# I recommend you to / that you/ you going/ your going ...



## Pearl

<recommend you or recommend to you ? >

thank you all.


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## quickquestion

What context is this being used in?

without the "to," "you" can be used as the indirect object, and then the direct object would have to follow-
"I would love to recommend you a good cookbook."

but if you are using it at the end of the sentence (and in most other cases) you should add the "to," making "you" part of a prepositional phrase-
"There are many different cookbooks I could recommend to you."

If you are uncertain, it is best to use "recommend to you"

Hope that helps!


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## Kelly B

I agree that more context is required. Another possible use for the first phrase would be:
"I would like to recommend you... to my employer. Would you like a job?"


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## Andre Balian

quickquestion said:
			
		

> but if you are using it at the end of the sentence (and in most other cases) you should add the "to," making "you" part of a prepositional phrase-


Here are some different ways to set it up:

*recommend to you* - To recommend *<something/someone> to you.
*example:  I have some clients I can *recommend to you.
*example2: I can *recommend *some clients *to you.*
*recommend you* *to* - To *recommend you* to *<someone/something>*.
example:  I can *recommend you* to my employer.*

to recommend you -** To* *recommend you <noun>.  *(Infinitive only?)
example:  I would be happy *to recommend* *you* a book.

Like quickquestion said, play it save and go with the first one.  

Another possible construction would be to use _that_, for example:
 I recommend *that* you *<verb>*.


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## Henryk

Hello dear native speakers and others,

do you see any difference between these two usages of "recommend" (indicated above in the thread title)? I'm asking since I was corrected by two AE natives and they crossed it (recommend you to) out. However, I learnt "recommend sb to" in school and according to Google it's commonly used, it has after all over 4 million hits.

Is it an AE/BE difference?

Ciao
Henryk


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## cas29

I recommend (something) to someone 
I recommend the new Chinese restaurant to you would be correct, but it would be more common to simply say "I recommend the new Chinese restaurant" when you are speaking directly to someone.

I recommended the new restaurant to him.

To say "I recommend you to go to the new restaurant" is incorrect.
To say "I recommend John to you as the new managing director" would be correct.

Ok, having said that I did a google search too, and found lots of "I recommend you to" examples.

Some of them are very old quotes which makes me think that previously - perhaps 150 years ago - I recommend you to verb was an accepted way of speaking which is no longer in fashion. Judging by the sources I saw this seems to be a BE usage.

So, let me rephrase - I don't believe that "I recommend you to" is still in use in North America, and it sounds wrong to me.

I'm curious to see what others have to say.


With regards to "I recommend that sb..." This coud be fine... I recommend that John be appointed managing director.


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## GrandBlank

I agree with cas29, 100%.

In common North American usage, you could recommend _somebody to someone else_, and I would bet that you would be talking about a job.  But to sound less awkward, you would recommend _that somebody_ be appointed to a post/job.

To recommend _something to someone_, you would mean that s/he should try that something (a restaurant, a dish, a product or technique to improve house cleaning, for example).


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## Henryk

Thank you for your answers. 



> To say "I recommend you to go to the new restaurant" is incorrect.
> To say "I recommend John to you as the new managing director" would be correct.
> 
> Ok, having said that I did a google search too, and found lots of "I recommend you to" examples.
> 
> Some of them are very old quotes which makes me think that previously - perhaps 150 years ago - I recommend you to verb was an accepted way of speaking which is no longer in fashion. Judging by the sources I saw this seems to be a BE usage.


 
My online dictionary clearly says that "to recommend someone to do something" is correct. Thus I'm wondering.


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## JamesM

I believe we often say, "I recommend you try the new restaurant", which I suppose is short for "I recommend _that _you try the new restaurant", but I wouldn't ever say, "I recommend you to try the new restaurant."


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## Henryk

Here are the sources of it:

http://dict.uni-leipzig.de/index.php?wort=recommend&anzahlen=on&fuzzy=on

http://www.dict.cc/?s=recommend+to

I'm wondering where it is said. After all, I've always used it since I thought the source is reliable.


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## mariusstano

Hi, 

I wanted to ask if this structure is grammatically correct.

E.G.: I _recommend you going_ to the cinema

Thanks


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## Max83

I have heard people use this in spoken, colloquial usage but I don't believe it's correct grammar. 

It would be better to say either: I recommend going to the cinema, or, I recommend that you go to the cinema.


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## panjandrum

I recommend you as a friend, or 
I recommend you to behave yourself (sounds ancient).

