... talk to her about it.
B. Hmm, maybe you should talk to her about it.
C. You must talk to her about it.
“Should” and “must”
Example A above usesYou should… This is a common way to make a simple suggestion:
• I’m running a 40-degree temperature. — Oh, dear. You should be in bed.
But if the situation isdifficult orpersonal , you could make a morecareful suggestion, as in example B. This soundsless direct than saying “You should…”. Example C usesYou must… In English, this sounds far too strong as a suggestion. You would usemust only to give acommand :
• (teacher to pupil) You must get to school on time. Or you could usemust to make arecommendation :
• You really must visit Salamanca if you’re in Spain. It’s a beautiful city.
Another way to make a suggestion more careful is with the expressiontry + -ing . This means “do this — maybe it will help”:
• I just can’t find a girlfriend. — Why don’t you try using a dating site?
To make a suggestion evenmore careful , you can useOne possibility would be to…:
• I can’t seem to find a girlfriend. — Well, one possibility would be to use a dating site.
I suppose you could (always)…
• Well, I suppose you could always try using a dating site.
Serious advice
To give stronger or more serious advice, you can useought to . It means the same as “should”, but it sounds slightly more formal:
• (parent to son/daughter) You’re nearly 30. I really think you ought to start looking for a job.
Another way to give serious advice is withIf I were you, …:
• (to a friend or colleague) They don’t pay you enough. If I were you, I’d look for another job.
Asking for a suggestion
To ask for a suggestion, we can useshall :
• What shall I wear for the wedding? For more serious suggestions or advice, we can useshould , often withdo you think… ? :
• What do you think I should do?