英语里如何委婉提建议？

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We all have times when we want to give advice to someone or to make a suggestion about something they could do to solve a problem. However, it's not always easy to do that without giving offence, so this post looks at a range of language you could use in this situation.

日常生活中，我们总会碰到要给别人提供意见或建议的时候。只是，如果我们不注意方式方法，就会惹人不高兴，甚至得罪人。为此，今天我们就来看看Liz Walter为我们梳理的给别人提意见或建议的常见表达。

1）The most obvious words to use for giving advice are the modal verbs shouldand ought to（应该）:

You ought to eat more vegetables. （你应该多吃蔬菜。）

You shouldn't be so rude to your parents. （你不应该对父母如此无礼。）

Note that although we commonly use the negative form shouldn't, it's very rare and formal to use the negative form of ought to（否定形式多用shouldn't；oughtn't to很少用，而且主要用在很正式的场合）.

2）We also use need to in the same way:

You need to get some sleep. （你需要睡觉。）

3）Words like should, ought to and need to are very definite. They show that you are very sure of your advice. The problem with that is that they can be annoying to the person you are talking to because they can make you sound rather bossy. You could soften your advice by adding a word like perhapsor maybeat the beginning（should、ought to和need to语气较为生硬，让人听起来不易接受，为此可以在句首加上perhaps或maybe，以缓和语气）:

Maybe you should call her. （也许你该打电话给她。）

4）You could also use the modal verb could, which makes the sentence sound more like a suggestion rather than a piece of strict advice. Again, you could add a word like perhapsto make it even less bossy（could的语气更为缓和，而且前面也可以加上perhaps等词来进一步缓和语气）:

Perhaps you could get a part-time job. （也许你可以找一份兼职工作。）

5）Another common way of giving advice is to start a sentence with If I were you, I'd …（如果我是你，我就会...） :

If I were you, I'd insist on a pay rise. （如果我是你，我就会坚持要求加薪。）

Just in case you're wondering, the reason we say 'I were' here, rather than the usual 'I was' is because it's a subjunctive – but you don't need to worry about that, just learn the phrase!（句中的If I were you用的是虚拟语气）

6）Another phrase worth learning for advice is you'd better (not)（你最好...；你最好不要...）:

You'd better take a torch. （你最好带上手电筒/火把。）

However, it's important to note that – depending on context and the tone of voice – this phrase can sound quite threatening（在特定的语境和语气下，had better及其否定形式可以表示一种威胁的口吻）:

You'd better not try to trick me! （你最好不要耍我！）

7）Of course, there are lots of other possible ways of giving advice. Here is a selection（其他常见的表达）:

It might be an idea / a good idea to reserve a seat. （预订座位是个不错的主意。）

Have you thought about/tried/considered changing to a different course? （你有想过/试过/考虑过换课程吗？）

Why don't you / Why not leave it until another day? （你为什么不等到日后再说？）

I'dsuggest / recommend cooking it in the oven. （我建议用烤炉烧。）

I'd advise you / My advice is to leave the city immediately. （正式用语：我建议你马上离开这个城市。）