Today, we’ll explore how to correctly use the verbs of suggestion: advise, recommend, and suggest. Other verbs of suggestion include ask, demand, insist, prefer, propose, request, and urge. But I’ve chosen to focus on advise, recommend, and suggest because they tend to be the most confusing for some of my students.
Pronunciation
Let’s start with how to pronounce these words.
The word advise /ədˈvaɪz/ has two syllables and the primary stress is on the second one. The first syllable is a schwa /ə/ and the second syllable is pronounced with the voiced consonant /z/ at the end. This is how we distinguish between the noun advice /ədˈvaɪs/, which is pronounced with the voiceless consonant /s/ at the end:
The word recommend /ˌɹɛ.kəˈmɛnd/ has three syllables and the primary stress is on the third one. We have a weak stress in the second syllable and that’s why we can reduce the vowel to a schwa /ə/. But we can’t reduce the vowel /ɛ/ in the first syllable because we have a secondary dress there.
So, we don’t say [ɹə.kəˈmɛnd] ✘, but /ˌɹɛ.kəˈmɛnd/ ✔.
The word suggest has two syllables and the stress is on the second one.
There are two ways to pronounce suggest. Some people put the back of the tongue up for the /g/ sound, but they don’t release it: /səɡˈdʒest/. Many people, however, drop the first G and only pronounce the /dʒ/ sound: /səˈdʒest/.
I personally don’t pronounce the /g/. It’s just easier for me. Right before making this video, I actually asked one of my friends and colleagues, who is a native speaker, how she pronounces it, and she said that she pronounces the /g/. So, choose which version you like better. But if you choose to pronounce the /g/ sound before the /dʒ/, I suggest that you only put the back of your tongue up to touch the soft palate, but not release the air.
Meaning
Now let’s move on to the meaning. Advise, recommend, and suggest are all used when someone voices their opinion to someone else in order to influence or guide this person to do something. These three words are very similar in meaning and most of the time can be used interchangeably.
As a side note here, I’d like to mention that the words suggest can also mean imply as in someone implying that you’ve done something, but not explicitly stating it. But here I’ll be focusing only on the meaning of suggest that is similar to advise and recommend.
Grammatical structure
Ok, now let’s see how advise, recommend, and suggest are used in sentences.
For example:
She advised him to see a doctor.
She advised that he see a doctor.
Her advice to him was to see a doctor.
These three sentences mean the same thing.
recommend / advise / suggest + noun phrase [ + to + indirect object ]
Let’s start with advise, recommend, and suggest followed by a noun phrase, and optionally followed by a specification of the recipient: to followed by an indirect object.
Here are some examples:
The travel agent advised a direct flight for a more convenient journey.
Can you recommend a good book for my summer vacation?
The teacher suggested additional reading materials to the students.
Notice that in the last example, we also specify whom the suggestion was given to.
So, if you want to mention whom the suggestion is made to, you could say to me, to her, to him, to them and so on, but make sure to put it after you mention what is being advised, recommended, or suggested. Think of it as a formula:
Someone recommended, suggested, or advised plus what plus to whom.
✔ The teacher suggested additional reading materials to the students.
and not:
✘ The teacher suggested to the students additional reading materials.
recommend / advise / suggest + gerund [ + to noun phrase ]
In our earlier examples, the main element of a noun phrase was a noun. This element could also be a gerund, which is the noun form of a verb that ends in -ing.
Let’s look at some examples:
What would you advise eating for a healthy and balanced diet?
She recommended practicing yoga to her clients for stress relief.
He suggested trying a new restaurant to his colleagues.
advise + indirect object + on + noun phrase
Next, we will look at the verb advise followed by an indirect object – the recipient of the advice – followed by the preposition on, followed by a noun phrase.
For example:
The lawyer advised her on legal options for the contract dispute.
I advised my parents on taking the best route for a scenic road trip.
The therapist advised him on managing stress through relaxation techniques.
