contraction – n. the act or process of making something smaller or of becoming smaller

decline – v. to say no to something in a polite way

polite – adj. having or showing good manners or respect for other people

practice – v. to do something again and again in order to become better at it

1 implied   

adj.暗含的，暗示的

参考例句：

• The implied reservation doctrine has deep historical roots.所指的保留地原则有着很深的历史渊源。

2 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。

3 decline   

n.衰微，跌落，下降；vt.使降低，婉谢；vi.下降，衰落，偏斜

参考例句：

• I must decline to show favour to any of the candidates.我必须拒绝偏袒任何一位候选人。
• The birthrate is on the decline.出生率在下降。

4 declining   

adj.下降的，衰落的

参考例句：

• The nub of the matter is that business is declining. 事情的实质是工商业在萎缩。
• It is encouraging to read that illiteracy is declining. 从读报中了解文盲情况正在好转，这是令人鼓舞的。

5 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

6 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

7 imply   

vt.暗示；意味着

参考例句：

• Cheerfulness doesn't always imply happiness.快活并不总是意味着幸福。
• What did she imply in her words?她的话意味着什么？

8 denial   

n.否认；拒绝，拒绝给予

参考例句：

• The newspaper printed a denial of the untrue story.报社刊登了否认不实消息的声明。
• Her denial of my advice hurts me.她拒绝我的忠告伤害了我。

9 refusal   

n.拒绝

参考例句：

• He persisted in his refusal to pay the money.他坚持拒绝付钱。
• Our offer was met with a firm refusal.我们的报价被坚决拒绝。