I recommend you going ... sounds wrong to me.


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## mariusstano

Thanks for explaining 
Marius


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## gaer

mariusstano said:


> Hi,
> 
> I wanted to ask if this structure is grammatically correct.
> 
> E.G.: I _recommend you going_ to the cinema
> 
> Thanks


If you like this structure, it should be:

"I recommend your going to the cinema."

I would prefer:

"I recommend that you go to the cinema."  

The problem that I see is that the sentence itself is a bit strange.

This (in my opinion) would be much more natural.

"I recommend that you follow the advice of Panj."  

("I recommend your following the advice of Panj.") 

Here is a sentence that I don't think sounds odd:

"If your GP is not familiar with obstructive sleep apnia or balks at sending you for a sleep study, then *I recommend your going* to a pulmonologist."

But I believe I would prefer this:

"If your GP is not familiar with obstructive sleep apnia or balks at sending you for a sleep study, then *I recommend that you go* to a pulmonologist." 

However, I'm not sure!

Gaer


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## mariusstano

Very informative, thanks Gaer


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## gaer

mariusstano said:


> Very informative, thanks Gaer


You are welcome. I had to think for a long time to decide how I felt about the structure you wanted discussed.

As is almost always the case, context is tremendously important. 

Gaer


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## Thomas1

gaer said:


> If you like this structure, it should be:
> 
> "I recommend your going to the cinema."
> 
> [...]


As a side note: in spite of the awkwardness of the sentence the _you_ form is grammatical and generally accepted nowadays too. In formal writing, however, it is recommended (or some recomend) that peole use posessive adjectives wih gerunds as their syntax _requires_.


Tom


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## gaer

Thomas1 said:


> As a side note: in spite of the awkwardness of the sentence the _you_ form is grammatical and generally accepted nowadays too. In formal writing, however, it is recommended (or some recomend) that peole use posessive adjectives wih gerunds as their syntax _requires_.
> Tom


Tom, it is not generally accepted formally, and I'm telling you from the personal experience. I use "you", as you probably do, and I certainly don't think it is wrong.

I was corrected by another member, who pointed out the "rule". I never accept a statement about usage without testing it myself. Sure enough, the possessive form (your in this case) is so dominant even in narrative that I recall this "rule" being broken once since I began to look for exceptions.

Gaer


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## Thomas1

gaer said:


> Tom, it is not generally accepted formally, and I'm telling you from the personal experience. I use "you", as you probably do, and I certainly don't think it is wrong.
> 
> I was corrected by another member, who pointed out the "rule". I never accept a statement about usage without testing it myself. Sure enough, the possessive form (your in this case) is so dominant even in narrative that I recall this "rule" being broken once since I began to look for exceptions.
> 
> Gaer


I guess, the formal acceptance has different levels. I read not too long ago that students can use both when taking a test, but as I mentioned in my previous post, in the formal register it is better to use posessive adjectives. The possessive _your_ maybe explained a bit differntly since the object pronoun and subject pronoun have the same form and it is hard to differentiatie them, it could be the reason for using the posessive adjecive when using a gerund with the second person singular/plural (perhaps, that's why it sounds awkward to you with possessive). 

Tom


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## fille anglaise

I agree with the suggestions given which stay fairly close to the original sentence.

If the setting is fairly informal, though, I wonder if "Why don't you go to the cinema?" or "Why not go to the cinema?" might be more colloquial and natural.


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## gaer

Thomas1 said:


> I guess, the formal acceptance has different levels. I read not too long ago that students can use both when taking a test, but as I mentioned in my previous post, in the formal register it is better to use posessive adjectives.


A surprising number of tests use extremely rigid, presciptive rules.

For instance:

1) I don't remember our learning this rule in school.  
2) I don't remember us learning this rule in school.  

The first (1) can never be marked as wrong, but 2 will be marked wrong by many teachers.

In speech, I believe 2 may be more common, in spite of the rule. 

Gaer


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## Jiung

Hi,

1. We recommend you try the...
2. We recommend you to try the...

Do I need a "to" here?

Thanks!!

Jiung


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## JamesM

1. works fine.  2. doesn't, at least for me.


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## Minimagpro

We recommend that you try...

Say that when you are speaking.

It doesnt sound right without the word <that>


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## Thomas1

Jiung said:


> Hi,
> 
> 1. We recommend you try the...
> 2. We recommend you to try the...
> 
> Do I need a "to" here?
> 
> Thanks!!
> 
> Jiung





			
				JamesM said:
			
		

> 1. works fine. 2. doesn't, at least for me.


