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Hi, I’m Martin. Welcome to Oxford
Online English. In this lesson,
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you can learn how to make and accept suggestions,
using the right phrases and vocabulary.
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You’ll also see how to reject
someone else’s suggestion politely.
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Making suggestions is useful for
your everyday English conversation.
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In social situations, being able to make, accept
and reject suggestions politely is important!
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To see more free English lessons, visit our
website: Oxford Online English dot com. You
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can also book English classes with
our fully-qualified teachers, who can
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help you with your English speaking, writing,
IELTS preparation, or whatever else you need.
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Let’s start by seeing different ways to
make and accept suggestions in English.
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Let’s listen to two friends talking
together.
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As you listen, think about two questions.
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One: what language is used to make suggestions?
Two: what language is used to accept suggestions?
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Ready? Let’s listen to the dialogue.
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It’s a lovely day. Why don’t we go out somewhere?
Sure. Why not?
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How about going for a walk? Maybe along the river?
Sounds great.
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Shall we stop somewhere for some lunch?
That’s a good idea.
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Let’s try that new restaurant by the park.
Great. I’m in!
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Could you hear all the different ways to make
and accept suggestions? Let’s look together.
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One of these phrases has a different structure
to the other three. Do you know which one?
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‘How about’ is different, because
you use it with a verb plus -ing.
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The other three are all followed by infinitive verbs, without 'to'.
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Let's practise.
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Complete these suggestions with your own ideas.
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Pay attention to the verb form.
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What suggestions did you make? Of
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course, there are many possible
answers! Here are some examples.
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It’s a beautiful day. Let’s go to the beach.
I’m hungry. How about going out for a pizza?
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I’m free this morning. Why
don’t we go to the market?
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There’s a movie on channel 4. Shall we watch it?
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Were your suggestions the same as mine?
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Now, let’s see phases you can use to
accept a suggestion. In the dialogue, you heard:
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There are many other phrases you could use.
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You could just say something simple
like ‘yeah’ or ‘yeah, why not?’
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If you want to sound a little less
casual, you could say something like
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‘I would like that’ or ‘That
sounds like a good idea.’
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But, what if you don’t want to do what the
other person is suggesting? Let’s look.
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Sometimes, even though it’s a bit difficult,
you’ve got to reject a suggestion have to
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say ‘no’ to people.
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In this case, it’s important to be
polite, even if you’re talking to a friend.
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Let’s see a dialogue which shows you how *not*
to do this. Listen and try to find the problems.
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It’s a beautiful day. Shall we go out somewhere?
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No, I don’t want to.
Oh, come on!
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Why don’t we go for a walk along the river?
What an awful idea.
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Well, let’s go somewhere for some lunch.
No, let’s not.
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Well, how about watching a movie together?
Count me out.
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What do you think?
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You *could* use phrases like this
to reject someone else’s suggestion…
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but it doesn’t sound polite.
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So, how could we improve them? Listen
again and see the difference.
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It’s a beautiful day. Shall we go out somewhere?
I’d rather not, if you don’t mind.
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Oh, come on! Why don’t we go
for a walk along the river?
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I don’t really feel like it, I’m afraid.
Well, let’s go somewhere for some lunch.
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Maybe another time.
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Did you hear the four polite phrases
you can use to say ‘no’ to a suggestion?
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Let’s look together.
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These are polite ways to reject a suggestion.
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The phrase – ‘can I take a rain check?’
– means that you want to do something, but
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not right now. You’ll do it another time.
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It’s a lovely day. Why don’t we go shopping?
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Maybe another time. I’ve got a lot to do today.
How about going for a walk? Maybe along the river?
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I don’t really feel like it,
I’m afraid. I’m a bit tired.
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Well, let’s go somewhere for lunch.
I’d rather not, if you don’t mind.
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I’m not very hungry right now.
Then how about going to the park?
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Can I take a rain check? I’m
a bit busy at the moment.
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When you say
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‘no’ to someone’s suggestion, you can
sound more polite by adding a reason.
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Can you remember the reasons
you heard in the dialogue?
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You heard these.
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Now it’s over to you.
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Like we did before, I’m going to make
some suggestions. After you hear each suggestion,
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pause the video, reject the suggestion
politely, and add a reason. Ready to start?
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It’s a lovely day. Let’s go for a picnic.
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I’m thirsty. How about a cup of tea?
I’m free this afternoon. Why don’t
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we go to the cinema?
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There’s a new restaurant in Queen
Street. Shall we go there this evening?
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How did you do? Here
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are some possible reasons you could use.
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Were any of your reasons the same as mine?
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If not, don’t worry! There are
many possible answers here.
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Now, you should know different ways to make,
accept and reject suggestions politely in English.
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Are we done? Not yet! There’s
one more important point.
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When you’re accepting a suggestion,
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intonation is critical. Even if
you use correct, polite language,
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you can still sound unfriendly
if your intonation is not right.
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Compare two answers.
Shall we go shopping?
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That’s a good idea.
That’s a good idea!
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Can you hear it? The same words can
have a completely different meaning
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if you change the intonation.
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When you’re accepting rejecting a
suggestion, try to sound a little apologetic.
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Now, I’m going to reject a suggestion
twice, using different intonation. Listen;
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which answer has the correct,
apologetic intonation?
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I can’t, I’m afraid. I’ve got some work to do.
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I can’t, I’m afraid. I’ve got some work to do.
Could you hear? Which one sounded more polite?
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The first answer had polite intonation. The
second one didn’t, and could sound unfriendly.
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Now it’s your turn to practise.
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You’ll hear four suggestions. After each one,
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either accept it, or reject it.
Focus on using polite intonation.
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This is also a great chance to check if you
remember all the language from this lesson! Ready?
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It’s a lovely day. Let’s go for a picnic.
I’m thirsty. How about a cup of tea?
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I’m free this afternoon. Why
don’t we go to the cinema?
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There’s a new restaurant in
Queen Street. Shall we go there?
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How did you get on? Did you manage to sound
enthusiastic or apologetic? It’s not always
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easy to judge your own intonation, so you might
want to ask someone else if you sound natural.
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Although polite intonation is important, you
don’t want to overdo it. It will sound weird.
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That’s everything. Thanks for watching.
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See you next time!
