Giving and Asking for recommendations in English
oh hi everybody welcome back to our
weekly live stream my name is Alisha and
today we’re going to talk about how to
give and ask for recommendations and
advice this week is a good lesson for
beginners I’m going to talk about some
patterns you can use for both of these
topics and I made the patterns kind of
open so my goal here is to help you be
able to build questions and be able to
build answers as well so I hope everyone
can find something at the end of today’s
lesson I’m going to cover some tips some
common mistakes that I hear from
learners with both of these topics so I
hope there’s a little bit of advanced
information in today’s lesson too while
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all right uh so today we’re going to
cover kind of two groups
I made a today’s lesson into two groups
to explain before we begin so the top of
the board in today’s lesson the top of
the board is recommendations information
so I’m going to cover how to ask for
recommendations and advice how to give
and then we’ll cover tips at the end so
the top of the board today is
recommendations up here the bottom of
the board is advice so there are these
two kind of groups of information for
today’s lesson we’re going to cover
okie-dokie Facebook where’s your chat
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see you now for some reason I can’t see
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you - welcome okay let’s get started
with the first part - for today’s lesson
so I’m going to cover this part of the
board first
there we are - I’m gonna cover this part
of the board first I’m going to cover
how to ask for recommendations and how
to ask for advice let’s begin here let’s
start with recommendations so a
recommendation what is a recommendation
a recommendation first this is a noun
it’s when you want something you want
someone’s opinion about something like a
restaurant a book a movie you’re
interested in something you’re looking
for something and maybe another person
has information about it you want that
information what did they think is good
how do you ask for a recommendation so
couple patterns similar similar patterns
but some things to think about do you
have any recommendations for topic do
you have any recommendations for topic
at native speed this sounds like do you
have any recommendations for something
so quite quick do you have any
recommendations for something so this
part do you have becomes very short so
not do you have but do you have do you
have do you have any recommendations fur
and in my accent this for sounds like
fur and very fast speech a couple other
points here one recommendations in this
pattern should be plural do you have any
recommendations so sometimes I hear
learners remove or like they forget this
s sound do you have any recommendations
for thing let’s look at some examples of
this do you have any recommendations for
restaurants or do you have any
recommendations for tours in London so a
native speed this sounds like do you
have any recommendations for restaurants
or do you have any recommendations for
tours in London so when you choose your
your topic the thing you want the
recommendation for a point to keep in
mind it’s really hard sorry if you can’t
see on your screen I will read this
point
this says if the topic is a countable
noun for example restaurants or tours
use the plural form of the noun so
restaurants so not restaurant but
restaurants or tours not tour so please
use the plural form if the noun is a
countable noun if it’s an uncountable
noun you don’t need to worry but please
use the plural form in this pattern do
you have any recommendations for plural
noun is what you should use in this
pattern so please keep this in mind then
another very common pattern is this one
very very similar to this but there are
a couple of small points to keep in mind
first we have the same do you have any
which is fine like just as I talked
about here that kind of Twix do you have
any do you have any pronunciation but
the thing that’s different here is that
your topic comes before the word
recommendations and in this pattern you
should use the singular form of your
noun not the plural form so you can put
your topic before or after
recommendations
oh I just lost this great cone aspect
you can put your topic before
recommendations and it can be singular
or you can put your topic after
recommendations with for but it should
be plural so please keep this in mind
some examples of this do you have any
horror movie recommendations horror
movie records so horror movie means
scary yeah so do you have any horror
movie recommendations in this pattern my
topic the thing I want the
recommendation for comes before
recommendations yeah
so recommendations plural form here yeah
or movie however is singular horror
movie recommendations horror movies
recommendations is incorrect you cannot
use that another example do you have any
book recommended
Asians book is in the singular form so
again you could use these with this
pattern also they mean the same thing
it’s up to you there’s no difference in
meaning here you could say do you have
any recommendations for horror movies
correct or do you have any
recommendations for books correct
so just keep in mind the singular plural
thing
some examples are coming in do you have
any recommendations for an island tour a
honey flower gifts delivery the long
name please don’t forget do you have any
recommendations for so don’t forget this
s at the end of your recommendations
their pasta game says do you have any
burger joint recommendations okay so two
of you so far your s you are missing the