The infinitival option is correct as well (at least grammatically). James, why it doesn't work for you? The 1st doesn't work for me since there's no _that._

Tom


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## JamesM

In sentences like these, the "that" is often dropped:

I suggest you join us.
I recommend you reconsider your decision.
I imagine you'd like to eat.

It looks like I'm not the only one who thinks this way. Here's a site I just found with a chart of verbs that take gerund but not infinitive:

http://www.iei.uiuc.edu/structure/structure1/gerinfvbs.html

I'm not sure it quite applies because none of my examples have gerunds.  I'm sure there is some general principle here, though, that says the "to" would be wrong. I'll keep searching. (I learn so much about English here.  )

Ah... to correct the gerund problem, at least, I think it's the object that changes the sentence:

I suggest joining the others while we still can.
I recommend reconsidering the decision.
I imagine eating might be a good thing about now.

[edit] Still looking for a definitive source, but there are a few spots I've found that speak of using the "bare infinitive" (no "to") with verbs such as recommend and advise.


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## Thomas1

JamesM said:


> In sentences like these, the "that" is often dropped:
> 
> I suggest you join us.
> I recommend you reconsider your decision.
> I imagine you'd like to eat.
> 
> It looks like I'm not the only one who thinks this way. Here's a site I just found with a chart of verbs that take gerund but not infinitive:
> 
> http://www.iei.uiuc.edu/structure/structure1/gerinfvbs.html
> 
> I'm not sure it quite applies because none of my examples have gerunds.  I'm sure there is some general principle here, though, that says the "to" would be wrong. I'll keep searching. (I learn so much about English here.  )
> 
> Ah... to correct the gerund problem, at least, I think it's the object that changes the sentence:
> 
> I suggest joining the others while we still can.
> I recommend reconsidering the decision.
> I imagine eating might be a good thing about now.
> 
> [edit] Still looking for a definitive source, but there are a few spots I've found that speak of using the "bare infinitive" (no "to") with verbs such as recommend and advise.


Try to look under subjunctive. 

The gerund is fine here too, but if you have a recipient of your recommendation/advice/etc. then the infinitival form should be used. The subjunctive sounds more formal here, IMHO. I don't know why, perhaps this is my idiosyncrasy, but the version without _that_ sounds somewhat incomplete. Is it used frequently, btw?

Tom


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## cheshire

Is "I recommend you to watch this movie." correct and natural English?


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## Old Novice

No, I don't think so.    I think it would more often be either "I recommend that you watch this movie" or "I recommend this movie to you."


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## vachecow

I would say
"You should watch this movie."


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## winklepicker

Or _I recommend this movie_. The listener is unlikely to try to eat it!


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## panjandrum

The object of recommend is what is being recommended, not the person it is being recommended to.

"I recommend you watch the movie," would be OK because there is an implied that (I recommend _that_ you watch the movie).


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## cheshire

(2) I recommend *your* watching the movie.
(3) I recommend you watching the movie.

What about (2) and (3)? Are they wrong, too?


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## Thomas1

cheshire said:


> (2) I recommend *your* watching the movie.
> (3) I recommend you watching the movie.
> 
> What about (2) and (3)? Are they wrong, too?


I can't tell about the style but strictly speaking, just the first one is grammatical. Anyway, I'd suspect that you can hear the second one quite often too. 


Tom


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## gettingby

Henryk said:


> Here are the sources of it:
> 
> http://dict.uni-leipzig.de/index.php?wort=recommend&anzahlen=on&fuzzy=on
> 
> http://www.dict.cc/?s=recommend+to
> 
> I'm wondering where it is said. After all, I've always used it since I thought the source is reliable.




I'm an (American) English teacher working in Italy and was just presented with the Murphy's English grammar book (intermediate level), which expressly gives the "recommend you to do" rule. I'm flabbergasted. Are there any UK English speakers who can swear to using recommend in this way?


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## Thomas1

gettingby said:


> I'm an (American) English teacher working in Italy and was just presented with the Murphy's English grammar book (intermediate level), which expressly gives the "recommend you to do" rule. I'm flabbergasted. Are there any UK English speakers who can swear to using recommend in this way?


Can you, as an American English speaker, use it with the meaning that you suggest this person to do this work (and not someone else)?

For example: 
I recommend you to do xyz and not Pete [because I know you will do it better].

