Unit 4 Online Life | Page F: Advice Clinic

Notice: Advice in the messages

You make your own dinner tonight.

strong advice

We do it again soon.

normal advice

We practise together some time.

formal / softer advice

These phrases give advice.

Advice Strength

should normal advice negative: shouldn’t

ought to similar to should / a little more formal negative: oughtn’t to

had better stronger warning negative: had better not

shouldn’t oughtn’t to had better not

Open rule

Should, had better and ought to are used to give .

Should and ought to mean more or less the same.

Had better is often stronger. It can warn about a consequence.

Negative forms: shouldn’t, oughtn’t to, had better not. These verbs use an auxiliary verb in the negative.

Advice Clinic: Choose the advice

I’ve broken my friend’s watch. What should I do?

apology

You / say sorry the next time you see your friend.

I’ve got toothache. What should I do?

health

You / see a dentist.

I didn’t do very well in the test. What should I do?

study

You / go back and study everything again.

I’d like to go climbing, but I’ve never done it before. What should I do?

safety

You / get some training. It can be dangerous.

I got an email from someone, asking me to send them money. Should I reply to it?

scam

You / respond. It could be a scam.

I’m angry with my brother. He said something I didn’t like. What should I do?

family

You / tell him. It’s best to be honest with him.

This sweater my sister gave me looks terrible. I don’t like it at all. What should I do?

feelings

You / return it to the shop. That would really hurt her feelings.

Open advice words

advice / advise

advice

noun

/s/

advise

verb

/z/

advisable

will avoid problems if you do it

Practice

1 I’ve told Peter he shouldn’t post photos like that, but he has always my .

2 Should I buy a tablet or a laptop? Can you give me some what’s better?

3 He wants to become a web designer. His dad has him to take a course. He should that .

4 My uncle has a heart problem. This web page fatty foods.

Short Advice Dialogues

Scenario 1

A man dropped his wallet.

What should I do?

You should run after the man and give him his wallet.

Scenario 2

My bike has a problem.

What should I do?

You’d better ask someone to help you.

A: What should I do?

B: You should .

A: What should I do?

B: You’d better .

Open discussion questions

1 Imagine you meet somebody who has never used a computer. What advice would you give them about social networking?

2 Are you good at giving advice? Say why (not) and give examples.

3 When do you find it difficult to follow someone’s advice?

I would tell them to ...

They should ...

They shouldn’t ...

I find it difficult to follow advice when ...

Advice Card

Give advice for one problem.

Problem:

Advice:

Reason:

Problem: I got a strange email.
Advice: You shouldn’t respond.
Reason: It could be a scam.