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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，我們總會碰到要給別人提供意見或建議的時候。只是，如果我們不注意方式方法，就會惹人不高興，甚至得罪人。為此，今天我們就來看看Liz Walter為我們梳理的給別人提意見或建議的常見表達。
1）The most obvious words to use for giving advice are the modal verbs should and ought to（應該）:
You ought to eat more vegetables. （你應該多吃蔬菜。）
You shouldn't be so rude to your parents. （你不應該對父母如此無禮。）
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場合）.
2）We also use need to in the same way:
You need to get some sleep. （你需要睡覺。）
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 perhaps or maybe at the beginning（should、ought to和need to語氣較為生硬，讓人聽起來不易接受，為此可以在句首加上perhaps或maybe，以緩和語氣）:
Maybe you should call her. （也許你該打電話給她。）
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 perhaps to make it even less bossy（could的語氣更為緩和，而且前面也可以加上perhaps等詞來進一步緩和語氣）:
Perhaps you could get a part-time job. （也許你可以找一份兼職工作。）
5）Another common way of giving advice is to start a sentence with If I were you, I'd …（如果我是你，我就會...） :
If I were you, I'd insist on a pay rise. （如果我是你，我就會堅持要求加薪。）
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用的是虛擬語氣）
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. （你最好帶上手電筒/火把。）
However, it's important to note that – depending on context and the tone of voice – this phrase can sound quite threatening（在特定的語境和語氣下，had better及其否定形式可以表示一種威脅的口吻）:
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（其他常見的表達）:
It might be an idea / a good idea to reserve a seat. （預訂座位是個不錯的主意。）
Have you thought about/tried/considered changing to a different course? （你有想過/試過/考慮過換課程嗎？）
Why don't you / Why not leave it until another day? （你為什麼不等到日後再說？）
I'd suggest / recommend cooking it in the oven. （我建議用烤爐燒。）
I'd advise you / My advice is to leave the city immediately. （正式用語：我建議你馬上離開這個城市。）
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