EDIT: You may find this post, by a British English speaker, interesting.
EDIT2: another interesting fact:





			
				Oxford Engish Dictionary said:
			
		

> 7 To counsel, advise.
> c With personal obj., and infin.
> 
> 1813 Jane Austen Pride & Prej. I. xviii. 217 Let me recommend you, however, as a friend, not to give implicit confidence to all his assertions.    1856 W. Collins After Dark, Yellow Mask II. 247, I recommend you to control your temper, and to treat me with common courtesy.


EDIT3: I strongly recommend that you read the whole thread whose post I linked to.


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## gettingby

What I get from this is it worked for Jane Austen and it worked in the 1850s...but the only common usage today with "to" is your acceptable answer, though I'd more likely say I recommended you for the job/ I recommend you do the work (rather than Pete).


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## ribran

Thomas1 said:


> Can you, as an American English speaker, use it with the meaning that you suggest this person to do this work (and not someone else)?
> 
> For example:
> I recommend you to do xyz and not Pete [because I know you will do it better].
> 
> EDIT: You may find this post, by a British English speaker, interesting.
> EDIT2: another interesting fact:
> EDIT3: I strongly recommend that you read the whole thread whose post I linked to.



I would be surprised to hear an American say, "I recommend you to watch this movie," or, "I recommend you watching this movie."


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## gettingby

ribran said:


> I would be surprised to hear an American say, "I recommend you to watch this movie," or, "I recommend you watching this movie."



It's perfectly awful. What I'm hoping is that Brits don't do it either, as I've been teaching that it's wrong!!

On the other hand "I recommend you watch" is fine. I use recommend in the way I use suggest.


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## Thomas1

I agree that 'recommend someone to do something' meaning 'advise someone to do something' sounds quite off-base. However, the example I gave in my previous post, where 'recommend someone to do something' means 'suggest someone as the best 'choice' to do a certain task, sounds fine.


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## ribran

Thomas1 said:


> I agree that 'recommend someone to do something' meaning 'advise someone to do something' sounds quite off-base. However, the example I gave in my previous post, where 'recommend someone to do something' means 'suggest someone as the best 'choice' to do a certain task, sounds fine.



Like gettingby, I would phrase it in some other way.


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## Loob

gettingby said:


> It's perfectly awful. What I'm hoping is that Brits don't do it either, as I've been teaching that it's wrong!!


This Brit happily uses "I recommend you to watch" etc.

But thread after thread here has taught me that I'm unusual!


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## Thomas1

Loob said:


> This Brit happily uses "I recommend you to watch" etc.
> 
> But thread after thread here has taught me that I'm unusual!


Hi, Loob,  

I've just come to the conclusion that it may be an option for many people too, the Economic Times agrees with you:





> "SIP scores over a lump-sum investment since you invest irrespective of  the market condition," says Vishal Dhawan, founder, Plan Ahead Wealth  Advisors. He recommends investors to do SIPs in diversified equity funds  for long periods of time, typically more than five years.
> http://articles.economictimes.india...ystematic-investment-plans-taurus-discovery/2


I've learnt something new.


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## JamesM

Thomas1 said:


> I agree that 'recommend someone to do something' meaning 'advise someone to do something' sounds quite off-base. However, the example I gave in my previous post, where 'recommend someone to do something' means 'suggest someone as the best 'choice' to do a certain task, sounds fine.



Like the others, I would rephrase it as "I recommended you _for _the job" or "I recommended you _as_ a great house painter" or even "I recommended they contact you to do the job".  "I recommended you to do the job" or "I recommended you to paint their house" sounds odd to me.

[edit] I can't find an example in the British National Corpus with the construction "recommend X to do Y" except in the sense of "advise X to do Y", but I may not be searching correctly.


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## Loob

James, thank you!

I hadn't thought of looking in the British National Corpus to see whether other BrE speakers use "recommend X to to Y" in the sense of "advise X to do Y", but I see there are a fair number of examples eg 

"While this policy remains intact I will not be able to fight for or recommend  people to vote for the Liberal Democrats. "

I have no fixed preference and would not recommend  you to buy one rather than any other.

I'm not so unusual after all.


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## JamesM

Both of those are in the "advise" sense, aren't they?  It isn't the same as "I recommended you to paint their house".  You're not saying "I advised you to paint their house".  You're saying "I recommended you for the job of painting their house."

Do you use it that way?


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## Loob

JamesM said:


> Both of those are in the "advise" sense, aren't they?


Yes, that's how I usually use "recommend X to do Y". 


