ESEN
Which one to use?Intermediategerundstructure
Suggest + -ingvsSuggest + that clause
'Suggest' takes a gerund or 'that' clause, never 'to' + infinitive and never a direct person object.
Side-by-side comparison
Suggest + -ing
gerund"Suggest" is followed by a gerund when the subject of the suggestion is the same as the subject of the main clause: "I suggest waiting a bit longer".
She suggested stopping for lunch at that little place by the river.
He suggested arriving early to get a good seat before the hall filled up.
My doctor suggested cutting back on sugar and going for walks every day.
Suggest + that clause
structure"Suggest" is followed by a "that" clause when there is a different subject: "I suggest that you wait". It is never followed by an infinitive: "suggest to wait" is wrong.
She suggested that we try the new Italian restaurant near the park this weekend.
He suggested that I take a few days off to rest and clear my head.
The teacher suggested that the class practise speaking for ten minutes every day.
Common mistake
Three typical errors:
- 1."I suggest to review the report" = INCORRECT. SUGGEST does not take TO + infinitive. Correct: "I suggest reviewing" or "I suggest that we review."
- 2."She suggested me to attend" = INCORRECT. SUGGEST does not work like TELL/ASK + person + TO. Correct: "She suggested that I attend."
- 3."She suggested that he should reviews" = INCORRECT, after SHOULD use bare infinitive: "should review."
Trick to remember it
Simple test: do you need to say WHO will do the action? → THAT + subject + SHOULD: "I suggest that SHE should take it." Is it implicit or unnecessary? → -ING: "I suggest TAKING the train." Never: "suggest + TO + infinitive" or "suggest person + TO."
Quick rule
SUGGEST + -ING: "I suggest reviewing." SUGGEST + THAT + subject + should: "I suggest that we should review." Never: "suggest to review" / "suggest me to review." Same applies to RECOMMEND.
Did you know?
SUGGEST belongs to a category called "reporting verbs," along with RECOMMEND, PROPOSE, INSIST, DEMAND, and REQUEST. What makes them special is that they do NOT accept the object + infinitive structure that TELL/ASK/WANT accepts ("tell someone to do something"). This difference is not arbitrary: reporting verbs introduce propositional content (an idea, a recommendation) and therefore structure with "that" clauses or gerunds. Control verbs (TELL/ASK) directly influence another person's behavior and therefore accept object + infinitive. This distinction between "propositional verbs" and "control verbs" is one of the most studied topics in computational linguistics because natural language processing systems need to recognize it to correctly interpret complex sentences.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
I suggest _____ the manager before you make a final decision.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
She suggested that he _____ a doctor about his back pain.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
GerundvsInfinitive
Some verbs take a gerund (-ing), others take an infinitive (to + verb), and some take both with different meanings.
Had bettervsWould rather
'Had better' expresses urgent advice with an implied negative consequence; 'would rather' expresses personal preference.
SuggestvsRecommend
'Suggest' and 'recommend' never take 'to' + infinitive; they use a gerund or a 'that' clause.
AvsAn
'A' is used before consonant sounds; 'an' is used before vowel sounds.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy