Making Offers
Making Offers
How to make offers in English?
It's common for English speakers to make offers in conversations to be polite and helpful. Here are some expressions they use:
- Can I…?
- Shall I…?
- Would you like…?
- How about…?
English learners must be able to make offers as well as accept or reject them. Here are useful expressions to do so:
Making offers:
- Can I help you?
- Shall I get you some juice?
- Would you like a glass of water?
- How about some pizza?
Examples:
- "Can I help you?"
- "Shall I open the window for you?"
- "Would you like another cup of coffee?"
- "Would you like me to clean the board?"
- "How about a juice?"
Remember:
- Shall, can, and will are followed by the verb without "to". Example:
- Shall is more formal than can.
- Would you like… is followed either by a noun or by the verb with "to". Example:
- "Can I help you?"
- "Shall I bring you the mobile phone?"
- "Would you like some tea?"
- "Would you like to drink some coffee?"
Responding to offers:
Accepting:
- Yes please. I'd like to.
- That would be very kind of you.
- Yes please, that would be lovely.
- Yes please, I'd love to.
- If you wouldn't mind.
- If you could.
- Thank you, that would be great.
Declining:
- It's OK, I can do it myself.
- Don't worry, I'll do it.
- No, thanks.
- No, thank you.
Examples:
- "Can I help you?"
- "Shall I help you with your maths problem?"
- "Would you like a cup of tea?"
- "Would you like another piece of cake?"
- "Would you like me to do the ironing for you?"
- "I'll do the washing, if you like."
- "No thanks, I'm just having a look." (With a shop assistant.)
- "Do you know where the post office is?"
- "Yes, please. That would be very nice of you."
- "No thanks." Or, "No thank you."
- "Yes please, that would be nice."
- "Yes please, I'd love one."
- "If you wouldn't mind."
- "If you could."
- "It's OK, I can do it."
- "Don't worry, I'll do it."
- "Thank you, that would be great."