Using the Word Advice in English

Hello Inglês na Ponta da Língua friends. Here we are with another episode of Inglês na Ponta da Língua Podcast. This time let’s learn a couple of things about the word “advice” and some common sentences used in English to ask for and give advice to someone. Remember that you can download our previous podcasts visiting our website and click on podcasts. I’m sure you’re going to learn a bunch of other cool things in there. So… Now… let’s listen to today’s tip. I hope you enjoy it.

[Clique no botão abaixo para ouvir este podcast. Você pode fazer o download dos arquivos de áudio e texto para o seu computador. No final do texto você saberá como fazer isso.]

[powerpress]

Baixar MP3 Baixar PDF

A well-known proverb in Portuguese says, “Se conselho fosse bom não se dava, vendia”. A close English equivalent to that is “Advice when most needed is least heeded.” Although these sayings hold some truth, we sometimes feel the need to give people a piece of advice. Not only that, but we also may ask for advice from time to time. So, it’s necessary to learn some common expressions in order to express the ideas of asking for and giving advice in English.

On this episode of Inglês na Ponta da Língua podcast I’ll help you with that. Below you’ll find some common sentences used when someone comes to a friend to ask for advice as well as how to give advice to a friend. But, before giving you a list of sentences, let me tell you something about the word “advice” as a noun. This little something is about a very, very, very common mistake English language learners make when using the word “advice”.

Here’s the thing: did you know that “advice” is an uncountable noun in English? That means the word “advice” has no plural at all in English. So, be careful! In Portuguese, it’s ok to say we say “um conselho”, “dois conselhos”, “três conselhos”, “quatro conselhos”, and so on and so forth. However, in English, we DO NOT count “advice”. We DO NOT say “one advice”, “two advices”, “three advices”, etc. What do we say, then?

Well, the word “advice” is mostly used on its own in English or with the word “some”. There is no need to say the quantity. Well, but in case you want to express the quantity of advice all you have to say is “a piece of advice”, “two pieces of advice”, “three pieces of advice”, “four pieces of advice”… But, remember: there’s no need to say the quantity. Just the word advice or some advice is ok!

Fo examples, if you want to say “deixe-me te dar alguns conselhos sobre isso”, what you have to say in English is “let me give you some advice on that”. See? No plural! Just “some advice”. Keep that it mind, ok?

Now that you learned that, what are some common sentences used in English to ask for and give advice? There you go some of them. But remember these sentences are no the only ones, ok? These are just some sentences to help you if need be.

First, some sentences to be used when you ask for advice:

• What do you think I should do?
• What would you do if you were me?
• What would you do if you were in my position?
• What would you do if you were in my shoes?
• Can you give me some advice on …?
• What would you advise me to do?

Now, let’s learn learn some common sentences used to give advice to someone. These sentences below are generally used to make you sound less abrupt and even rude when giving a piece of advice to a friend, a family member, whoever. So, practice them as much as you can.

• If I were you I would …
• If I were you I would not …
• If I were in your shoes I would …
• Hey, why don’t you …?
• Hey, I think you should …?
• Hey, how about …?
• Hey, what if you …?
• Well, I think it’s a good idea to…
• You’d better
• Well, if you want my advice, …
• Take it from me, …

Some learners usually ask why we say “If I were”. If you are also asking that, please read the tip on the link below and you’ll learn why “If I were” is correct.

Well guys, I guess that’s all about “advice” for today. On this podcast you learned that the word “advice” has no plural in English. We usually say “advice” or “some advice”. But if you want to count the quantity of advice, all you have to say is “a piece of…”, “two pieces of…”, “three pieces of …”, etc. But remember: “advice” and “some advice” is all you have to learn.

You also learned here on this podcast some common sentences used to ask for and give advice to someone. So, note them down on your lexical notebook – you vocabulary notebook – and revisit them so as to make them part of your active vocabulary.

Tha’s it, boys and girls. See you next time with another Inglês na Ponta da Língua Podcast. Keep learning more with us on Facebook, our website and download previous podcasts.