Making suggestions

We often suggest ideas or things to do. Here are some common examples with seeing a film. You can use the structures to talk about other things, of course.

Why don't we go to the cinema?
Let's go to the cinema. What do you think?
How about going to the cinema?
How do you feel about seeing a film?
Fancy seeing a film?
I'd like to see a film. How about you?
We could always see a film.
Why not go and see a film?
Seeing a film's one idea.
It would be nice to see a film.

Explanations

• 1 and 3 are structures that are frequently used by many people.
• 2 and 4 are different because you are asking for your friend's opinion, so they are less forceful, especially 4.
• 5 is very common in spoken English. It's short for "Do you fancy?"
• 6 is also like 2 because you put your own idea first as a preference. You can also add "What about you?".
• 7 notice the use of "always" here in a suggestion. It doesn't refer to time or frequency. It means this is a possibility.
• 8 is a version of 1, using a negative question. However, 8 can also be used when making a suggestion for someone else to do something. The speaker may or may not be included.
• We use one idea or one possibility meaning: it's one thing we could do.
• 10 is quite a strong way of politely expressing your own preference, like 6.