[General] You can add the subtitles to your videos...

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Silverobama

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Someone I knew have uploaded some of her videos online. In her videos, she shared stories from some books in English. But she speaks very fast and there aren't any subtitles. I said to her "You can add the subtitles to your videos so that everyone can learn from you".

Is the italic sentence natural as an suggestion to ask her to add subtitles to all her videos?
 

SoothingDave

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"Add subtitles." No article.
 

Silverobama

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"Add subtitles." No article.

Is this sentence okay now?

"You can add subtitles to your videos so that everyone can learn from you".

How about:

"You can add subtitles to your videos so that others can learn from you".

Much appreciated!
 

jutfrank

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Using can produces a sentence that out of context is not completely obviously meant as a suggestion. As I've tried to stress to you before, the way you phrase any sentence depends on the context, which once again you've failed to give us.

Some other ways to make clear suggestions:

Have you thought about ... ?
Why don't you ... ?
You could consider ...
You could ...
I suggest you ...


I'll say it again: the particular phrasing you use in any utterance depends on the context. The relevant context is usually the language in the conversation, or the text, that comes immediately prior to the utterance in question. When you don't give us this context, we can't tell you for sure whether your sentences are any good. This is why I asked you to provide mini-dialogues.
 

5jj

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Silverobama

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Don't you know her anymore?

Hmm, I don't know how to answer this question. I added her to my friend list (online) last year in an online chat room and we seldom talked to each other until yesterday when she posted her videos in my chat room and asked us to comment on one of her videos.

To jutfrank:

As I've tried to stress to you before, the way you phrase any sentence depends on the context, which once again you've failed to give us.

Much appreciated, jutfrank, for your suggestions. I actually bear in mind what you've told me. But this time the problem is that this sentence is from a monologue.

Like the tape I once sent you, I tried to tell you the things I wanted to say to you and I said so. Yesterday was almost the same. After she uploaded her videos in my chatroom and asked us to comment on one of them. I said to her "Use "Let's begin instead of Let's begining" and she replied with a few "smile faces" then I sent her three messages (like a voice mail) and finally she said "Thank you".

My sentence is from one of those three messages. Basically, it is just a monolog, a sentence I said to her.

But I appreciate your help and I'll kindly remember your suggestions. Is it natural to say to her like this:

You could consider add subtitles to your videos so that everyone/others can learn from you.


Are my two italic sentences okay now? :-D
 

jutfrank

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After consider, use an -ing verb form:

consider doing something
 

Tarheel

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Oops! I missed that! Sorry! And much appreciated!

You're welcome!

I have a question. What language would the subtitles be in? Chinese?
 

emsr2d2

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Hmm, I don't know how to answer this question. I added her to my friend list (online) last year in an online chat room and we seldom talked to each other until yesterday when she posted her videos in my chat room and asked us to comment on one of her videos.

In that case, I'd use something like:

Someone I vaguely know from an online chat room ...
Another member of an online chat room I belong to ...

Without clarification, we generally take "someone I know/knew" to be someone in the offline world (someone you know in real life).
 
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