Making Suggestions using the 「ば」 or 「たら」 conditional

Conditional ば　or　たら + どう　ですか？

You can make suggestions by using the 「ば」 or 「たら」 conditional and adding 「どう」. This literally means, “If you do [X], how is it?” In English, this would become, “How about doing [X]?” Grammatically, there’s nothing new here but it is a commonly used set phrase.

Vocabulary

銀行 【ぎん・こう】 – bank

行く 【い・く】 (u-verb) – to go

たまに – once in a while

両親【りょう・しん】 – parents

話す 【はな・す】 (u-verb) – to speak

Examples

銀行に行ったらどうですか。

How about going to bank?

たまにご両親と話せばどう？

How about talking with your parents once in a while?