English grammar · Beginner
Making Suggestions: Let's, Why Don't We, How About, Shall We
Suggestions in English are offers of an idea for what we, or you, might do. The usual frames are Let's, Why don't we, Why don't you, How about, What about, Shall we, We could, and I suggest. They are milder than instructions and different from requests, which ask the other person to do something for you. The grammar is a small set of patterns; the choice among them is about how much room you leave the other person to refuse.
Let's wait on the jetty. Why don't we take the later tram?
let's plus a bare verb; why don't we plus a bare verb: two standard suggestion frames
What it is
A suggestion puts an idea on the table without ordering it. Let's wait on the jetty includes the speaker in the action. Why don't you radio the marina points the idea at the other person but still leaves a way out. How about taking the later tram packages the idea as a noun or an -ing form. Shall we is a British first-person question that invites a yes. We could and perhaps we should are softer still, because a modal of possibility or advice is easier to decline than an imperative.
Let's take the barge. Why don't we take the barge? How about taking the barge? We could take the barge. (Four strengths of the same idea, from a joint plan to a possible option.)
How to spot it
Look at the front of the clause. Let's, Why don't we/you, How about, What about, Shall we, Why not, We could, Perhaps we should, and I suggest are the suggestion markers. If the sentence is Could you wait on the jetty?, you have a request, not a suggestion: you are asking them to do something for you.
- Let's wait on the jetty. (let's plus a bare verb, speaker included)
- Why don't we take the later tram? (why don't we plus a bare verb)
- How about taking the later tram? (how about plus -ing)
- We could radio the marina first. (could as a soft option)
Let's is let us in origin, but it is written as one word and is not the same as Let us through (a request for permission to pass). Let's not is the negative: Let's not take the barge after dark.
Making Suggestions Quick Reference
Suggestion frames, from jointly decided to easily refused
| Frame | Shape | Includes the speaker? | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Let's | Let's + bare verb | yes | Let's wait on the jetty. |
| Why don't we / you | Why don't we + bare verb | we: yes; you: no | Why don't we take the later tram? |
| How about / What about | How about + -ing or a noun | often yes | How about taking the later tram? |
| Shall we | Shall we + bare verb | yes | Shall we radio the marina? |
| We could / Perhaps we should | modal + bare verb | yes | We could wait. Perhaps we should wait. |
| I suggest | I suggest + -ing, or that + clause | as adviser | I suggest waiting. I suggest that we wait. |
Common Making Suggestions Examples in English
The same plan, packed in the frames learners actually need:
Let's and Shall We
- Let's wait on the jetty.
- joint plan, spoken default
- Let's not take the barge after dark.
- negative let's: let's not plus bare verb
- Shall we radio the marina?
- British, a yes/no invitation to agree
- Shall I fetch the spare visor?
- shall I is an offer, not a suggestion to both
Shall we suggests a shared action. Shall I offers the speaker's own action and belongs with offers. Let's is almost never a question; Shall we is.
Why Don't We and Why Don't You
- Why don't we take the later tram?
- shared suggestion
- Why don't you radio the marina?
- suggestion pointed at you
- Why not wait until the lock fills?
- why not plus bare verb, no we or you
- Why don't we ask the lock-keeper?
- a next-step suggestion
Why don't you can sound like criticism if the tone is sharp (Why don't you ever radio?). A falling, open tone keeps it as a suggestion. Why didn't we is a past regret, not a suggestion.
How About, What About, We Could
- How about taking the later tram?
- how about plus -ing
- How about the later tram?
- how about plus a noun
- What about waiting on the jetty?
- what about, same pattern
- We could radio the marina first.
- could: one option among others
How about to take is the usual error: about is a preposition, so it takes -ing or a noun, not a to-infinitive. We could is easy to refuse: We could, or we could wait.
Softer and More Formal
- Perhaps we should wait until the lock fills.
- should as mild advice to the group
- I suggest waiting until the lock fills.
- suggest plus -ing
- I suggest that we wait until the lock fills.
- suggest that plus a clause
- It might be worth radioing the marina.
- a hedged suggestion with worth plus -ing
I suggest you to wait is not English. Suggest takes -ing, or that plus a clause, or a noun (I suggest the later tram). In very formal British style, I suggest that he wait uses a bare verb; I suggest that he waits is the everyday form.
How Suggestions Work
A handful of frames, each with one complement shape you should not mix.
Let's Takes a Bare Verb
Let's is followed by the base form, with no to and no -s: Let's wait, Let's radio, Let's not take. The negative is Let's not, not Let's don't. Let's us wait doubles the object and is wrong. Let us wait is grammatical but sounds like a plea or a formal request, not a casual suggestion.
Let's wait on the jetty. Let's not take the barge after dark.
bare verb; let's not plus bare verb
Let's + base form. Let's not + base form.
How About Takes -ing or a Noun
About is a preposition, so the next word is an -ing form or a noun phrase: How about taking the later tram? How about the later tram? How about to take and How about we take are both off in standard English (How about we take is heard in speech and is still marked). What about follows the same rule.
