Recommend me

[blueskypink]

'Recommend me' really grates. Is it ok? Why not just use 'recommend'?

I would say, 'can you recommend a perfume' rather than, 'can you recommend me a perfume'.

Prepared to be told either is ok, but the 'me' always seems unnecessary.

I don't think the "me" is ungrammatical, as it's a variant of "can you recommend a perfume to me", just as in "can you give the perfume to me" the indirect object can move next to the verb, ie "can you give me the perfume".

But you can say the sentence without "me" so if you are saying that is more elegant, then I agree. But the "me" can have some function: eg "Can you recommend me a perfume and recommend my husband some after-shave?" or "My daughter's driving me crazy with her questions - can you recommend her a perfume and recommend me something to help relax?"

I don't think it's incorrect. Omitting the indirect object just makes the sentence slightly more vague. You could be asking someone to recommend a perfume to another person rather than the speaker.

It works the same with 'provide'.
'Can you provide further information?'
'Can you provide me further information?'
'Can you provide further information to me?'

The first sentence is more general, the second and third are person specific.

Wouldn't you say, 'provide me with further information' and 'recommend a perfume to me'? Recommend me just feels wrong some how

I might say 'provide me with' but I might not.