Pedants' corner
'Recommend me'
MerryShitemas · 19/12/2022 23:24
'Recommend me a kettle...' 'Recommend me a city break...'
I see 'recommend me' here all the time. Is it grammatically correct? It sounds so awful in my head. What should it please? Just 'recommend a kettle', 'recommend a city break'?
cammie · 20/12/2022 02:36
SantaBakula · 20/12/2022 02:32
This get on my nerves too
It should be
can you recomed a kettle
or
would you recomed that kettle .
I also dont understand why people say , can you recomed a good kettle.
it goes without saying you want a good one (imo)
It's 'recommend'
cammie · 20/12/2022 02:38
SantaBakula · 20/12/2022 02:32
This get on my nerves too
It should be
can you recomed a kettle
or
would you recomed that kettle .
I also dont understand why people say , can you recomed a good kettle.
it goes without saying you want a good one (imo)
Whilst we're at it, it should be 'getS on my nerves'.
Also 'don't' requires an apostrophe.
HitMeWithAHotNoteAndWatchMeBounce · 20/12/2022 02:49
SantaBakula · 20/12/2022 02:32
This get on my nerves too
It should be
can you recomed a kettle
or
would you recomed that kettle .
I also dont understand why people say , can you recomed a good kettle.
it goes without saying you want a good one (imo)
Muphry’s Law is strong in this one. 
FurryDandelionSeekingMissile · 20/12/2022 02:52
I'm okay with it. I think it's because the sentence has another object (the kettle or the city break), so "for me" or "to me" would make the sentence fussier.
Like "write to me" vs "write me a letter", or "sing for me" vs "sing me a song".
FurryDandelionSeekingMissile · 20/12/2022 03:20
Okay here we go. I looked it up and it seems whether this kind of construction feels acceptable to English-speakers is to do with whether something is given or possession is shifted in the interaction, and whether the verb has only one syllable (or perhaps whether it's Anglo-Saxon rather than Latinate in origin). But as usual with grammar, it's complicated 😒
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dative_shift
Interesting Wikipedia article though, and with a read of you like the kind of thing.
Perhaps the single-syllable/Anglo-Saxon rule is stronger in your head than it is in the heads of people who say "recommend me a kettle", which is why it feels wrong for you but not for them (or for me).
SantaBakula · 20/12/2022 13:56
FurryDandelionSeekingMissile · 20/12/2022 02:56
To be fair it is 3am (assuming you're in the UK). I think we need to apply the middle-of-the-night grading compensation here 🤣
SantaBakula · 20/12/2022 02:54
Umm I will go and sit in the corner 😳
Creeps out of the corner , puts an apology down and slinks back off .😁
Yes i am in the uk , I had not long since come of a late shift and might just of had a sip of sherry .
PAFMO · 24/12/2022 14:48
cammie · 20/12/2022 02:38
Whilst we're at it, it should be 'getS on my nerves'.
Also 'don't' requires an apostrophe.
SantaBakula · 20/12/2022 02:32
This get on my nerves too
It should be
can you recomed a kettle
or
would you recomed that kettle .
I also dont understand why people say , can you recomed a good kettle.
it goes without saying you want a good one (imo)
Also needs a comma.
NoNameNowAgain · 03/01/2023 17:05
PAFMO · 24/12/2022 14:52
"recommend me" is correct.
"recommend to + person" only if it's at the end of the sentence.
Can you recommend me a book?
Can you recommend a book to me?
You say that, but what about:
Can you acquire me a book?
Would you impart us your evidence?
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