Making Suggestions, Offers and Invitations

Making Suggestions, Offers and Invitations

Hello, English learners. Welcome to a new lesson. If you want to communicate effectively and politely, you need to know the right phrases to help you invite someone to an event, offer help or suggest an idea. Today, we will learn phrases for making suggestions, offers and invitations.

Making suggestions

The most commonly used phrases for making suggestions in everyday spoken English are Shall we…? and Let’s…

• Shall we go to the cinema tonight?
• Shall we start planning our next holiday?
• Let’s go for a coffee after work.
• Let’s invite our friends over for dinner. Making Suggestions, Offers and Invitations

We use could for suggestions, too.

• You could consider joining the gym for regular exercise.
• Could we try a new restaurant for dinner tonight?
• Could I help you with your project?

We can use why don’t…? in the same way.

• Why don’t you try learning a new language?
• Why don’t we see that new film tonight?
• Why don’t we check out that new coffee shop?

If you want to ask for a suggestion, you can do it with can, shall, or should.

• Can you suggest a good book to read?
• Can we brainstorm some creative solutions? Making Suggestions, Offers and Invitations
• Shall I bring something to the party?
• Shall we invite more people to your birthday party?
• Should we go to the beach or to the mountains for our trip?
• Should we start the meeting now or wait for a few more attendees?

Making offers

We can use will, can and shall to make an offer.

• I will lend you my book if you are interested in reading it.
• I will send you the report by the end of the week.
• Can we give you a hand with the decorations?
• Can I show you how to use this software?
• Shall I make some tea for everyone? Making Suggestions, Offers and Invitations
• Shall I book a table for dinner?

We can use the phrase would like…? to make an offer.

• Would you like some help with your homework?
• Would you like some tea or coffee?
• Would you like some wine with your steak?

Making invitations

To make an informal offer, we use imperative.

• Come and watch the film with us!
• Enjoy a cup of coffee with me!
• Have dinner with us tomorrow.

To invite someone more formally, we use the phrase Would you like…?

• Would you like to come to our wedding anniversary?
• Would you like to come hiking with us on Saturday?
• Would you like to have coffee with me after work?

We can do the same using will and won’t.

• Will you go to the concert with us this weekend? Making Suggestions, Offers and Invitations
• Will you attend our meeting this afternoon?
• Won’t you come to the party this weekend?
• Won’t you stay a little longer and chat?

Making suggestions, offers and invitations

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