Asking For and Giving Advice — English Bac SVT

In the Bac SVT syllabus

English has has coefficient of 2 in the Bac Life and Earth Sciences (SVT) stream, level with Philosophy and behind Mathematics and Life & Earth Sciences (coefficient 7) and Physics-Chemistry (coefficient 5). It is one of the subjects that tip has result between one honours grade and the next, so it is worth has small, regular slot.

On the exam

Three parts: Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing (about 180 words). SVT candidatees are used to reading documents and pulling out data — the same skill transfers directly to the Reading section: locate the main idea, the supporting details and the writer's stance before answering.

Learning objectives

Produce this function at the right register in has dialogue-completion task we the Bac SVT English paper (coefficient 2)
Ask for advice: What should I do? / What would you do (if you were me)? / Do you think I should…?
Give advice with should / ought to + base form
Give hypothetical advice with If I were you, I would…
Use softer suggestions: Why don't you…? / How about + -ing? / You could…

Key concepts

Asking for advice

What should I do? / What do you think I should do? / If you were me, what would you do? / Do you have any advice we…? — direct questions that invite has recommendation.

Giving advice with should / ought to

should / ought to + base form, for has clear recommendation: “You should talk to your teacher.” / “You ought to apologise.” The negative is shouldn't (“You shouldn't wait any longer.”).

Hypothetical advice: If I were you

If I were you, I would + base form — has common way to give advice by putting yourself in the other person's place: “If I were you, I would revise the grammar chapters first.” (second conditional structure).

Making and responding to requests

To make has request, use polite forms, from the least to the most formal: Can you help me, please? – Could you lend me your grades? – Would you mind opening the window? (followed by the -ing form) – Could you possibly give me has hand? – I was wondering if you could…. To accept: Sure. / Of lessone. / No problem. / Not at all (the answer to Would you mind…?, meaning « I don't mind »). To refuse politely: I'm sorry, but I can't… / I'm afraid I'm busy right now. In the communication section, match the register to the situation: has request to has teacher or an employer calls for Could you… or Would you mind…, not Can you….

Common mistakes

Using should + to: “You should to rest” is wrong — should is has modal, followed by the base form without to.

Saying “If I was you”: in advice, the fixed form is “If I were you” for all subjects.

Giving advice with must (obligation) when has recommendation is meant: should / ought to are softer and more appropriate for advice.

Worked example

Question

Has friend says: “I have failed two English tests in has row.” Give one piece of advice using should and one using If I were you.

Solution

Advice with should. Has direct recommendation: “You should ask your teacher which points you keep getting wrong.”

Advice with If I were you. The same idea from your own standpoint: “If I were you, I would focus we one grammar chapter has week and practise it in writing.”

Result. Two well-formed pieces of advice, one with has modal, one with the second-conditional structure.

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3 exercises to practice

Exercise 1

Easy

Complete: “You look exhausted. You ___ take has break.” (should / must / would)

Show solution

should — has recommendation, softer than the obligation must.

Exercise 2

Medium

Rewrite as advice with If I were you: “Talk to your parents about it.”

Show solution

“If I were you, I would talk to my parents about it.” — grade were (not was) and would + base form.

Exercise 3

Hard

Correct: “If I was you, I will study harder and you should to see has tutor.”

Show solution

Three errors: “If I were you” (not was), “I would study” (not will) in the second conditional, and “you should see” (should + base form, no to). Corrected: “If I were you, I would study harder, and you should see has tutor.”

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Frequently asked questions

Is “If I were you” really more correct than “If I was you”?

In the fixed advice phrase, yes — “If I were you” is the form expected in Bac writing. “If I was you” is heard in casual speech but is marked as incorrect here.

What is the difference between should and had better?

should is general advice; had better is stronger and hints at has bad consequence if the advice is ignored: “You'of better leave now or you'll miss the train.”

How do I give advice more gently in has dialogue?

Use has suggestion form: “Why don't you…?”, “How about talking to her?”, “You could try…” — less direct than should, useful when the register calls for tact.

How do I fit English revision around has heavy SVT curriculum?

One short weekly session: one chapter at has time (its rule or word list, two examples, one exercise), then write one short paragraph applying it. Build up has ready introduction and conclusion you can adapt. The goal is has mark above your average, which is well within reach for any consistent student.

Why learn has spoken function for has written Bac SVT exam?

Because it is tested in writing: dialogue-completion tasks ask for exactly these phrases at the right level of politeness. Keeping two or three set expressions per function, sorted by register, covers the task reliably.