Remember that out of the three verbs, only the verb advise can be followed by the preposition on. In other words, we can’t substitute advise on in our examples by recommend on or suggest on. We can’t say:
✘ The lawyer recommended her on legal options for the contract dispute.
advise + indirect object + to + base verb
Now let’s look at one more case when you can use the verb advise, but you can’t substitute it by recommend or suggest. This is the case when advise is followed by an indirect object – for example a pronoun – and the infinitive: to plus a verb in its base form.
For example:
My doctor advised me to get enough sleep for overall well-being.
He advised his friend to consider all options before making a decision.
How would you advise someone to prepare for a job interview?
But remember that in these cases, advise cannot be substituted by recommend or suggest.
recommend / advise / suggest + [that] + subject + base verb (subjunctive mood)
Now, let’s talk about a form that confuses not only nonnative English speakers, but also some native speakers as well – the subjunctive mood. The subjunctive mood is used to describe a hypothetical scenario or to express a wish, recommendation, or demand. Grammatically it is expressed with a verb in its base form – the form that doesn’t have -s or -es endings in third person – but without the infinitive marker to. For example: be, have, speak, listen, etc.
When we construct a full sentence, the verb advise, recommend, or suggest is followed by the subordinating conjunction that + the subject of the subordinating clause + the verb in its base form. Many times, the subordinating conjunction that can be dropped.
When we use the verbs of suggestion with a noun clause, we have to use a base verb. This could sound a bit unnatural, especially in third person.
Let’s look at some examples:
The counselor advised that the student seek academic support.
The doctor recommended that the patient take the prescribed medication.
I suggest that the immediate response be a thorough investigation.
I suggest you talk to her.
Most of the time we follow the verb with the word that and the noun clause. But did you notice that we say the student seek and not seeks, or the patient take and not takes? And in the third example, we have “the immediate response be” and not is. Although this might seem weird, these are the correct forms. This is the subjunctive mood.
But, guys, as I mentioned before, even some native speakers find this form unnatural. Many of them would put an -s at the end of the verb in third person.
For example,
The counselor advised that the student seeks academic support.
This is a more modern version and is accepted. But if you are taking a test, they might expect you to use the traditional form, so it’s worth knowing it.
advice / recommendation / suggestion + is / was / has been + to + base verb
I also want to mention here that if you are in doubt as to how to use these verbs, you can convert them to their noun forms and follow them with is – or was, has been, etc – plus an infinitive.
For example:
My advice is to start saving for retirement early.
His recommendation was to invest in diversified stocks for long-term growth.
Our suggestion is to schedule regular team-building activities.
What confuses many English learners
Now, let me talk about some common mistakes that I’ve heard over time.
The thing that is confusing to many nonnative English speakers when it comes to these three verbs is when they are followed by a pronoun. To advise him on something has the same meaning as to recommend or to suggest something to him.
But the phrase recommend him has a different meaning. In this case, he becomes the object of recommendation and not the recipient. The pronoun him here is the direct object of the verb recommend.
For example:
I recommend him for this position.
This means that I believe that he would be ideal for the job, and my recommendation is to hire him.
On the other hand, if we want to direct some recommendation to him, we cannot use the form recommend him. For example, let’s paraphrase this sentence:
I advise him not to take this position.
using the verb recommend:
I recommend that he not take this position.
But let’s look at another sentence:
I advise you to call him.
Now if we paraphrase it using recommend or suggest, we get these:
I recommend that you call him.
or:
I suggest that you call him.
Keep in mind though that in spoken language many people drop the word that:
I recommend you call him.
I suggest you call him.
That is still there but it’s kind of imaginary. Notice that here we don’t use the infinitive form to call but we only use the base verb – call. Again:
✔ I suggest you call him.
and not:
✘ I suggest you to call him.
★
Ok, my friends, that’s it for today. I know this was a lot of information, but understanding and using correct grammar forms will not only help you when taking exams, but it will make you a more confident speaker, writer, and communicator overall.
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