S at the end of your recommendation
recommendations and don’t forget that
Shola says do you have any
recommendations for today’s topic yeah
you could say that but like it’s kind of
what exactly are you asking about that
part’s not clear grammatically correct
giorious says do you have any
recommendations for my trip to your
country that’s what I would say for my
trip to your country okay let’s okay
might have tricky foam feet cool happy
so facebook comments sorry Facebook
there’s some interesting issues here I
will I’m looking at your comments I have
to check it on my on my phone Facebook I
don’t see your examples yet what exactly
is recommendation so recommendation is
someone else’s suggestion someone else’s
suggestion for something that they want
bori says does she have so you can
change the subject from do you have to
does he or does she have any coffee
recommendations is good okay good let’s
continue then to part two part two is
about advice so we talked about how to
ask for recommendations now let’s talk
how to ask for advice this I made this a
very very open pattern so that you can
build your own questions with this okay
so to make this advice pattern let’s use
a wh question when I say WH question
I mean who what where when why how those
questions so those information gathering
questions WH question do you think I
should verb or verb phrase this is a
very basic advice pattern let’s take a
look at some examples of how to build
questions with this pattern first I need
to choose a wh question to start so what
what do you think I should say here’s my
verb say to my boss so I’ve made a verb
phrase here depending on the situation
maybe just a verb is okay your idea is
complete with just the verb but say to
my boss what do you think I should say
to my boss so you’re looking for advice
in a challenging work situation what do
you think I should say to my boss so end
this with a verb phrase this part right
here do you think I should this right
here shows you are asking for advice no
questions okay so let’s go to the other
example
where where do you think I should go for
my date where do you think I should go
form a date so my wh question is where
in this case again asking advice here
where do you think I should verb phrase
go for my date so this is a very very
open advice question I will look for
your advice examples in the chat
hello everybody lots of people saying
hello example some examples for
recommendations are coming do you have
any recommendations for my trip to Dubai
do you have new food recommended
good send me your advice examples - I
will try to check live ok for now let’s
go to pattern 2 though pattern 2 for
advice
today is a wh question starts with a wh
question again
so who what where when why + would u +
verb or verb phrase so in this one we’re
using wood so this well let’s look at
the examples first so you can get an
idea first one which candidate which
candidate so here I’m using which using
of a series of choices which one or
which person candidate means like a
person trying to get a position like a
candidate for president or a candidate
for a job someone who wants to be in a
position which candidate would you
choose for the position so here my verb
is choose and I’ve got yeah in this case
some extra information which candidate
would you choose so the feeling with
this kind of sentence is if you were in
charge of the decision what would you do
so it’s asking about that person’s
thoughts about their actions what would
you do what would you choose so the idea
here is also like maybe that person is
not in charge but you want to learn
their thoughts about it what would you
do which candidate would you choose
another example the very very helpful
and very general what would you do so
again my WH question here is what would
you do so this one you can use in lots
of different situations to get advice if
you have a challenging situation at your
office or something difficult and you’re
a friendship or relationship you can ask
for advice with what would you do what
would you do
some examples are coming in facebook
says where do you think I should go in
the wintertime nice
from a Otello where do you think I
should go in the winter time perfect
example nice some other ones Hudson says
which do you think I should study
tomorrow English or Spanish sorry nice
nice one okay other examples I don’t see
others on Facebook yet so good to
YouTube where should I go to enjoy local
food nice one kidding that one sounds
good can I make the sentence without a
do verb what you think I should touch
you dance I know you need to include do
here so what do you think I should or
what
what do you are what would you love oh
uh this pattern yeah what do you think
you need to use do here ya can keep that
there Elliman says where do you think I
should travel this summer nice examples
nice examples Rosana
what do you think I should do what do
you think I should do to be better in
English that will fix your sentence what
do you think I should do to be better in
English ash ugh show glad again sorry
which candidate would you choose for the
presidential election this one uh other
examples Facebook huh I don’t see any on
Facebook okay let’s see whoa times going
quick let’s take a break
so this is our advice as our advice and
recommendations how to ask for advice
and ask for recommendations here we’re
going to cover the response next but
we’re going to take a short break so
I’ll share with you a couple other
things I did not share with you earlier
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these are vocabulary and phrase sheets
that you can download save to your phone
print out whatever this one is about
