How about?
从 3rdblade, 2011年7月25日
讯息： 7
语言: English
3rdblade (显示个人资料) 2011年7月25日上午8:31:48
How about we see a movie? (polite suggestion to do something)
How about a cup of tea? (which can be an offer or a request, but is usually the former)
How about this traffic? (filling up awkward silence when stuck in a traffic jam)
How about this spot? (when looking for a good spot for a picnic, for example, and asking for the others' opinion.)
sudanglo (显示个人资料) 2011年7月25日上午10:09:58
As a general point, any suggestion can be softened/made more hesitant with 'ĉu'.
'How about we see a movie' - 'Ĉu ni iru al la kinejo/ spektu filmon'
'How about this spot' - 'Ĉu ĉi tie bonas'.
'How about a cup of tea' - 'ĉu ni trinku teon/ĉu plaĉus al vi trinki teon'
The comment on the traffic is perhaps one that could use 'kio(n) pri'. One could also try 'kia trafiko, ĉu ne?
Another tack could be to use 'se' (with the conditional). 'Kaj se ni haltus momente' - how about we stop for a minute'.
I've a vague feeling that the French do it this way except that for the first part of such conditonal sentences they use the imperfect - though I may have misremembered that.
3rdblade (显示个人资料) 2011年7月26日上午1:38:02
UUano (显示个人资料) 2011年8月1日上午12:47:08
sudanglo:Another tack could be to use 'se' (with the conditional). 'Kaj se ni haltus momente' - how about we stop for a minute'.You're absolutely correct. In French, you might render that phrase as "Si nous nous arrêtions un instant?"...which I might translate as "What if we were to stop for awhile?", but which sounds better in English as "How about we stop for a bit?"
I've a vague feeling that the French do it this way except that for the first part of such conditonal sentences they use the imperfect - though I may have misremembered that.