Making suggestions

Language for making suggestions (BBC LEARNING ENGLISH)
Question opener	+ subject	+ infinitive
Why don't	I you we they	buy a T-shirt? go to the beach? meet at the cinema? buy the present? plan a surprise party?
Why doesn't	he/she
Shall	I we
Question opener	+ could	+ infinitive
I, you, he, she, we	could	decorate the room eat pizza
Sentence/question opener		+ infinitive
Let's Why not		make a cake! make a cake?
Question opener		+ verb + ing
How about		going to the opera?
What about		watching a film?

Accepting suggestions:
That's a good idea!	Es una buena idea
What a good idea!	Qué buena idea
That's a great idea!	Es una idea estupenda
That's not a good idea!	No es buena idea
That sounds good	Suena bien
Sounds like a good idea	Parece una buena idea
Ok. Yes, let's	Vale, venga vamos
Yes, I'd like to	Sí, me gustaría
Yes, I'd love to	Sí, me encantaría

Refusing suggestions
No, let’s not	No, no lo hagamos
No, I’d rather not	No, prefiero no hacerlo
I don’t feel like it	No tengo ganas
What an awful/bad idea!	¡Qué idea más mala!
No, SUJETO + can’t	No, no podemos
That’s not a good idea	No es buena idea

SHORT EXAMPLES FOR ROLE-PLAY ACTIVITY "Making Suggestions" (2 points)

Example 1: 

(Frank): I am very bored today

(Pilar): Let's go to the beach!

(John): I think that's not a good idea, it is going to rain.

(Pilar): Why don't we go to the cinema?

(Frank): That's a good idea! Let's buy the tickets!

(Carmen): Shall we watch Spiderman?

(Pilar): No, we can't, Frank and I watched it last week.

(John): Why not watch Iron Man?

(Frank): Fantastic!

(Pilar): No, no, Carmen and I don't like science-fiction films; we want to watch a romantic film. We could watch Letters to Juliet.

(Frank): John and I don't like romantic film. How about watching a comedy?

(Carmen): That's a great idea!

Example 2:

Alice: Hi, Alan. Why don't we go to the cinema to watch Titanic?

Alan: No, let's not. We have wathed the film many times before. What about going to the library? We have to finish our school project!

Alice: That sounds like a good idea but what about going to the café when we finish?

Alan: Yes, I'd love to.

Example 3:

Mum: Grandma comes tomorrow. Why don't we cook a special meal?

Sara: That's a great idea! Let's eat pizza!

Dad: What an awful idea, your grandma hates pizza!

Sara: Ok. How about cooking pasta?

Mum: No, let's not, grandma doesn't like pasta. What about cooking lentil soup?

Sara: Lentil soup? That's not a good idea mum, I hate eating lentil soup. 

Mum: Well, shall we cook roast beef?

Sara: Mum, we can't! I am vegetarian!

Dad: Why not go to a restaurant?

Mum and Sara: That sounds like a good idea!