> It isn't the same as "I recommended you to paint their house".  You're not saying "I advised you to paint their house".  You're saying "I recommended you for the job of painting their house."
> 
> Do you use it that way?


No, I don't think I do - or at least not often.

But panj does - in fact he implies here that that's the _only_ way he'd use that structure.


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## Thomas1

Loob, do you also use 'recommend + _verb_ing' too? 

***
It should be noted that the function of ‘to do xyz’ in ‘I recommend you to do xyz and not Pete’ is a different than that of ‘to watch’ in ‘I recommend you to watch’. The former is an adverbial whereas the latter is a verb object.

  ‘to do xyz’ is an adverbial of reason and can be skipped in the sentence and it still works: 
  I recommend you and not Pete. = I suggest you and not Pete.
  or  
  I recommend you. = I suggest you. 
  Also the change of the position of ‘to do xyz’ is more usual in such sentences. This ‘to’ is very similar to ‘in order to’. You can find plenty of sentences with similar structure. Here are examples using American English: 


> I had a positive experience with the following company, and I would like  to recommend this company to become a BBB Accredited Business.  I  believe this company meets the BBB Standards of  Accreditation.
> http://westflorida.app.bbb.org/recommend/





> If a party fails to produce the required items, the Hearing Officer, in order to do substantial justice, may recommend that the party failing to produce the financial information be found in contempt of court with sanctions to be imposed, […]
> http://www.15thjdc.com/site97.php


  ‘to watch’ is the direct object of the verb ‘recommend’ and if you skip it, the sentence won’t make much sense: 
  I recommend you.? = I advise you.?

  Here’s an interesting example which uses both structures (the author speaks British English):


> In order to do it, I would recommend you to find one or even [a(?)] few most popular forums of your niche and register there.
> 
> Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/4253404


  The sentence works without the ‘In order to do it,’ part, but not without the ‘to find one or even few most popular forums of your niche and register there.’


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## Loob

Thomas1 said:


> Loob, do you also use 'recommend + _verb_ing' too?


Yes, but not with a preceding X: in other words, I wouldn't say "I recommend you watching", though I would say "I recommend watching".

Some examples from the BNC:

If you like styling products, we *recommend **using * a gel when your hair is wet because the moisture in your hair will dilute it.

Since NZ is so good for walking, I *recommend **bringing * a pair of boots.

If a workshop is linked to a show we always *recommend **trying* to see the show, preferably first, if at all possible.


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## JamesM

All of those are fine for me, Loob.


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## jiamajia

I read this sentence from the website below:
Many candidates have either stated that they will or will not be Mitt Romney's running mate. Marco Rubio has consistently stated that he will not be Romney's Vice President. Many people have recommended Marco Rubio to be Mitt's VP like Jeb Bush.
http://conservativesamizdat.blogspot.com/2012/04/who-will-be-mitt-romneys-running-mate.html

Many posters here indicate that most Americans hate to give a green light  to  the construction of 'recommend someone to be/do' . The question I'd like to ask is: would the Americans (if you are one of them) rephrase the blue part without using the infinitive?


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## JamesM

I would tend to rephrase it as "Many people, such as/like Jeb Bush, have recommended Marco Rubio *as* Mitt's VP" or "Many people, like Jeb Bush, have recommended that Marco Rubio be Mitt's VP".

("Such as" and "like" mean different things to me in this sentence, but that's a side issue.)


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## Er.S.M.M.Hanifa

"I recommend John to you as the new managing director."
Nobody confirmed it as a correct sentence? Is it correct?
Please clarify the validity of the following sentence:
I have decided to recommend you for the directorship.


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## JamesM

"I have decided to recommend you for the directorship" sounds perfectly normal and valid to me.

"I recommend John to you as the new managing director" seems redundant.  I would simply say or write "I recommend John as the new managing director".   Who else would you be recommending him to besides the person or people you are addressing?


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## vodkawithtomatojuice

I recommend (that) you go to the cinema.


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## semeeran

1. I would be happy to recommend you a book.
2. I would be happy to recommend to you a book.
3. I would be happy to recommend a book to you.
Which are the above sentences correct?
Please enlighten me.
Thanks.


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## Aloyalfriend

< --- > 

5-recommend something to somebody







I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in chemistry.

< ---> 

8-Do not say ‘recommend someone something’. Just say 
recommend something, or say 
recommend something to someone.



Source: Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English: recommend - Definition from Longman English Dictionary Online

Edited to remove excessive quotation and add source. Cagey, moderator.


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