Which is correct? "I suggest mum (to) invite my auntie"

Question

Which is correct?

I suggest mum invite my auntie for dinner.

or

I suggest mum to invite my auntie for dinner.

Is it the same rule on I (recommend)?

I wouldn't leave out the 'that'. And the covert mandative is far more common here in the UK: "I suggest/recommend that mum invites my auntie for dinner." The periphrastic should construction doesn't sound too natural in these cases; on the other hand, "I suggested that mum invites ..." sounds awful (with the intended meaning), and I'd switch to the mandative subjunctive. — Edwin Ashworth, Nov 10 '23 at 14:54
The question has essentially been asked before: Tensed verb form or the plain form when used after "that" (in a mandative construction). The to-infinitive is not an option. There may be confusion in that "I asked mum to invite my auntie for dinner" certainly takes a to-infinitive. — Edwin Ashworth, Nov 10 '23 at 14:55
"Suggest (that) someone..." can be complemented by a clause with the finite verb form (e.g. invites) or with the unmarked infinitive (invite) but not with the marked infinitive (to invite). Same with recommend. — TimR, Nov 10 '23 at 16:18

Kate Bunting · Accepted Answer · 2023-11-10T17:16:25.440

2

I suggest Mum to invite... is not idiomatic.

We usually say I suggest that [something should happen], so that Mum invites. You could be saying this to someone else - "It would be a good idea if Mum invited Auntie..."

Or, to emphasise the person who is receiving the suggestion, I suggest to Mum that she/we should invite Auntie for dinner. The use of to is recommended here.

edited Nov 10 '23 at 17:16

answered Nov 10 '23 at 17:08

Kate Bunting

25,480

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 10 '23 at 15:53

1

"I suggest mum invites auntie for dinner" might be preferable.

answered Nov 10 '23 at 15:53

Lesley

897

Or "I suggest to Mum that she/we should/might invite Auntie for dinner". – Kate Bunting Nov 10 '23 at 16:11
Why should the word "to" be included? It seems superfluous to me. See comment by TimR. – Lesley Nov 10 '23 at 16:22
See this. – Kate Bunting Nov 10 '23 at 16:49
Kate, why don't you use this source as the basis for an answer? – Lesley Nov 10 '23 at 16:52
1

This doesn't sound idiomatic to me, but maybe I'm on the wrong side of the pond. – Barmar Nov 10 '23 at 16:55
@Barmar - There is no right or wrong side of the pond, but the side I'm on prefers to keep things simple. Perhaps the OP could clarify by providing more information? – Lesley Nov 10 '23 at 16:59
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I meant wrong side for that idiom (just as we don't use "mum" much here). – Barmar Nov 10 '23 at 17:00
1

Lesley: As a heads up, this answer showed up in the "Low quality posts" review queue, maybe because of how short it is. – Conrado Nov 10 '23 at 18:36
1

@Conrado - appreciate the heads-up, but since Kate's post seems to answer the question, then I am content to back off. – Lesley Nov 11 '23 at 08:11

Which is correct? "I suggest mum (to) invite my auntie"

2 Answers2