Confusing Verbs #2: Suggest and Recommend

Whilst the meanings of «suggest» (sugerir) and «recommend» (recomendar) are no mystery, the structures they appear in seem to be quite tricky. For this post, I have chosen these verbs not because people confuse one with the other, but because they both work in a similar way, so I thought I would kill two birds with one stone.

First, let’s see different structures with «suggest«:

He suggested a film (to me).
(SUGGEST + NOUN + (to someone))
He suggested watching  a film.
(SUGGEST + GERUND)
He suggested (to us) that we watch a film.
(SUGGEST + (to someone) + that + PRESENT subjunctive)
He suggested (to us) that we watched a film.
(SUGGEST + (to someone) + that + PAST subjunctive)
He suggested (to us) that we should watch a film.
(SUGGEST + (to someone) + that + SHOULD + base)

And NEVER:

He suggested us to go to the movies.
(SUGGEST + SOMEONE + INFINITIVE)

Download the picture below if you’d like to have all the structures in a more compact format.

Now let’s take a look at recommend:

The doctor recommended a coastal area (to us).
(RECOMMEND + NOUN + (to someone))
The doctor recommended moving to a coastal area.
(RECOMMEND + GERUND)
He recommended (us) that we move to a coastal area.
(RECOMMEND + that + PRESENT subjunctive)
He recommended (us) that we moved to a coastal area.
(RECOMMEND + that + PAST subjunctive)
He recommended (us) that we should move to a coastal area.
(RECOMMEND + (someone) + that + SHOULD + base)
He recommended us to move to a coastal area.
(RECOMMEND + SOMEONE + INFINITIVE)

Download the picture below if you’d like to have it in a more compact format.

Due to the complexity of these structures, at lower levels I recommend memorising «to suggest/recommend doing something«, and avoiding using the infinitive immediately after the verb, which is the typical mistake that most students make. However, if you’re already an advanced English learner, visit KSE’s page on Reporting Verbs to find out more!

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