Crown Academy of English

English lessons and resources




  • Home
  • Online English lessons
  • IELTS online course
  • Articles & lessons
    • Grammar & vocabulary lessons
    • IELTS preparation
    • British culture
    • List of all articles & lessons
  • About
  • Contact
Home > Articles > English lessons > The English verb SUGGEST

The English verb SUGGEST

11th February 2019 by Andrew Leave a Comment

“suggest” is a verb.
Pronunciation:     /səˈdʒest/

Meaning: To propose an idea, thing, or action for other people to consider.

Example:
Mark: I can’t decide what dessert to have.
Waiter: I suggest the chocolate cake.

cake slice

In this lesson, you will learn 4 ways to use “suggest“:


“suggest” + direct object
“suggest” + direct object + indirect object
“suggest” + ING form of verb
“suggest” + that clause

“suggest” with a direct object

Form:
“suggest” + direct object

The direct object indicates what we are suggesting. This simple structure does not indicate to whom we are suggesting something. But it is often obvious from the context.

Example:
Mark: What shall we eat tonight?
Jane: I suggest a pizza!

pizza

(It is obvious that Jane is suggesting pizza to Mark. Therefore, it is not necessary to specify it.)

“suggest” with a direct and indirect object

Form:
“suggest” + direct object + “to” + indirect object

The direct object indicates what we are suggesting.
The indirect object indicates the person to whom we are suggesting something.

Examples:

I suggested a hotel to Mark.
Jane suggested a good shop to my parents.
Can you suggest a nice restaurant to us?

“suggest” with ING form of verb

Form:
suggest + ING form of verb

The ING form of the verb indicates what action we are suggesting. This simple structure does not indicate to whom we are suggesting something. But it is often obvious from the context. The ING form of the verb is called a gerund.

We do not use the infinitive after “suggest“.

Examples:

Mark: How will I travel to London?
Jane: I suggest driving. correct
Jane: I suggest to drive. wrong

Jane: I am very tired. What should I do?
Mark: I suggest sleeping. correct
Mark: I suggest to sleep. wrong

“suggest” with a “that clause”

We use a “that clause” when the subject of the person to whom we are suggesting something is different to the subject of “suggest“

Form:
suggest + “that” + different subject + verb

The “that clause” indicates what action we are suggesting. The “that clause” also indicates the person doing the action.
In British English, we may use both the present simple and past simple tenses.

Examples:
I suggest that you drive.
Mark suggested that I called him.
Andrew suggests that we share his Youtube channel with our friends. (Please do this!)

Omission of “that”

In informal English, it is very common to omit the word “that”:

suggest + different subject + verb

I suggest you drive.
Mark suggested I called him.

“suggest” with  subjunctive in a “that clause”

This is an advanced grammar rule.

In formal English, we may use the subjunctive for the verb in the “that clause”.

Form:
suggest + “that” + subject + verb in the present subjunctive

Below is the form of the present subjunctive, compared to the present indicative. I have underlined the only difference.

Present indicativePresent Subjunctive
I walkI walk
you walkyou walk
he/she/it walkshe/she/it walk
we walkwe walk
you walkyou walk
they walkthey walk

Therefore, there is only a difference in the 3rd person singular.  The indicative ending has an “s”. The subjective ending does not have an “s”. For all the other subjects, there is no difference in form.

Example:

Formal  (with subjunctive):
I suggest that he walk to school.

More English lessons

English lessons on our Youtube channel
Spelling rules for the ING form of English verbs
English expressions with the verb “BREAK”
IELTS complete guide (WITH EXAMPLE QUESTIONS)
Prepositions of time IN, ON and AT
What is Great Britain, United Kingdom, England?

YouTube video lesson

Online English lessons and conversation

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

English grammar ebook

English grammar ebook

Online English lessons

English lessons with a native English teacher
IELTS online course

Recent articles & lessons

doctor

The difference between practice and practise

4th June 2019

peas on spoon

“a little” and “a few ” to describe quantity

30th May 2019

graduation

Difference between “finally”, “at last”, “lastly” and “in the end”

22nd May 2019

maths symbols

Maths symbols and operations – English vocabulary

8th May 2019

people meeting

BACK as a noun, verb, adjective and adverb

29th April 2019

Online English lessons

English lessons with a native English teacher

IELTS tips

IELTS complete guide

IELTS complete guide (WITH EXAMPLE QUESTIONS)

1st September 2017

Bar Chart

Advice for IELTS writing task 1

19th July 2017

Smiling girl

IELTS speaking advice

18th July 2017

IELTS student Tatjana

How to pass the IELTS with a band 8

9th May 2017

IELTS student Andreea

How to get a band 8 in the IELTS

9th May 2017

Ad





Affiliate disclosure

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Additionally, CrownAcademyEnglish.com participates in other affiliate programs, and we sometimes get a commission from purchases made through our links.

Follow us on social media

Crown Academy of English on YouTube Crown Academy of English on Twitter

Copyright © 2023 · Crown Academy of English · Privacy Policy