suggest

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verb [transitive] American English pronunciation: suggest

/səɡˈdʒest/

present tense
I/you/we/they	suggest
he/she/it	suggests
present participle	suggesting
past tense	suggested
past participle	suggested

Get It Right!
Expressing yourself

1
to offer an idea or a plan for someone to consider
The report suggested various ways in which the service could be improved.
suggest (that):
I suggest we have dinner first, and then watch the movie.
suggest what/why/where etc.:
Can anyone suggest what we should do to increase sales?
suggest doing something:
If there is a mechanical problem, we suggest contacting the manufacturer directly.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of suggest
Collocations: suggest
▪ politely, respectfully, seriously, strongly, tactfully, tentatively
2
to tell someone about something that may be useful or appropriate for a particular purpose
Can you suggest an inexpensive restaurant?
The doctor suggested rest as an alternative to surgery.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of suggest
3
to say that something is likely to exist or to be true
The cause of the problem, as Hutton suggests, is the leadership’s refusal to accept any form of criticism.
suggest (that):
Are you seriously suggesting she did this on purpose?
suggest (that):
I’m not suggesting that giving up smoking will be easy.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of suggest
1. a.
  to make you think that something is likely to exist or to be true
  As its name suggests, the Carlton Beach Hotel is situated near the ocean.
  Evidence suggests a link between asthma and pollution.
  suggest (that):
  Recent research suggests that the drug may be beneficial to people with muscular disorders.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of suggest
4
formal to remind you of something
The architecture suggested a chapel.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of suggest

Get It Right!: suggest

When suggest means “to offer an idea or a plan for someone to consider,” it is never followed by an infinitive. Use the pattern suggest doing something:

✗ The government suggested to construct another rail link to the mainland.

✓ The government suggested constructing another rail link to the mainland.

When suggest and the verb that follows it have different subjects, you can use the pattern suggest that someone should do something:

The therapist also suggested that Pamela should tell her parents more about what she was doing.

Suggest is never followed by a direct personal object. Use the preposition to:

✗ If this happened to one of your friends, what would you suggest her?

✓ If this happened to one of your friends, what would you suggest to her?

✗ He suggests parents that they should adopt a different way of bringing up their children.

✓ He suggests to parents that they should adopt a different way of bringing up their children.

Expressing yourself: suggest

Examples:

How about/What about going out to dinner tonight?

What if I babysat for you tonight? Then you could both go to the party.

I know, let’s go swimming!

Why don’t you try phoning their office number instead?

What would you say to a weekend by the seaside? ♦ What do you say we have dinner at that restaurant by the beach?

Perhaps we could ask Jerry’s father if he has a tent he could lend us?

I suppose we could always go to the movies instead.

May I suggest that we postpone discussing this until the next meeting?

Could I make a suggestion? Why don’t we put all the guests on the first floor and then everyone will be happy?

In future, I suggest you ask your father’s permission before you borrow his car.

This is the American English definition of suggest. View British English definition of suggest.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

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