How about taking the later tram? What about the jetty?
-ing after about; noun after about
How about + -ing or a noun.
Why Don't We Takes a Bare Verb
The structure is Why plus don't (or doesn't in Why doesn't she) plus subject plus base form. Why don't we take, Why don't you radio. The don't is the ordinary present-simple auxiliary, so the main verb loses any -s. Why not plus a bare verb drops the subject: Why not wait?
Why don't we take the later tram? Why not wait?
don't plus we plus base; why not plus base
Why don't we + base. Why not + base.
Could and Should Keep the Suggestion Easy to Refuse
We could plus a bare verb presents an option. Perhaps we should plus a bare verb presents mild advice. Both include the speaker, and both are easier to decline than Let's. Could you wait? is not this pattern: that is a request. The we, and the missing question inversion in We could wait, are what keep it a suggestion.
We could radio the marina first. Perhaps we should wait.
modals as soft suggestions, statement order
We could / we should, not could you.
Common Mistakes with Making Suggestions
Incorrect: Let's to wait on the jetty.
Correct: Let's wait on the jetty.
Let's takes a bare verb. To is the infinitive marker, and it has no slot here. The same error appears as Let's waiting.
Incorrect: How about to take the later tram?
Correct: How about taking the later tram?
About is a preposition, so it takes -ing or a noun, not a to-infinitive. How about the later tram is the noun version.
Incorrect: I suggest you to radio the marina.
Correct: I suggest radioing the marina. / I suggest that you radio the marina.
Suggest does not take object plus to-infinitive (that pattern belongs to advise and tell). Use -ing, or that plus a clause, or I suggest you radio without to.
Incorrect: Let's don't take the barge after dark.
Correct: Let's not take the barge after dark.
The negative of let's is let's not plus the bare verb. Don't would add a second auxiliary that let's has no use for.
How to Reply, and I Suggest That
Replies are short, and suggest has a complement rule of its own.
Accepting and declining
A yes can echo the idea (Yes, let's. Good idea. Why not?). A no usually gives a reason, or offers a different plan, so it does not sound like a shut door.
- “Let's wait on the jetty.” “Yes, let's.”
- echoing let's
- “Why don't we take the later tram?” “Good idea.”
- accepting
- “Shall we take the barge?” “I'd rather wait for the tram. How about that?”
- decline plus a counter-suggestion
No, let's not is a clear refusal of a let's-suggestion. A bare no is grammatical and abrupt.
The complements of suggest
Suggest takes an -ing form, a that-clause, or a noun. It does not take a to-infinitive, and it does not take an object pronoun plus to.
- I suggest waiting until the lock fills.
- suggest plus -ing
- I suggest that we wait until the lock fills.
- suggest that plus a clause
- I suggest the later tram.
- suggest plus a noun
I suggest you to wait and I suggest to wait are the two errors this verb attracts. I suggest you wait (no to, no that) is a reduced that-clause and is fine in speech.
Quick Check: Making Suggestions
Rewrite each idea as a suggestion in the frame given.
1. Wait on the jetty. (start with Let's)
Answer: Let's wait on the jetty
let's plus bare verb
2. Take the later tram. (start with Why don't we)
Answer: Why don't we take the later tram
don't plus we plus bare verb
3. Take the later tram. (start with How about)
Answer: How about taking the later tram / How about the later tram
-ing or a noun after about
4. Radio the marina. (I suggest)
Answer: I suggest radioing the marina / I suggest that we radio the marina
-ing or that, not to
5. Take the barge after dark. (negative let's)
Answer: Let's not take the barge after dark
let's not plus bare verb
Making Suggestions FAQs
- How do you make a suggestion in English?
- The everyday frames are Let's plus a bare verb (Let's wait), Why don't we plus a bare verb (Why don't we wait), How about plus -ing or a noun (How about waiting?), Shall we plus a bare verb, and We could plus a bare verb. I suggest takes -ing or a that-clause. Choose a stronger frame for a joint plan and a modal frame when you want it to be easy to refuse.
- What is the difference between Let's and Shall we?
- Let's states a joint plan and is not usually a question: Let's wait on the jetty. Shall we wait on the jetty? is a question that invites agreement, and it is especially British. Shall I wait is not a suggestion to both; it is an offer by the speaker.
- Why is How about to wait wrong?
- Because about is a preposition. Prepositions take an -ing form or a noun: How about waiting? How about the later tram? A to-infinitive after about is the usual mix-up with Let's wait, which does take a bare verb.
- How is a suggestion different from a request?
- A suggestion proposes a plan, often one that includes the speaker: Let's wait. Why don't we wait. A request asks the other person to do something for you: Could you wait? Would you mind waiting? Why don't you wait can still be a suggestion; Could you wait is the favour.
- Can I say I suggest you to wait?
- No. Suggest does not take an object plus to. Use I suggest waiting, I suggest that you wait, I suggest you wait, or I suggest the later tram. Advise is the verb that takes a person plus to: I advise you to wait.