ESL Blogs

    I notice that a lot of English learners struggle with the verb suggest, so I want to explain how to use it properly.

The verb suggest (to mention or recommend something to think about or something someone should do) is an unusual English verb. It is not used in a sentence the same way that other verbs are.

For example, these sentences are NOT correct:

The company suggested us to take an extra day off.
I hope you suggest us a good hotel.

This is the most common way that English learners try to use the verb, but it is incorrect. Why are these sentences incorrect?

Suggest is never followed by an indirect object pronoun (me, us, you, etc.), and it is never followed by an infinitive.

Here are 3 ways that you CAN use the verb suggest:

1. Suggest that someone do something
Suggest is most commonly followed by a that-clause in which the subjunctive is used:

subject + suggest + (that*) + subject + subjunctive

More example sentences:

- She suggests (that) we go out for dinner after the movie.

- My parents suggested (that) I get a job after school.

- Her brother suggests (that) she study harder so she can get into a good university.

IMPORTANT! In the subjunctive tense, the verb DOES NOT change depending on the subject. The subjunctive is just the base form of the verb.

Negative:

- The teacher suggested (that) we not waste time playing video games after school.

2. Suggest doing something

        suggest + gerund

An infinitive is never used after suggest. If you use a verb after suggest, the verb must be in the gerund form. The meaning of the sentence is the same as using the subjunctive.

We can rewrite sentence #1 from the top of the post:

The company suggested us to take an extra day off.
The company suggested taking an extra day off.

3. Suggest something

This is the form to use when you are talking directly TO someone! However, you do not need to say who you are talking to.
Let’s rewrite sentence #2 from the top of this post. You want someone to tell you about a good hotel:

I hope you suggest us a good hotel.
I hope you can suggest a good hotel (to me).

Hopefully this blog post has helped you to better understand the verb suggest!

Carpe Diem©