suggest/recommend

@Ahmed.A.A posted:

Hi, the following two sentences are from a school book:

1-"My friends recommend that I .....that mobile.''

a- don't buy    b-not to buy

Hi, Ahmed.A.A.—Neither answer is correct. After "recommend," we use a clause with the mandative subjunctive, which is realized as the base form of the verb, and should not be preceded by do support, even when there is negation. The test-maker should have provided the correct answer!

• My friends recommend that I not buy that mobile.

@Ahmed.A.A posted:

2-''I suggest that Adel......his father about the man he saw.''

a- informs     b- inform

I know that the second sentence has been explained here recently, but I want a simpler explanation. Thanks in advance.

Again, the mandative subjunctive is needed, i.e., the base form, answer (b).

Thanks David, but when can ordinary present and past be used, as Michael Swan said?

1-''My uncle suggests that she gets a job in the bank.''

2-''My uncle suggested that she got a job in the bank.''

@Ahmed.A.A posted:

Thanks David, but when can ordinary present and past be used, as Michael Swan said?

In American English, the simple present and the simple past work in a clause complementing "suggest" only when "suggest" means "indicate."

Thus, the sentence "My uncle suggested she works at a bank" could be used if your uncle indicated to you that that is where she already works.

Similarly, the sentence "My uncle suggested that she worked at a bank" could be used if your uncle indicated to you that that is where she worked in the past.

In neither case did he make a suggestion to her. In order to have the meaning that you want with such constructions, you probably need to be British.

Thanks a lot David