food on the back is expressions for
ordering at a restaurant so it’s
vocabulary words how to give compliment
stuff like that you can totally use this
one right here this pattern right here
is perfect for restaurants do you have
any recommendations do you have any
recommendations is good to ask the staff
at the restaurant when you don’t know
what to order so this is a really good
one for today’s lesson some other ones
this one I’ve shown several times the
business English one and on the back are
expressions for business meetings you
can check this out these are other good
down here the advice patterns I
introduced are good to use in work
situations so check these all out you
can find them all for free I’ll link
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YouTube hello Giovanni yeah a one of our
memories is in the chat welcome
okey-dokey let’s go to part 2 for today
part 2 is about responding responding to
people’s questions and so if you have
not already please make sure to like and
share the video hit the thumbs up so
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lesson we appreciate that as always
let’s continue then - part 2 part 2
giving recommendations and giving advice
so let’s look at some patterns you can
use to give recommendations check out
check out check out something so let’s
say someone said do you have any
recommendations for a new TV show you
might say check out the good place or
check out the mandalorian or check out
Sara’s looking at you check out
something
check out Nam phrase check out
recommendation this is a casual way to
say you should watch or I think you
should watch is casual and direct check
out this thing another one try try this
one is natural try something for
activities if you if you want to suggest
like a sport like o try hiking or try
a bicycling or try playing a sport
buh-buh-bah this one is natural for
activities you can also you can also use
just regular noun phrases with this like
try this TV show or try this artist
something like that that’s also fine the
difference between try and check out try
sounds a little less direct
it’s like test this out maybe you’ll
like that try this thing this is good
maybe for food as well like oh try this
dish it’s good something like that is
quite natural in this case next one I
want to focus on here is have you heard
of have you heard of something I heard I
hear a lot of learners use the pattern
do you know do you know so lots of
people will say for example do you know
sushi or do you know this country so
please more naturally you should use
have you heard of have you heard of this
thing have you heard of sushi the answer
is yes for most people have you heard of
listening so this sounds more natural to
native speakers then do you know we use
do you know for facts or more naturally
like did you know when we’re introducing
new information we use do you know for
like personal relationships like do you
know that guy that sounds natural when
you’re talking about life experience
like when you’re giving a recommendation
it’s much more natural to use have you
heard of this thing have you heard of
why do I keep my much of the good place
have you heard of the mandalorian have
you heard of altered carbon that’s a
weird show I watched a while back yeah
have you heard of this thing have you
heard of coronaviruses Christopher yes
okay on Facebook sorry I can’t see your
comments except on my phone today for
some reason
hi everybody okay so have you heard of
is good one more
you could go to place you could so I’ve
got go to here I made this just to give
you a pattern to use for like rest
or for travel recommendations so you can
of course use this to talk about other
actions you could verb is fine you can
change go to another verb you could go
to that restaurant you could go to that
country you could go to this cafe so you
can use this to give a recommendation
for some place to visit also add details
so when someone asks you for a
recommendation you can follow up by
saying Oh check out this TV show and
then give some details
why do you recommend that TV show why do
you recommend that thing that restaurant
because the dessert there is great or
the story is so good or the effects are
amazing whatever you want to like
whatever your opinion is share some
details why are you recommending that
thing in particular give some small
details it’s nice to do these are very
simple but very natural to use so try to
include something like this Oh looky I
don’t see any questions so let’s
continue to advise giving advice when
someone asks for advice you can give it
with a simple I fink pattern that’s fine
I think you should Ferb I think you
should Ferb like I think you should go
to a nice casual restaurant for your
date I have I think in parenthesis here
because you don’t have to include it
it’s very natural to drop I think when
it’s clear from the conversation you’re
just sharing your opinion so you can say
oh you should go to a nice casual
restaurant or you should tell your boss
you’re interested in management the key
here is this you should you should this
is a very basic easy to remember pattern
for giving advice and then what needs to
follow is just a verb in the infinitive
form you should tell you should go you
should see you should
watch you should listen whatever your
verb that follows should should just be
in the infinitive form so infinitive
form means like the basic dictionary
form yeah okay examples have you heard
our teachers story of us kenneth on
facebook have you heard this part have
you heard don’t forget this d heard of
this thing okay one more I wanted to
introduce this if I were you pattern if
I were you I would verb if I were you I
would work for example if I were you I
would work on building new skills so
giving advice again or I would make a
monthly budget for myself so someone
asking for advice about money their
friend might give them this advice again
this if I were you is optional you can
remove it it’s totally fine if I were
you and yeah this part pronunciation
wise native speakers do not say if I
were you we say if I were you if I were
you it sounds like that okay
time’s going quick so I will wrap up in
just a minute with some important tips
over here I guess I’ll take one more
quick break to show you a couple more
things to download check it out yeah
okay here we go I’ll show you these are
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want to practice directions check this
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comments so sorry do you have any PDF
recommendations yes the ones I just
showed you okay let’s go to the last
part for today’s lesson I don’t see any
questions on Facebook so I’m going to
continue let’s go to the last part now
for today and if you have not already
please make sure to like and share this
video so other people can find it I want
to talk about a few tips these are very
quick short tips that I think will help
you when you’re using these patterns
first let’s talk about recommendation
patterns when you are asking for a
recommendation as we talked about at the
beginning of today’s lesson when you’re
asking for a recommendation give
information about your preferences so
your preferences means what you like and
what you dislike if you don’t know how
to do that please check last week’s live
stream you can review that so for
example I like or I don’t like this sort
of thing or I’m looking for something
lovable so when you ask for a
recommendation it’s good to give the
other person some information like if
you’re looking for a dessert
recommendation you might say do you have
any recommendations for desserts I don’t
like things that are super sugary so
give some information about your likes
and dislikes don’t just say do you have
any recommendations that makes it kind
of challenging for the person to give
you something
that’s suited to you then when you give
your recommendation in this part here
it’s very natural to use command form so
the command form for example it’s like
try or go or do so you don’t have to use
you
here you can just use the command form
above er you can also use expressions
like have two or got two so those make
your recommendations stronger so instead
of try this desert you can say you have
to try this desert it’s so good
so using have two or got two will
elevate or will make your recommendation
stronger a little more like and there
will be more emphasis on your
recommendation so those are two points
for your recommendations asking and
giving last hear about advice two points
about advice when I introduced this
pattern I think you should blah blah
blah lots people ask like can I use
could or would hear the answer is you
can use could but remove I think from
this one like there are some cases where
you can use I think you could but when
you use I could patterns
it makes your it makes the request or
the the idea it makes the recommendation
the advice softer so for example you
could go to a nice casual restaurant so
you if you use you should go it’s
stronger if you say you could go to a
nice restaurant it’s just saying it’s
possible to do that thing
so using could is okay I would suggest
you remove I think from those sentences
please note you cannot use wood you
cannot just use wood in place of should
in this sentence please keep this in
mind last point last tip in this pattern
in this if I were you pattern lots of
people ask what’s the difference between
if I were and if I was in these patterns
please use if I were native speakers
tend to use if I was and if I were
interchangeably most of the time there’s
no communication problem but the
difference if I was is
used to describe a possible past
situation so what possible past
situation or condition if I were you
describes an unreal situation which is
now like I cannot be you that’s not real
if I was describes a past situation so
like for example talking to your
neighbor you might say if I was noisy
last night I apologize like maybe you
had a big party you don’t know if you
were noisy at the party but you want to
express that to your neighbor if I was
noisy
I apologize not if I were noisy I was so
please keep this point in mind if I were
in these cases if I were you okay
those are all my points okay I’m looking
for questions from you I don’t see any
questions on YouTube on Facebook I do
not see any questions there okay so oh
also I’m okay so I’ll I will wrap it up
there but I hope that this was helpful
for you for recommendations advice
giving asking I hope you got some
patterns that you can use some things to
review so we’ll finish there I will be
back next week next week’s topic is how
to express problems yes a good one
so I’m going to give you some
expressions you can use to talk about
challenges and to tell people like to
explain what’s wrong to somebody which
is difficult I know so please join us
again next week that will be March 12th
Wow Wednesday March 12th 9 p.m. Eastern
Standard Time that is New York City time
please Google your local time if you
don’t know what time that is Google it
Google skills so please join us to talk
about expressing issues in a natural way
I will sign off there so thank you as
always for joining us live we really
appreciate it
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so enjoy your week enjoy your weekend
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